After Scott is knocked out for the count by a bad cold, the hosts discuss ways that a solo practitioner can get some back up in the case of an emergency. You must have something in place for contingencies, vacations, sick days or double-booked court dates you can’t attend. Per diem lawyers, office shares, joining websites and listservs that provide that coverage are ways you can build a safety net for yourself and your practice.

We recognize that we push networking a lot – an awful lot. But we bring it up again because it is vital to growing a practice. We have given lots of suggestions about ways to “Get yourself out there” and we do not expect that anyone can do all of them. But in this episode, we talk about ways to explore opportunities for networking in places or in groups that you are already spending your time – Little League, Volunteer Firehouse, Place of Worship. All of these could be a chance to talk about your business and find referral partners. So keep an open mind and look around you for a way to help you network your practice in your community

Rome wasn’t built in a day and the same will be true for your practice. The hosts discuss how they started this podcast after their individual “Reboots” have blossomed and after many ups and downs. Listeners are encouraged to remember that it may take a while for the fruits of their efforts to be noticeable. You may have to adapt, modify, re-tool or even start over completely along the way. It’s hard to keep your chin up while you wait for it to happen, but don’t sit idly by during that period. Keep at improving as many elements of your practice as you can and you will then be ready and in a better place once business starts to come in.

Steven Funari from Law Office Suites wrote a recent article that discussed 7 important things that solo practitioners should do. Steven recognizes how overwhelming it can be to be a small or solo attorney and gives this tips to help attorneys with time management, become lean, grow professionally and personally and just be able to deal with the every day stress of running your own practice. We chime in with our opinions about each of the activities. You can check out Steven’s website at http://lawfirmsuites.com/

When Scott discovers that one of his main phone number somehow stopped working, it leads to a discussion about the need to continually check and update your social media. When you have a small or solo firm it can take very little to derail a month of revenue if something is wrong with your social media or marketing presence. Vigilance is everything. Periodically check your webpage, your phone system and your marketing to make sure things are working. Also, check to see whether the information you are putting out there about yourself and your firm are stale. Finally, a website you put up two years ago will look old-fashioned and send a message to your client that you are dated and out of step with current tools and technology.

Lisa Solomon discusses how attorneys can use nowcounsenletwork.com. Specifically how to initiate contact and get a quote, how billing works and the parameters of the attorney/freelancer agreement. We then discuss how working with an experienced freelance lawyer can help you provide the service that your clients are accustomed to while gaining back time for yourself to build your practice. We also discuss how she vets the attorneys who do work for nowcounsenletwork.com and how an attorney can become a freelancer.

Lawyers who become busy have traditionally had only one option. Hire an associate. But due to technology and shifts in the marketplace, hiring a freelance lawyer is now easier than ever. This week, Scott talks to Lisa Solomon from Now Counsel Network who discusses how hiring a freelancer can help solo and small firms, increase profits, lessen stress and grow their practices. Lisa can be reached at http://nowcounselnetwork.com and @nowcounselnet

Lawyers likely get inundated with ads for client management or practice management software that make numerous promises that will revolutionize your practice. Look past the promises and investigate the validity of the claims made. You need to find the proper program that is streamlined to your needs. Some programs specialize in email drip campaigns; some help you with intake forms; others help you set up an intake system right from your website. It’s not one size fits all and you can spend a lot of money on programs and systems that will give you things you don’t need and won’t fulfill the needs for your practice. The host discuss experiences with these systems and some of the issues they have come across.

Getting properly paid for your time is essential to a successful practice but also one of the most difficult goals to obtain. How do you set the right price? How do you get clients to commit to paying right at the initial consultation? Oscar and Scott discuss what has worked in the past for their practices and provide some concrete tips in dealing with getting retained by prospective clients. You have to be comfortable in quoting fees and finding that right figure for each matter that makes sense to you and your practice. Accessing mentors and referral partners for advice and suggestions about fee ranges will help give you confidence that you are in the right ballpark. The hosts remind listeners that the core themes of authenticity and value still matter the most in that initial consultation.

In this episode, the hosts discuss how they use texting and visual voicemail to help maintain client communication. In today’s world, clients expect a much higher level of connectivity and communication with their lawyer. Scott and Oscar chat about how they decided to give clients their cell phone numbers to ease communication and make themselves more productive and how they manage client expectations about contact and responding to inquiries. That leads to a discussion on how using tech to increase client intake. Without a doubt, maintaining a good flow of communication with clients is central to a growing practice.

The show often discusses the importance of networking and following up with potential clients and referral partners. The hosts remind listeners, however, that not everything you do will work and almost none of it will work right away. You never know which of your efforts will bear fruit and, in some cases, it may take some time before it generates any business. That’s why it’s important to have a balanced approach to building your business. Different things will come to fruition at different times and some things won’t ever produce results. That’s also why it’s important to keep a good flow of communication and contact with your best sources of business to keep your practice on the top of their mind. The hosts discuss the importance of balancing your time between doing the work and getting the work to allow you plant as many seeds as you can and hopefully reap a harvest.

Regardless of how you feel about the results of the 2016 Presidential election, we can learn a lot about marketing our small or solo firms from this election. When President-elect Trump launched his campaign, there were 17 other GOP candidates. He distinguished himself and rose to the top by first analyzing “Who are my voters.” Just like we talk about lawyers trying to reboot – your first step is analyzing “Who are my clients?” “Where will my business come from?” Focusing and targeting your message is clear and no one did that better than Donald Trump. The other factor is being true to yourself – be authentic. If you were to ask his voters to list three adjectives about Trump the word “authentic” would be one of them on all their lists. If you would ask Clinton voters – as much as they like her – that word would not top the list. Finally, he gave voters concrete promises of what he would deliver that resonated with his target voter. That equates with our mantra of offering value to your prospective clients. While many pundits will be analyzing this election for years to come, lawyers looking to develop or reboot their practices would do well to learn the lessons of the 2016 electoral season

Scott and Oscar were asked to present about podcasting at this year’s Above the Law’s Academy For Private Practice. The hosts talk about their presentation and also discuss their takeaway from the conference. ATL presented many highly-informed and qualified speakers who talked about the place for lawyers in the gig economy; what legal tech works best for small and solo practitioners; and the rapidly changing face of legal practice in the new millennium. All lawyers need to assess their practices and see how it has been and can be affected in the new legal landscape. The host talk about specific things they learned and appreciated from the conference and how listeners can apply some if these tools to their business.

The hosts talk about Scott’s decision to stop focusing on Special Education Law, one area of his growing practice that he felt tended to “muddle the message” of the rest of his practice. It was not an easy decision as Special Ed Law was an integral part of Scott’s Reboot plan. Nevertheless, as the hosts point out, you should look at the overall picture and message you are sending to potential clients. Also, it’s hard to give up something you have committed to but sometimes it’s necessary to make sure you continue to grow and develop. Part of Rebooting is making the hard choices about what works and doesn’t work for your practice.

As the popular book “The E-Myth” teaches us, you must be the craftsman, manager and the entrepreneur and none of those positions can be neglected. However, you must also be careful that paying too much attention to one role can be very impactful on the practice overall. The problem most often arises when the things you put into place force you to put more time into the craftsman phase of your legal practice. You have to consider what can be out-sourced or delegated to others. Delegation of course requires you to then shift time to the manager side of the practice. The other answer is to find ways to organize your time carefully and realizing that your growing practice may have to encroach on what you had previously scheduled as “free time.” Legal technology can be helpful in finding this balance as there are numerous programs for practice management that can save you time and money. You have to always be mindful and vigilant of how these three parts of your practice are being handled to make sure that your law practice is operating properly.

In advance of their presentation at the Above the Law Academy for Private Practice event in Philadelphia on October 28, 2016, the hosts discuss some elements of podcasting and how they use it to help their professional growth. They provide some pointers for listeners thinking about launching their own podcasts including doing some research on what’s out there, lining up a few guests, and thinking several shows ahead. Having a podcast is a good way to add value to your website or blog, put yourself out there as a thought leader on a subject area and have content available for prospective clients to find and listen to and get to know who you are.

Scott and Oscar remind listeners of how things can go viral very quickly on Social Media. They recount examples of how lawyers have gotten in trouble or mocked over social media posts and social media campaigns. Be mindful of who are your friends on platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and remember that they will see what you are posting. The hosts also discuss how taking certain stands on issues of law could come back to haunt and could hurt your ability to get clients in that area. The caution extends to how lawyers present themselves when they get a high-profile or media-worthy cases. You can’t be too careful – what you say and how you look will be floating in cyberspace for a long time and may be the first thing people see about you when they do a search for you or for a lawyer in general.

While there are many positives about having a solo practice there is one glaring negative. There is no other person that understands or cares about your practice the way you do. The hosts discuss why they think it is imperative for solos to seek out other like minded solos and to build a support system of other attorneys who you can rely on to help you with feedback.

We hear from lots of lawyers and law students asking us about what are the first things you have to do to start a practice. Many think its picking out office space, designing business cards, and choosing letterhead. While those steps need to be taken eventually, Scott and Oscar say that Step One is to have a vision plan about what kind of law you want to practice, where is the work going to come from? Remember that you will likely not have a lot of income in the first three to six months, so what is your budget for that time period and how are you going to cover it? Step Two is to educate yourself about the area of law you want to practice and the marketplace for it. Meet other lawyers who do that kind of work; ask if you can shadow them; join Bar association sub-committees on the topic to make connections and just try and grasp what you can about that particular subject area. Step Three is to make sure you are committed to being organized and ready to handle the work that comes in. The hardest part of a solo or small practice is finding the right balance of spending time getting the work and spending time doing the work. In the beginning especially, the hours and demands are harsh and the money might be lean. You have to make sure you are in a position to get through that initial phase and do great legal work for the clients as well.

Oscar and Scott begin this weeks podcast discussing the importance of referral partners being aware of and in agreement with how the referral fee is going to be handled. They then discuss treating that source as more than just an outlet for cases. They advise you to think of any referral relationship you have and take the opportunity to take this person out to lunch and discuss your relationship.

When dealing with clients and referral sources, one aspect that will always lead to a negative impression is either not being respectful of or wasting that persons time. While you may thing taking a quick phone call during is a meeting is “no big deal” it can most definitely leave a bad impression on the client. Likewise you need to have a understanding of the kinds of cases your referral partners are looking for as well as the job they are expecting from you. You don’t want to waste the time of someone you are trying to do business with.

Scott and Oscar continue their discussion about New York Matrimonial Lawyer Jolene Louis's ebook, “Things I Wish I Knew About Social Media Marketing before Going Solo.” They dive a little deeper and discuss; - Using Instagram to attract clients - Using Facebook ads to providing information - Using periscope to expand upon a blog post or tour of you office - Importance of managing online reviews Ultimately everything you put out into the social media world should show your value, authority and authenticity.

New York Matrimonial lawyer Joleena Louis wrote an ebook entitled ""Things I Wish I Knew About Social Media Marketing Before Going Solo."" Oscar and Scott discuss some of the advice she outlines such as; - Using social media to advertise - Not advertising to your followers - Keep social media professional - you are your business - Understanding the balance between staying professional vs. your personal opinion - Does having a large amount of followers automatically give you authenticity - Why Blog?

A recent NY times article about Howard Stern discussed how he used a life coach to change the focus of his show and kind of “reboot” his format to make him more open to a larger audience. Jumping off that as a talking point Scott and Oscar discuss how they used David Allen’s time management book “Getting Things Done” to help organize their practices. Whether you use “GTD” or a life coach or any other system, the important thing is to plan your practice. You have to make choices daily as to what action you are going to take; how much time do you have to do it; how much energy do you have to do it; and what are the priorities. You have to find a way to get yourself motivated to change the course of your practice and sometimes having a third party getting involved can provide that motivation. The practice of law does not let you sit idly by: you have to take charge of the various tasks required by the practice and the opportunities available to grow the practice. Do whatever it is that you think will help you get there and stick with it.

Coming off last week’s discussion about work-life balance, the hosts talk about finding “joy” or “enjoyment” in the practice of law. One of the principles that Reboot Your Law Practice has focused on is trying to find a niche area of practice that you love or which greatly interests you, and targeting your reboot in that area. The hosts discuss an article written by Linda K. Robertson for Slaw, an online magazine which was entitled “Practicing Law with Joy.” Ms. Robertson notes that the top five criteria for happiness at work (not just for lawyers but for workers generally) are autonomy, respect, the belief that your work is important, opportunities for growth and appreciation. Money does not appear in the top criteria. Scott and Oscar then discuss how to focus your efforts into those five categories and you will find that the money will come. Not only that, but if you move your practice into an area that you are deeply interested in and love to do, the benefits to your personal motivation and – yes “Joy” will be enormous. Through personal anecdotes and examples, the hosts offer ways to think about your practice and move in a joyful and meaningful direction.