THIS was actually the most commented-on post in Solo in Chicago’s history so enjoy it again for the first time…or actually for the first time. A telephone-related post is all scheduled for tomorrow so I thought this might serve as a nice introduction or refresher.

For the record our firm is still happily using eVoice…works great for a small business with de-centralized staff.

It’s not quite the Top 10 sports moments of the decade but everyone likes a good Top 10 list, right? So without further a due, I present to you Solo In Chicago’s Top 10 posts of 2009 (based on Web traffic, number of comments, and one person’s arbitrary opinion):

10. Do Ya Need a Calendar? Because it continues to amaze me the number of times that lawyers miss meetings, appointments, and court dates.

9. 5 ‘Must-Have’ Pieces of Lawyer Technology with The Connected Lawyer. Because as a small firm legal entrepreneur you’ve got to be able to practice anywhere and do everything the big firms do at a lot lower cost and technology makes that possible.

8. Do You Make These Mistakes? A couple of BIG issues I struggle with as a law firm leader.

7. Ah, A Well-Deserved Northwoods Vacation. Got a lot of traffic to this post, partly because ISBA’s Illinois Lawyer Now linked to it. And if you just get your “vacation plan/checklist” set once this isn’t hard to do properly again and again.

6. Firm Financials:  March 2009. Because we try to keep it real here at SIC…year-end-summary coming soon.

5. The Phone, The Phone is Ringing. Our 2nd most commented on post of the year from just a couple weeks back. I’m constantly amazed at some of the terrible telephone “solutions” used by small law firms. Just this morning I called a firm who had an automated voicemail stating they were closed from 12/24 to 1/4 and you couldn’t even leave a message.

4. Who Else Wants Referrals? Because NOTHING is more valuable to you as lawyer than a good, professional referral source. Recently just got my 3rd referral from a local real estate agent who himself was previously a referral from another financial planner colleague…”other professional” referral sources are golden.

3. Get Rid of Client Payment Problems Once & For All. It’s too early for me to evaluate our success relating to these 3 changes, but I’m very bullish on the changes and can’t think of a reason why most firms should not be following them.

2. Make Sure Your Referral Sources Know EVERYTHING You Do! This was a letter I sent to some of my referral sources in the midst of the real estate downturn early in ’09 to be sure they weren’t only thinking of me as a real estate attorney. I’m pretty sure something like this should be done every year so that those golden referral sources are able to refer all that business to you.

1. The Worst Decision for a Sole Practitioner? Answer:  Under-Billing. Alright, that is technically 2 posts but the point deserves double the emphasis. Nothing kills a promising law practice like under-valuing your services.

“A lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” A. Lincoln, Esquire. Don’t throw/give it away.

Note the new tab above containing a summary of SIC’s best and most useful writing easily accessible on Page 1.

As a forthright admission that I love a good countown of the top songs of the 80s and more importantly that a blog’s audience is constantly changing and evolving, this is the first of the occasional looks back into the archives (I mean we’ve got almost 4 years of articles now) at pieces that were most popular or that I arbitrarily think contain some useful tips. There are “archives” on the sidebar but I really doubt too many people are clicking. So…

You can make almost any service upscale (10/06). This post was triggered by something I’d read about a white glove moving company but it’s applicable across businesses. There’s nothing wrong with Wal-Mart right, and they make billions of dollars. But I’m guessing most small law firms can’t compete on volume like Wal-Mart so perhaps the better way to build your business is aiming more upscale without a lot of necessary new expenditures or staff expansion.

You want ‘Clients for Life’ (2/06). Absolutely the best business book tailored to professional service workers…some tips:

a. Selfless Independence. Balance between dedication to clients and detachment.
b. Empathetic. Listening & learning. Put yourself into new situations, travel. More listening than talking.
c. Deep Generalists. Clients want your expertise beyond your core expertise. Enjoy exploring subjects that have nothing to do with work.
d. Cultivate Powers of Synthesis.
e. Develop Great Judgment.
f. Powers of Conviction.
g. Trust through Integrity. Deeper broader trust based on professional competence and personal integrity.

Client service in law firms (11/06). This was a short little article but it contains some gold…remember:  Most clients can’t evaluate the quality of your legal work. What they can and do is evaluate the experience of working with you.