Okay so not only do us domestic relations lawyers get the most ARDC complaints filed against us but now we’ve seen two of us get jailed in the last 6 months by judges up on the 30th Floor. Here’s the bit regarding the most recent jailing…
I’m not jumping to any conclusions on this situation. I know and respect the judge doing the jailing greatly in this case and I believe the judicial canon of ethics never allows judges to respond to these sorts of situations so we’ll likely never know the full story. A tad scary though…both jailings are along the same corridor where most of my cases are.
Thanks for the tweet from new Twitter friend Julie Tower-Pierce about the ABA Journal piece on virtual offices for solos. A brief, shallow piece that seems to lean negative. It misses one of the biggest pluses for lawyer and clients alike: CONVENIENCE! I suppose it varies by the particular virtual office provider that you’re using and your location, but speaking only to my personal situation, the place we use for our “virtual” offices has like 25 locations throughout the Chicago area. Most potential clients of ours throughout the Chicago area are within 15 minutes of one of our locations.
I have never heard (and don’t expect to hear) a client unhappy that we can meet somewhere 15 minutes from his home versus taking a half-day to come to the Loop and see my two diplomas on the wall.
Sales — when done right — is more than a job. It is an art. It is a high-wire act. It is, as Arthur Miller immortally said, being out there “on a smile and a shoe shine.” It is learning the product you are selling, learning it so well that you can describe it while doing a pirouette of smiles for the customer and talking about the latest football scores. It is knowing human nature so well that you can align the attributes of your product or service cleanly with the needs and wants of your customers.
At its best, selling is taking a doubt and turning it, jujitsu style, into a powerful push. Selling is making the customer feel better about spending money — or investing it — than he would have felt by keeping his wallet zipped…
Lawyers and doctors and dentists and politicians and accountants and actors — all of us sell something, every day and every time we meet someone. For me, it all goes back to Shoe Giant, 47 years ago, and I wish that every 17-year-old I know could have that experience. It takes some ability at sales to believe in your own future, no matter what that future may be.
I think this identifies my problem…I had no sales background prior to becoming an attorney and later choosing to be a self-employed attorney responsible for a lot of selling. Should have been in retail when I was young instead of at the Glenview Park District. Hopefully admitting the problem is a first step towards correction and an honest attempt at improvement shall be forthcoming. I think it’s a weakness many attorneys share.
I’m really not hearing from attorney friends who have to rush to finish their 20 CLE credits by June 30, 2009 am I?
Au Contraire, I’ve heard from several attorneys asking about how to get 10 quick hours over the next couple of months. It’s just mind-blowing to me that a Professional who should be trying to be the best that she is capable of becoming as an attorney wouldn’t almost by osmosis complete 20 hours of continuing legal education over the course of 2 years! You can’t be serious.
The professional responsibility portion…well, that’s another story, that requirement is pointless and I’ll admit to being signed up for a program entitled The Content Lawyer in May to finish up my PMCLE requirement.
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): You see Danny, I can deal with the bullets, and the bombs, and the blood. I don’t want money, and I don’t want medals. What I do want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white uniform and with your Harvard mouth extend me some f%$#$%$# courtesy. You gotta ask me nicely.
That’s all I want from opposing counsel and it’s all I try to give too. But I don’t always get it.
For example, the lawyer who showed up more than an hour late for a 9am court call earlier this week. Look, as a busy sole practitioner it’s inevitable that I’m going to be running late from time to time too. As much as anything it’s a byproduct of the Court’s default scheduling policy of setting all cases at 930am. But how ’bout a communication the night before? Or a courtesy call from a secretary as to the lawyer’s status?
I’d guess the typical domestic relations division attorney likely has 3-5 cases up on a typical court morning and it’s pretty easy to slice up a schedule in a way that’s convenient for all…agree to meet in a courtroom at a different time.
Interesting piece about some of the proactive steps Northwestern’s law school is taking to help its graduates deal with the slow legal job market.
In an e-mail to students late Monday, David Van Zandt, the law school dean, encouraged students to continue networking and pursue activities that build their legal skills while they are unemployed. Northwestern has added volunteer opportunities at its Bluhm Legal Clinic and has identified other public-interest employers who are interested in hiring interns.
“What we’re trying to do is encourage people to keep busy and develop their careers,” Van Zandt said in an interview. “You can’t just sit at home.”
Fine ideas, but what’s so bad about kissing that slow legal hiring market behind and hiring yourself?
Is a highway billboard an effective marketing tool for attorneys and specficially for what practice areas??
I raise the issue because I’ve heard two personal testimonies over the last couple weeks of the dramatic drop in costs that have occured in billboard advertising around the Chicago area. I’m talking to the tune of like $5,000 a month down to $500 a month. Our Rotary District has a billboard up on I-90 heading west just east of its intersection with I-294 and an attorney friend has leased space just a bit further west on I-90 for his bankruptcy firm.
Any thoughts on the utility of billboard adverstising for attorneys?? I really hadn’t thought much of it frankly because I assumed it was cost prohibitive. But $500 per month at least for my firm’s marketing budget at least is on the fringe of a realistic expenditure for say 3-6 months. Around the Chicago area I can think of family law and bankruptcy law firms that use billboards around the area and if you drive around Florida at all it’s PI attorney billboard heaven down there.
Who and what practice areas should use a billboard??
STEINBRENNER: Costanza here is busting his ass on those hats.
JERRY: think I’ve changed my mind.
STEINBRENNER: You don’t want them, then goodbye.
GEORGE: ??? sir.
STEINBRENNER: Well what do you want instead?
JERRY: What?
STEINBRENNER: Well, you’re the terrorist. You’re going to want something.
JERRY: I guess it would be nice if you called all the ticket holders if the game was going to be rained out.
That was absolutely the first thing that came to mind today when I got a call from a judge’s clerk telling me that she had an emergency and won’t be on the bench tomorrow. I’m not criticizing the absence, judges are human too, rather complimenting the call that our case is not going to be handled tomorrow rather than getting everyone downtown, waste time, money and days off from work, and then get the continuance.
It’s nice when the Court can call the lawyers when Court gets “rained out”!!!
Peter’s Commentary: Good month though a tad slanted due to finishing up a sizable case that had dragged on for many years with a big chunk of fees delayed due to the sale of a home. Expenses $300 over last month which is disturbing and something to keep an eye…mostly just some one time purchases of some necessary office furniture.
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): You see Danny, I can deal with the bullets, and the bombs, and the blood. I don’t want money, and I don’t want medals. What I do want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white uniform and with your Harvard mouth extend me some f%$#$%$# 
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