Solo In Chicago…Grow Your Practice!

Thanks to the Dirty Lawyer for this post. Here’s the underlying piece from the Post and Virtual Law Partners, LLP’s Website.

Rummy

Because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

–Donald Rumsfeld

Okay, you might not like the politics of our old Congressman in Illinois 10 but I saw this quote again used in the 1/09 Illinois Bar Journal and just had to piggy-back on it…it’s in my top 5 of personal over-used quotes to my family. And it’s critical for sole practitioners and a primary reason to make sure you have some able people around you and mentors to reach out to even if they’re not directly “in the firm” so to speak.

Because I don’t know what I don’t know BUT maybe someone else does know what I don’t know and that’s invaluable.

This was a timely piece here essentially about managing past due client bills in a down economy.  Not too much new but a good review. I think it makes the most important points in collecting past due client bills:  communicate with these clients and the likelihood of collection diminishes drastically the older a past due balance becomes. Here’s an overview of my Firm’s policy that I’ve touched on before.

Saw this little nugget regarding recent weapons’ arrests made by people trying to enter court at 32 W. Randolph, Chicago.

Two men in four days were arrested in attempts to bring weapons into Cook County courthouses, authorities said.

At the same building Monday, Richard Andracki, 44, of the 8300 block of South 88th Avenue was arrested when deputies said they discovered a 17-inch-long blade hidden inside his cane.

That is the least safe courthouse in Cook County. Different committees I’m on are always talking about the unsafe conditions over there. If you become a judge avoid those court calls…unsafe and too many pro se litigants.

Hold on a second, “Cook County” and “eFiling” just cannot appear in the same sentence can they?  It doesn’t sound right but someone’s (Cook Circuit Clerk) advertising this presentation set for March 23rd.

I just finished up the second volume of Stephen Ambrose’s 2-volume set on Dwight D. Eisenhower which covers Ike’s presidency (’53 – ’61) through his death in 1969. Ike’s one of my current focuses of historical study…I mean there are only so many books on RN and Watergate that a guy can read, right. And he’s obviously a giant of the 20th century, I just don’t love reading military history so I’ve avoided him a bit in the past. There was a passage from the book that I think is instructive for lawyers. It discussed a time period in 1955 after Ike had a heart attach while in office…

Dulles (Secretary of State John Foster Dulles) nevertheless began by congratulating Eisenhower on his magnificent achievement in building a team that was “so harmonious, so imbued with principles…that we were able to carry on the business of government effectively without serious interruption.” He cited Wilson as an example of an incapacitated President who had failed to build such a team, so that when Wilson was stricken, “the situation fell into disarray.” Eisenhower thanked him for the compliment, saying how pleased he was that matters were going so well, because he had long been an opponent of “one-man” government.

This is a very real lawyer and law firm problem too…sort of the one woman/man lawyer and firm. And it’s a bit counter-intuitive. The egotistical viewpoint is to build your individual importance but yet this really undermines the goal of building a wonderful legal services business. And this issue has big short-term and long-term ramifications. Long-term, do you have a practice that can be sold or does it just go away when you stop lawyering. Short-term, does your firm make $$ when you’re on vacation or worse does your “one man” firm not allow you to vacation.

This contiguity of leadership issue is a lot what Jim Collins talks about in Good to Great (he called it Level 5 leaders). Some of the “good” companies had strong single generation leaders while the “great” companies built great teams that allowed for sustained greatness.

I’ve written about this topic many, many times during the history of this blog including here. And I’m not trying to moralize or be too touchy/feely…I’m looking at you lawyer’s self-interest. Like sometimes picking up clients from opposing parties who liked/respected you and thought you were a better lawyer than your opponent.

But here’s another reason that I’ve been dealing with recently…

Lets face it, there are many cases that for whatever reason start with both parties represented by counsel but don’t end that way. So then you as lawyer (if you’re the one remaining in the case) now HAVE TO deal directly with a pro se client. And if there’s absolute mistrust and no respect or rapport I don’t think that helps your client.  So think ahead!

I’m within 1 week of wrapping up the longest and most contentious case I’ve ever been involved with. It was a case where trial/judgment didn’t occur for 4 years from case filing and then the last couple years have involved petty in-fighting as some real estate has sat on the market. Well, this was a case where the last 1.5 years of the 6ish years of the case became me dealing with a pro se litigant. And I’m not suggesting that I didn’t have my times of utter disgust but I was able to I think work with and earn the opposing party’s respect to a degree to cut through the garbage and at least get some real estate sold and now we’re down to one court hearing to disperse proceeds.