Next time you’re in court and you’re negotiating with the other side, really pay attention to opposing counsel and how they talk to their clients.  Many times I see attorneys talk at their clients and then when their clients talk back, they start to write on their yellow legal notepad.  The whole time the client is talking to them, it’s just a lot of writing.  Even when they look up at their client, they’re still writing.  Now, writing down notes is important but there’s a time and place for it.  When your client is talking to you, your full attention should be on your client and NOT on taking notes or your notebook.  You can jot down notes later.

Keeping eye contact and reflecting the facial expressions of your client back at them is important in fostering a good attorney-client relationship because it shows the client you care about their case and you also care about them.  Don’t forget that attorneys are in the business of customer service above all else – we just happen to practice law.

TrialPad acts as your trial binder, laptop and powerpoint presentation, all wrapped up in one.  The visual aspect of the app makes it very intuitive to use.  Basically you make folders of your cases that are going to trial and you put your exhibits inside the folders.  TrialPad is also fully integrated with Dropbox which makes the ease of transferring your trial binder documents into TrialPad that much easier.

As you can see from the picture below, I’ve selected some documents (just from my forms folder on my dropbox so I’m not showing you real client files) that I can select and port into the folder I’ve created.  In real life use, I would probably not port all the files all at once, but just like making a trial binder, you should be doing it as the litigation progresses so by the time trial comes around, you have a full trial binder and minimal work is required to jazz it up.

After selecting the files, it then gives me the option to put it into folders.  TrialPad lets you have multiple cases at the same time.  What you see below is the case I created just for this review called Smith v. Jones.  The other two folders you see are the instructions that come with the app.

Once I get the files ported into the correct client folder, I can start to manipulate it as if I was at trial.  If I had this hooked up to a projector in the courtroom, you can see that it has one of the most important function for documents in a trial attorney’s arsenal - the call out.  TrialPad lets me easily select a line or block of text and the program automatically does the animation to pull it out and draws attention to it.  This used to be a multi-step process when done in powerpoint but now, it’s simply a touch and drag option.

Similarly, the highlight function is useful to highlight selected text.  You can combine the highlight and then call-out function to really draw the audience’s attention to the selected text.  In the past, all this animation had to be pre-planned and done in advance on powerpoint.  TrialPad’s intuitive touch and drag makes the process more organic and fluid and you can adopt your presentation depending on the situation.  For example, if you’re questioning a witness and they reference something in a document, you can quickly go to it in your folder, highlight it and call it out.  There’s no need to pre-plan.

TrialPad also let’s you display 2 documents, side by side, to aid in comparison demonstration.

While in dual document mode, you can use any of the annotation tools such as call-out or highlight on both documents.  This can be extremely useful if for example, you want to present evidence of forgery by comparing signatures side by side.

Another often used function is the pointer option.  We used to have to carry around a  laser pointer and while navigating a presentation, use it to point to things on a screen.  Now that pointer is built in to the app itself.

If you’re ever in a trial and instead of referencing a document, you need to explain a complicated idea to a jury or judge, there is also a whiteboard feature in TrialPad.  It lets you easily create chalks for trial.

In addition to documents, TrialPad also supports photos and video.  This is especially useful as you can see below.  You can quickly and easily use Google Maps to pull the jury’s attention to the exact spot where an auto accident occurred and then illustrate what the witness on the stand is saying by drawing on the photo itself.  This is dynamic, reactive and in real-time for everyone to see in the courtroom.

The call-out function also works for pictures if you want to direct the jury’s attention to a specific detail in a photo.  For this, I would recommend a very high resolution photo.

Lastly, you will notice that on the bottom of all the slides above, there is a button or slider that’s labeled “Output”.  What this does is control what the audience sees and it’s not necessarily what you see on your iPad.  This basically replaces the old cardboard or notepad placed in front of the projector trick.  As you can see from the picture below, with the output turned on, the audience only sees the graphics part (or the right panel) of your screen, not the entire contents of what you see and functions on your iPad.

A very useful resource I’ve found in trying to figure out all the options of TrialPad or any other app is to search for it on Youtube.  There are many video reviews for apps which provides a good how-to on all the features of an app.

Have fun with TrialPad!

This is the story of a girl who went solo and called it quits.  My story begins in May 2008 when I graduated from law school.  I spent that summer studying for the bar and planning for a wedding.  I got married in September 2008 and started my two year clerkship term in October 2008.  My plan was to finish out my two year term as a clerk and hopefully start to work at a law firm focusing on employment law.

Knowing that my clerkship was going to end in October 2010, I started to look for a new job in the beginning of 2010.  After sending out countless cover letters, resumes, and writing samples, it quickly became clear that the job market was very competitive, and there was not much out there.  I only received one interview after sending out many, many applications.  Things were not looking good.

Then my job search came to a halt in June 2010 when I had my son.  I decided to take a break from the job search, and I took the summer off for maternity leave.  I returned to work at the end of the summer, and ended my clerkship in October 2010.  I was sad my clerkship was ending, but I was happy to lose my three hour round trip commute each day.  While I love Boston, it was too far away from my home and I hated losing all that time each day commuting.

The job search began once again.  I quickly realized that almost everything that was posted was in Boston and I did not want to work in Boston.  It was also very discouraging to send out application after application and receive not one interview.  So slowly, but surely, with encouragement from my family I started to think about hanging my shingle.  My husband had steady income and he carried out health insurance so it was an option.  I attended the MCLE course “Hanging Your Shingle” along with the LOMAP start-up meeting.  Both of these courses were excellent resources.  I read some books, talked to some friends, and away I went!

I was very, very cautious about spending money.  It took me almost three months to decide on a location.  I thought about virtual office space, but there was nothing close enough to my house that would be convenient.  I looked into renting office space, but I was way too nervous to commit to a one year lease when I did not have one client.  On a whim, I emailed a local attorney I had never met and asked if I could use her space to meet clients and I would pay her on a per use basis.  She called me right away and said that arrangement would be fine with her.  She also agreed that I could use her office for my business address.  It was essentially a virtual law office, but only 10 minutes from my home and I could use it as often as I wanted.  I was so excited!

As for the rest of my expenses, I purchased a new computer, printer, scanner, and Dymo LabelWriter.  I changed my home phone number to use for my business phone, got a fax number through an online service, set up a website and email through godaddy.com, and ordered some business cards.  I purchased my liability insurance and set up an IOLTA account.  I also went to an IOLTA training seminar through the Office of Bar Counsel.  I set up my office in the basement of my house and I was ready to go.

I decided to focus on real estate since I knew some people in the real estate industry.  Even though the real estate market was not the best, I figured it was a way I could get a steady stream of income initially.  I contacted some real estate attorneys and got advice about how to become an agent for a title insurance company.  I attended some MCLE courses and read everything I could about Massachusetts real estate.

I received my first real estate deal in March of this year.  It was the first time I had to make all the decisions in the workplace.  I had no coworkers or boss to look to for guidance.  I felt very vulnerable and nervous.  Luckily, I had a friend who was a real estate attorney.  I also reached out to a fellow Starting Out Solo member who basically saved my life.  She walked me through everything I needed to know.  I was up very late the night before my first closing balancing my HUD and going over my final numbers with her.  I will forever be grateful for how much she helped me!  I would not have ever got through that deal without her.

I knew I needed to build up my business so I joined some bar associations and my local chamber of commerce.  I am a social person, so going to networking events was always fun.  I gave out my business card and made small talk.  However, I had a hard time dealing with the lack of results for the amount of time I felt I was putting into networking.  I remember Jared from LOMAP stressing the marketing aspect of the business.  However, marketing was just not my thing!  The marketing aspect of the business quickly became a thorn in my side.  I realized that I am an impatient person who does not like rejection.  Summer came along, and I started to rethink going solo…

And them BAM, my husband got laid off.  I tried to be calm, cool, and collected but inside I was panicked.  He carried our health insurance.  I was making barely any money.  How could this work?  How could we afford health insurance if my husband did not have a job?  The job market was awful, and every day more gloom and doom reports came on the news about how things were not going to get better any time soon.  Our son was 14 months old, and doctor appointments at that age are a frequent occurrence.  I was already rethinking going solo, and at that point I knew I had to start applying for jobs.

So I applied.  And I applied.  And I applied.  I applied to everything everywhere.  Attorney positions.  Non-attorney positions.  I did not care.  As long as the job had decent pay and health insurance, I was applying.  I received many rejection letters and one interview.  The job was for a non-attorney position with a very reputable company.  I had high hopes, but I did not land the job.  I tried to remain positive, but when you have a young child and a mortgage and bills to pay, you start to panic.

And then it seems that all the stars aligned.  A job was posted for a firm looking to hire a litigation associate only 25 minutes from my house.  No litigation experience necessary.  I applied right away, and two days later I got an interview.  Then I got a second interview.  And then I waited for a phone call….

It was Labor Day weekend.  We packed up the family and headed to my in-laws up North.  Once we arrived my husband got a phone call.  He received a job offer for a better position with health insurance benefits.  We were so excited!  We celebrated all weekend.   And then the week after I received a job offer from the firm close to my house!  I could not wait to receive a steady paycheck again.

I started with my new firm at the end of September.  I had some real estate closings to wrap up for my firm and I just did my last closing last week.  I am now in the process of fully winding down my solo practice.  It was a one year journey that I will never forget.  I loved being my own boss, making my own hours, and calling all the shots.  I did not like the marketing, rejection, and anxiety that came along with having my own practice.  I simply could not handle the business aspect of the business.  I wanted to practice law.  I did not want to run a business and I am glad I quickly came to that realization.  I am happy I tried it, but I am also happy that I made the decision to close up when I did.  Going solo works out for a lot of people.  It did not work out for me and I am ok with that.  I am proud of myself for putting myself out there and trying to do something very difficult.

I am thankful that I had the support of my family, friends, and most importantly Starting Out Solo.  I do not know how I would have made it through this year without this group of attorneys.  I have never met many of you, but I feel like I know you well.  You made the scary journey of going solo not as scary and provided many laughs along the way!  I cannot thank you enough.

On August 15^th my entire life changed.

My husband and I had just sold our home and were moving.  Closing day was scheduled for August 15^th.  We had been packing and sorting all month and started moving the week before.

My husband became very ill.  He had been tired the whole week and not himself, but I put it down to moving.  No one likes to sort and pack and haul things, especially in the summer.  But the day before closing, he was violently sick.  He finally agreed to go to the hospital at 5 am on August 15^th—closing day.

Our family came and finished up the move for us while we were at the hospital.  Due to a series of mishaps, the closing attorney was not ready with the documents, and so the real estate agent came to the hospital for us to sign continuances.  It was a long nightmare of a day.

My husband was admitted to the hospital, and a few days later was transferred to Boston by ambulance because he was so ill and had so many complications.  In the meantime, I camped out in one room of our new house (after attending closing alone on August 16^th with my power of attorney and in sweatpants I had worn to the hospital, because my clothes were packed in a box that I could not find), found people who daily came to take care of our dogs, and spent 12 + hours a day at the hospital. The contractors had already begun a renovation on the new house, and of course that had hit some delays too, so the contractors were at the new house every day and calling constantly to ask me what kind of hardware we wanted for the little metal strips on the floor and did we want 4 recessed lights or 6.  When my husband was transferred to Boston everything became worse, because then I also had to fight Boston traffic in a car which was no longer working well.  Our family spent days at our house unpacking and sorting so that I could find my clothes and maybe some dishes and the coffee pot.  My mother flew in from out of state to stay with me while my husband was at the hospital, and she dealt with the contractors for me as much as she could, unpacked boxes, and took care of the dogs.  I called my husband’s place of employment and started arranging for him to use his sick and vacation time, and to start the process of applying for long-term disability.  We did not have a stove so friends brought my mother and me meals we could heat in the microwave or treated us to Iunch.  And every little thing that could go wrong did.  Verizon went on strike and we had no internet, phone or cable.  The car broke down.  One of the dogs had to go to the emergency vet late one night.  My husband’s ambulance was in an accident with him in it on the way to Boston.  The basement flooded.  Lowe’s delivered the wrong type of dryer and it took two weeks to get the right one, and then they forgot the venting system.   The oil tank ran dry and we had no hot water.  I stopped sleeping all together.

None of us anticipated how long it would last.  My husband was discharged from the Boston hospital after a week or so, but over the next two months he was readmitted over and over, and until the last hospitalization, it was always in Boston.

Before all of this, my solo practice had finally hit its stride.  I had lots of active cases (mostly family law, but other types as well), and I had not had a slow month in almost a year.  I had new client calls several times a week.  I also worked with some other attorneys as an independent contractor and that supplemented my income.

But there was no longer any time to work.  I had to take my own personal Family and Medical Leave without pay.  I did not have a secretary or paralegal, so I returned calls using my cell phone in the hospital lobby and answered emails using my laptop while my husband slept.

Doctors were constantly coming in and out of the hospital room, and they had to keep running tests to try to figure out what was wrong.  I had to focus on the doctors and tests and medications, because my husband was too ill to handle it himself.  There were so many teams of doctors that I became the coordinator and would update each team on what another team had said or wanted to try.  I was also the person who made sure that medically my husband did not fall through the cracks.  I could not focus on my practice.

I did the only thing I could: I asked friends who were also attorneys, who had time, to handle my cases for me.  One person in particular managed almost everything.  She drafted documents and filed things and appeared in court for me.  She made calls and responded to emails.  She even made dinner and brought it to my house for my mother and me, because the new stove had not yet arrived.  Other attorney-friends also helped me cover things.  I referred out the new client calls, and stopped taking new cases.  More than one potential client did not even get a return call, because I was at maximum capacity for what I could handle on any given day.  I also had to eliminate some cases entirely from my case load, because they were on matters that my attorney-friends were unable to handle.  I referred those cases out and refunded fees, even fees I had already earned, because from the clients’ point of view, they had not received anything of value for their payment, as their cases were still in the early stages.  The earned fees came straight out of pocket.  I had to withdraw from a court-fund case with almost no notice.  In short, I started losing money fast, and my practice lost clients.

I did my best, emailing and calling clients to explain the situation without getting into too much detail.  I talked to clerks and explained.  My clients and the clerks were very understanding.   And I relied on the huge support network I am lucky enough to have.  I have very good friends who are attorneys and who offered, without hesitation, to handle my practice for me.  I had two teams—my home team and my work team—and they made it possible for me to be with my husband and manage the crisis with him while they handled just about everything else for me.  When I did make it to the office, the other people in my building (not all of them attorneys) always stopped to ask me how was I doing, listened to my tales of woe, and brought me coffee.  I received supportive emails and text messages daily from friends and family.  One attorney friend talked me through the process of applying for long-term disability versus SSDI.  Another helped me with some deed drafting issues for our new house.

Two months later, my husband is home from the hospital.  It will be a long time before things are back to normal, and he is healing while I adjust to being a caretaker.  I went back to work part-time this week (by part-time, I mean I spent about 10 hours in my office).  I have a lot to catch up on, and I still have friends helping me.  I do not have as many active cases as I did, and I am not earning what I was earning.  My desk is a bit of a disaster and my office plant might not make it.  But my husband survived, thanks to the grace of God, my house is still standing, thanks to our wonderful family, and my practice survived, thanks to great friends who handled my practice for me at a moment’s notice.  I will be going to court for the first time in two months next week.  I even took on a new client. Things are definitely getting better.

But a solo just cannot do it alone.  A solo attorney absolutely must have a strong support network of family and friends, and other attorneys, who can help them in times of personal crisis.  Without my family, I would be living in a shack with a flooded basement right now.  Without my attorney friends, I would have no job left at all, and I might be facing malpractice claims.  Without faith, I would have lost my mind, making all of the above null and void anyway.

It is a fact of having a solo practice—solos need others, period.  I am so grateful for the friends and family who took care of my life for me while I took care of my husband.  I owe all of them a vacation to Hawaii but I cannot afford it.  The best I can do is to thank them from the bottom of my heart, and to be there for them should they ever need me.

I recently came across the story of a new solo from Washington who started his law practice.  He was doing well for about 6-months (and by well, I mean he had one paying client a month) and then all business just stopped.  For the past several months he was netting about $350-$500 per month.  There was no way he was going to survive.  He started to get desperate and took on cases even though  his full retainer wasn’t paid.  He resorted to taking cases in areas he didn’t want to practice then.  He worked from home and then one day, the unthinkable happened.  Unbeknownst to him, his roommate missed a rent payment and his landlord illegally locked them out.  he was suddenly homeless.  He didn’t have his computer, client files, clothes or anything – just the clothes on his back.  He sent an email out to a listserv sounding desperate and maybe suicidal.  He was definitely at the end of his rope.

Should he quit as a solo?  I think so.  And there’s no shame in that.  He probably didn’t have the advantage of starting out his solo practice with a nest egg or help with family.  As a fellow SOSer, Jonas Jacobson said, “Money provides the lubrication to make mistakes.”  When you don’t have money, you have no wiggle room for mistakes.

Growing up in school, we were processed through this assembly line of education where we sit, learn and take tests.  If we failed a test, it was a bad thing and we were shamed.  If we got an A, we were praised and everyone assumed we were smart.  School however doesn’t teach us the necessary life skills such as learning from failure; coping with failure; picking ourselves up when we fall; and the value of failing.  We learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes.  Afterall, if we succeeded, why change or learn.  Then as adults, when we fail, many of us never learned to cope and failures, like death and taxes, are inevitable and like interest rates, are only compounded as we get older.

My advice to the attorney in Washington would be to quit solo practice (at least for now) and do something else.  Try to get a legal job.  If that’s not possible, get a non-legal job.  If you can’t get a full-time non-legal job in this economy, then get a part-time job.  Get several part-time jobs.  The important thing is to stay alive, learn from your failures, and live to fight another day.

For me, I hired my first employee – an intern- when I found that my legal work was starting to interfere with my business work.  What I mean by that is that I started to realize that I was spending all my time answering the phones, doing client consultations, drafting motions, going to court, etc. and not enough time networking, marketing, and working on the business.  The realization is that if I kept on that path, I would be busy, yes, but I would never grow bigger because I wasn’t investing in the future but rather, I was simply concentrating on the here and now.

I hired my first employee through the Northeastern University School of law coop system and it was fantastic.  My first intern (who I have subsequently hired as an associate) did most of the legal work, while I supervised.  It freed up my time so I could take my contacts out to lunch, network and market by writing blogs posts and joining Boards and Councils.  Without help, I would’ve never grown my firm to the point where it is now with 3 associates.

What about money?  You are bound to lose money when you hire an employee at first.  That employee will not be able to generate you the business but over time, picking a good employee, whether we’re talking about a secretary, paralegal, associate or law clerk, will make you money.  It just harks back to the old addage – you have to spend money to make money.  But remember to spend your money wisely.

via Lifehacker

The lesson here is attention to detail matters.

I’ve seen some pretty bad motions, briefs, and even website content written by lawyers over the years.  Surprisingly, many of them come from more “seasoned” attorneys.  One possible explanation could be that they’re too comfortable and letting their standards drop or that they’re letting associates or paralegals do their work without checking.  If you’re a new or solo attorney, one way to stand out, to your clients, other attorneys or in court, is to pay attention to details.

Spell check your work.  Grammar check your work.  Proofread your work.  Details.

[Attorney]: The fee for the legal service is $250/hr with a $5,000 retainer.

[Client]: That’s too much.  Can we do $200/hr with $1,000 retainer?  I promise I’ll pay.  And I can refer my friends to you.

We’ve all, at one time for another, had a client say a version of the above conversation to us.  It happens to the best of us.  The question is, what do you do in that situation?  The answer is simpler said than done.  You of course, hold your ground and don’t lower your fee.  But what happens to a lot of attorneys (not just new or young attorneys), is that we start to bargain with our client and inevitably, we lower the fee.  And in many cases, months down the road, we’re suddenly surprised that this great client isn’t paying us.  How could we have missed the warning signs?!

Here’s a couple of strategies I use to sell my services to a skeptical client and not budge on my fees.

Sell them your expertise, not your fee

What I mean by that is to sell the client on your expertise before you sell them on the price of your legal services.  If the client knows and trusts that you’re the best fit for them, then price is no longer the primary decisive factor between you and the next attorney they’ll call.  You sell them on your expertise by doing very extensive intakes, really listening to the client, and not only giving your client advice about what they want, but tell them what they need.  If you can effectively sync up with your client and tell them what they need before they tell you what they want, you’ve just sold them on your expertise.  The last thing you should do is quote them a price.  At that point, they’ve already decided to hire you despite not knowing the fee.

Show them how you negotiate

In most consumer oriented practices such as any type of civil ligation, transaction deal, family law, etc., you’ll be spending a lot of time negotiating a deal with the other party or opposing counsel.  What the client is paying you for most of the time, is your ability to negotiate on their behalf and get them the best deal possible.  So when a client asks me to lower my fees, this is what I tell them,”If I lowered my fees because you asked me to, then you shouldn’t hire me because what you’re hiring me for is to negotiate on your behalf and if I can’t even effectively negotiate the fee that I know I deserve, what makes you think I’ll be able to negotiate effectively for you?”

At this point, the client should be throwing money at you.

What other techniques have worked for you?  Tell me in the comments.

“If I lowered my fees because you asked me to, then you shouldn’t hire me because what you’re hiring me for is to negotiate on your behalf and if I can’t even effectively negotiate the fee that I know I deserve, what makes you think I’ll be able to negotiate effectively for you?”