Not only do you have an obligation as an attorney to keep track of the changes in your area of law but you should determine if any changes can be a business opportunity for your practice. Scott discusses new changes in New York criminal law one that he believes may be an excellent opportunity to expand his practice and one that may have a detrimental effect. If you see an opportunity, you should have the mindset to create a niche practice from this new opportunity. And don't just wait for the clients to find you. Create new webpages, write about the topic and let you networking partners know you are handling cases in this new area.

This week Oscar and Scott discuss how some clients may be more trouble than they are worth Even though the money a client is paying you might be attractive at first, the amount of work, stress and frustration the case and client may bring may not be worth taking the case If you get caught up in a situation like this, you can’t complain about it being the fault of the client. It is the lawyers decision to take on the client and you must hold yourself responsible for the quality of the clients that are hiring you It reverts back to what we have always discussed. You are not just practicing law. You are running a legal business and must treat it as such.

This week Scott and Oscar talk about their experiences with the networking site LinkedIn. While both of the podcast hosts agree that all solos and small firm practitioners should have a Linked In profile, Oscar is the bigger fan of the site. That stems from his practice being largely a commercial litigation practice and Linked In being a social networking tool mostly for business and professional people. The hosts talk about how to get the most out of it by being active on it, and using it to find potential referral partners. It’s just another tool to help get your practice and name out there to the community but you want to make sure you are maximizing its effect if you are going to have profile on

This week, we continued our interview with Michelle and Anthony DiPaolo, discussing their decision to hire an office manager. We’ve often talked on the podcast about how to determine when the right time is to take on that first employee. The DiPaolos explain how their practice was ready for the hire and how bringing on an office manager has helped them grow their practice. They offer great insight for listeners on what benefits they derive from having someone else deal with much of the administrative strain on the practice, including billing, client relations and scheduling. We conclude the talk with a discussion of how they have now brought on a second person – a young lawyer to help with the work overflow. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Anthony and Michelle for allowing us and our listeners to peek into their practice and for the many relatable and practical pieces of advice they offered.