Contents Preface to the First and Second Editions................. xi Preface to the Third Edition......................... xiii Preface to the Millennium Fourth Edition............... xv Preface to the Platinum Fifth Edition................... xix Acknowledgments................................. xxiii Part I: Getting Started Why Has This Book Been Written?.................... 3 The History of This Book........................... 6 Have Confidence You Can Do It: An Historical Perspective. 8 Should You Start Your Own Practice? (You Can Do It)..... 10 Am I Competent to Give Legal Advice?................. 16 Should You Work on a Job for Experience Before Starting Your Practice?...................... 17 Being a Contract Lawyer to Get Experience and Money While Building Your Practice.............. 19 Earning a Living Between Graduation and Opening Your Practice........................ 25 Should You Start with Another New Lawyer?............ 35 Practicing with Your Spouse......................... 38 Should You Practice Another Business or Profession While Starting Your Law Practice?................... 39 Should You Specialize?........................... 43 Naming Your Law Firm............................ 45 Sole Practice v. Partnership v. Shared Office.............. 47 The Written Business Plan......................... 49 Managing Your Student Loan........................ 54 v
vi Contents Part II: Getting Located Where Is the Best Place to Open Your Office? (From a Client-Getting Point of View)................ 61 Where Should You Locate Your Office for Your First Year or Two? (From a Cost Point of View)................ 65 Should You Trade Space for Services?................ 68 How Do You Get the Best Space Arrangement?........... 71 Practicing in a Law Suite............................ 74 Practicing from Your Home......................... 79 Virtual Law Offices................................ 85 Part III: Getting Equipped How Much Cash Do You Need to Start Your Practice?..... 89 How to Get a Rich Relative or Friend to Finance Your Start-up Costs by Offering Tax Advantages........ 92 Checklists of Needs for New Law Office................ 94 Office Supplies and Procedures....................... 99 Personal Computers, Word Processing, and Office Technology 108 Should You Do Your Own Word Processing?............. 131 Should Your Office Furnishings Be Lavish?.............. 134 Announcements, Stationery and Professional Cards, Christmas Cards, and Mailing Lists................ 137 Part IV: Getting Clients How to Handle Friends and Relatives.................. 147 How to Market Your Services........................ 150 Cost-Effective Media Advertising...................... 152 The Internet and Your E-Mail Addresses................ 159 Your Web Site(s).................................. 160 The Importance of Accepting and Promptly Returning Telephone Calls................................. 161 Managing Written Communication.................... 165 Can You Get Clients from Organizations?............... 175 Cold Calling to Get Clients.......................... 176 Getting Clients by Using Charities..................... 178 Insurance Claims Adjusters: A Source of Clients........... 179 Shmooze Your Vendors............................. 181 How to Accept Personal Injury Cases.................. 183 How to Communicate Settlement Offers to Clients........ 190 Representing Seniors............................... 192
Contents vii Can You Get Clients by Running for Political Office?....... 203 Getting Paid Work from Lawyer Referral Services......... 205 Getting Legal Fees and Work from the Government........ 207 Getting Legal Work and Fees from Other Lawyers......... 210 Minority and Affirmative Action Work and Money........ 214 How to Get More Legal Work from Existing Clients by Mining Your Closed Files......................... 217 How to Recognize and Handle Conflicts of Interest........ 220 How to Keep Clients............................... 228 How to Satisfy a Client............................. 231 How to Lose Clients............................... 233 Cases and Clients That Should Be Turned Down.......... 234 The Prospective Client File.......................... 239 How to Say No to a Client or Case.................. 241 Accepting Cases With Doubtful Merit.................. 246 Damage Control If You Are Fired..................... 248 Part V: Setting Fees The Fee and Representation Letter (The Engagement Letter).. 255 Referral Fees or Division of Fees...................... 261 Engagement Letters, Nonengagement Letters, and Disengagement Letters........................ 262 Balancing the Public s Need for Legal Services and the New Lawyer s Need to Eat.................. 267 How to Set Your Fees.............................. 269 Making Yourself Affordable Without Lowering Your Fee (Alternative Billing Arrangements)................... 277 Don t Quote Fees or Give Legal Advice over the Telephone or by E-mail to New Clients....................... 280 Cash Up Front Shelly s Rule and Foonberg s Rule...... 282 Getting Money Up Front from New Clients.............. 283 Cash Fees....................................... 285 Client Costs..................................... 286 The Importance of Cash Up Front for Survival (Also Known as Foonberg s Rule )................. 288 Getting Paid by Client Credit Card.................... 289 Financing Your Practice with Bank Credit Cards.......... 291 How to Get Cash Up Front to Reduce Bad Debts and Increase Cash Flow and Avoid Going Under........ 298 How to Word Invoices That Clients Are Happy to Pay...... 300
viii Contents The Importance of Monthly Billing.................... 305 Final Billing on Completion of a Matter................ 307 How to Make Clients Happy to Pay Legal Fees by Selling Them Stationery........................ 310 How to Make Money by Reading Advance Sheets, Technical Journals and E-mail Law Bulletins........... 313 Typical Client Costs............................... 315 Can You or Should You Pay or Receive Forwarding Fees or Referral Fees?................................ 316 Bedside Manner in Setting Fees..................... 321 Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)................... 324 When and How to Withdraw from a Nonpaying Matter.... 326 Part VI: Managing the Law Office Management of the Law Office General Comments....... 335 Time Management 101 Finding Time and the To-Do Lists.. 336 Organizing Your Day and Your Life to Make More Money by Planning and List-Making....................... 339 Managing Telephone Communications Never Let the Sun Set on an Unreturned Call........... 344 Organizing Your Desk to Make More Money............ 355 How to Keep Time Records to Make More Money and to Preserve Evidence of Work Done.................... 358 Getting Ready for Your First Clients................... 363 Typical Court Forms............................... 371 Sample Generic Checklists and Forms.................. 378 Your First Court Appearances........................ 386 How to Interview a Client........................... 393 What Clients Want: Learn How to Listen to Clients When They Talk (Foonberg s Rules of Listening)........ 400 How to Conduct a Meeting (Foonberg s Ten Rules)........ 402 Preceptors and Internships........................... 406 The MacCrate Report.............................. 409 Negotiating Skills................................. 411 How to Maintain Bank Accounts..................... 414 How to Maintain a Trust Account to Avoid Disbarment..... 419 Insurance Needs of the New Lawyer................... 425 Don t Forget Taxes and Licenses...................... 434 Why You Need a Personnel Manual................... 436 Bookkeeping and Accounting Systems.................. 440
Contents ix The Office Cash Flow Survival Budget.................. 444 The Paperless Office vs. The Less Paper Office............ 448 Paper and Computer Document Management............ 450 Organizing Your Computer Files...................... 455 Simple Hard-Copy Filing Systems for the New Lawyer...... 458 Distinguishing Between Prospective, Active, Closed and Dead Files............................... 463 Closing and Disposing of Files........................ 465 Destroying Old Files............................... 467 Destroying Old Files When the Client Has Disappeared or You Did Not Follow Proper File-Closing Procedures..... 470 What to Do With Electronic File Data.................. 472 Fondling the Files................................. 476 How to Build a Good Form File...................... 482 Library Needs and Costs............................ 489 How to Buy Law Books (If You Buy Them at All)......... 503 Saving Money by Eliminating Postage and Express Delivery Services.......................... 505 Squeezing Extra Hours into the Day to Make More Money.. 508 Timely Delivery of Work............................ 515 Should You Use a Telephone Receptionist, Telephone Exchange, Mechanical Answering Device, Telephone Company Service, or Voice Mail?........... 517 Why You Should Use Investigators.................... 519 Part VII: Ethics and Professional Responsibility Professional Responsibility and Practice Management...... 523 The Profession of Law Is Not the Business of Law......... 526 Handling Anti-Lawyer Jokes and Comments............. 531 Fifty-Two Ways to Win or Avoid the Ethics War.......... 533 What Are the Consequences of Violating the Canons of Professional Ethics, the Code of Professional Responsibility, or the Model Rules of Professional Conduct?........... 561 Ten Rules for Avoiding Disciplinary Complaints.......... 564 Practicing Professional Responsibility.................. 567 A Short History of Our Ethics........................ 569 The ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct...... 571 Ten Commandments of Good Trust Accounts............ 576 What to Call Yourself.............................. 582
x Contents Dealing with Foreign Lawyers........................ 584 Buying and Building a Law Practice.................... 586 Avoiding Disciplinary Problems....................... 588 Part VIII: Resources and Advice Where to Go for Help.............................. 593 Getting Free Management Help from Your Local Law Practice Management Advisor.................. 595 The Importance of Continuing Education............... 600 The Wheel Has Been Invented........................ 604 How to Manage and Collect Accounts Receivable......... 606 Where to Get Cost-Effective Help to Build and Expand Your Practice......................... 613 Foonberg s Short Course in Good Client Relations......... 617 The Importance of Doing It Right..................... 624 Checklist for Opening Your First Law Office............. 626 Part IX: Quality of Life Quality of Life Dealing with Difficult People............ 641 Quality of Life for the New Lawyer Starting a Practice...... 643 Quality of Life September 11, 2002................... 646 Epilogue: Proof That This Book Works................. 649 Index.......................................... 651 About the Author................................. 663