Solo In Chicago…Grow Your Practice!

April 2009

Gross Income $4,136.67 YTD: $25,442.89

Business Expenses

Office supplies 54.14

Train ticket(s) 32.30

Malpractice insurance 167.40

Credit card processing fees 7.50

Web host 9.95

Mail/postage 103.80

Cell phone(s) 67.10

eFax 29.95

eVoice 29.95

Petty cash/lunches/gas 378.83

Computer/technology upgrades 390.87

Service organization dues 200.00

Northwest bar assn dues 165.00

Client reimbursement 132.30

Business Expense Total: $1,769.09 YTD: $4,369.59

April 2009, Net Income: $2,367.58 YTD: $21,073.30

Peter’s Commentary:  A very expensive month actually…biz expenses for April nearly equaled the previous three months combined. Mainly the costs were a couple large client marketing initiatives and some technology infrastructure stuff so nothing of a repeating monthly variety. But that’s still a scary number when I look back to only $653 for the month of February. Still not consistently reaching my $6,000 monthly gross income goal. I’m counting on an uptick in the real estate market and some of my marketing investment starting to payoff better pushing my gross income upwards.

Anyone interested in helping me put on a 1 hour CLE for the IL State Bar Assn. in next 2-3 weeks loosely on the topic of starting a law practice in our current economy? All welcome with taping in Chicago (you can get reimbursed for travel if you’re not in Chicagland) at convenient time for presenters. Broadly looking for someone who may have started a practice out of law school in last year or so. Also, someone who worked at firms for years and got laid off during recession and now has started a firm. You or know anyone available/interested??

Contact me ASAP.

This was last Sunday’s front page story in the Tribune about two young boys murdered by their father on his visitation weekend down in McLean County (the largest county in IL…a new tidbit for me). It highlights some of the key pressure points you need to know in these cases.

I legitimately feel for the judge in the case. The reality is that Illinois custody/visitation law favors the involvement of both parents in the lives of children & the burden is placed on a parent attempting to restrict visitation to prove that the other parent is a threat. Not easy to do if you can’t get any independent experts involved. Most eye-opening was the 26 hour delay it took for an Amber Alert to be issued because the local police department didn’t believe that the childrens safety was at risk.

Any opinions?

The farther I go and the more experiences I have the more I believe that it’s most critical that I nudge and persuade clients to face tough times and hard decisions. Because the issues or decisions that must be faced may be fairly simple but not easy.

This fact has been magnified over the last year or so that I’ve been part of the Domestic Relations Lawyer Referral Program run through Judge Jacobius’ office. I get appointed a client or two every 6 weeks or so often dealing with a failure to pay child support. But what’s most infuriating for me is that some 75% of the time there are substantive things and defenses that can be raised but the clients refuse to face the situation and deal with the tough times. They won’t pull together simple financial documents (tax returns, pay stubs, ect.) for me to review and help mount a defense. And even worse they won’t bring that stuff to court when there’s a hearing where if it goes the wrong way they might be exiting the courtroom out the back door in handcuffs. It’s classic with a guy I’m representing right now, he doesn’t communicate with our office until at the earliest the day before court and often the morning of a court date. And with many of these cases all that the judges want to see is some effort being made…compliance need not be perfect.

What to do?

I’m planning on more required in-person meetings with clients. It seems the letters and constant phone calls haven’t done. I’m going to require these people to look me in the eye and face facts.

A very thoughtful discussion. Gulp, I think I’m a tad hopeful that the Sheriff’s Office might improve!

That’s among the themes from the WSJ’s Lawyers Often Lack the Skills Needed to Draw, Keep Clients. Interesting that many law firm consultants and lawyer “coaches” are seeing booming business in this tough economic environment. The general theme from the piece:

While many firms are looking outside to hire coaches, others are ramping up internal efforts. At Boston-based Nixon Peabody, where the marketing budget is down 20% this year, chief marketing officer Mark Greene says there has been a distinct shift in how resources are allocated, with more emphasis on coaching individual lawyers. “A year ago the department was more focused on marketing in the traditional sense of brand creation,” says Mr. Greene. “We have shifted resources toward one-on-one relationship building.

Look at that even a member of our blogroll is quoted. A book referenced by a commenter…the table of contents looks great:

How to Capture and Keep Clients: Marketing Strategies for Lawyers

Here’s the article about the review of census data.  So why only 4 parentage judges of 43 in Cook County domestic relations division?

A serious topic for these hard times.  The only rule governing a lawyer’s nonpayment of debt is 8.4(a)(8), “avoid in bad faith the repayment of an education loan guaranteed by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission or other governmental entity. The lawful discharge of an education loan in a bankruptcy proceeding shall not constitute bad faith under this rule, but the discharge shall not preclude a review of the attorney’s conduct to determine if it constitutes bad faith.”

Chicago Lawyer’s monthly ethics page recently covered Failure to keep financial commitments. CL tends to be a little fluffy and too big firm focused for a solo in Chicago but their writing on professional ethics is the best around in my opinion.  Here were some excerpts that opened my eyes:

Notwithstanding the absence of a rule specifically making the nonpayment of financial obligations professional misconduct, the Supreme Court disciplined an attorney in In re Stone, 108 Ill.2d 253, 486 N.E.2d 915, 93 Ill.Dec. 382 (1985), for misconduct based in part on the attorney’s payment to a secretary with checks he knew would be dishonored….

A different result occurred in In re Glasson, 00 SH 20, M.R. 17584 (Sept. 20, 2001), in which a lawyer was disciplined, in part, for issuing 29 checks on his personal bank account to local stores, restaurants, and others, that were not honored due to insufficient funds, where he knew or should have known that the checks would not be honored….

Recently, a panel of the Hearing Board found that an attorney engaged in misconduct by failing to comply with court orders to pay child support for about 11 weeks, failing to contribute to day care and medical insurance, and dissipating marital assets by transferring funds to a bank account held in his name in Costa Rica. In re Kline, 07 CH 44, M.R. 22388 (Sept. 16, 2008)….another sword for you family lawyers if the opposing party is a lawyer.