MSBA SoloPilot Blog

Katrina

I wanted to pass along a link to a blog from and attorney in Louisiana who has reflected on how the legal system has been affected by the hurricane.

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/012077.html

This article made me think of the many long lasting effects of this natural disaster. I will keep the blog informed if I find out any relief efforts that may be specific for attorneys. 

Ramsey ARS

I have been on the Ramsey County Attorney Referral Service for a little over a month now and  I have yet to receive a client from the list. I have received phone calls from the referral service that I have not been able to answer due to circumstances beyond my control.  I have come to realize that if you miss their call you miss your opportunity.  The ARS has only left one message and by the time I was able to return their call the opportunity was gone. http://www.ramseybar.org/refer.html

I suppose an answering service may be in order.

Solo Practice Group

Last night I attended our monthly Solo Practice Group at the Minnesota Bar Association.

We had two guest speakers, Derk Schwieger and Doug Debner, talk with our group about how they established a successful practice.  Derk’s primary focus is in criminal law, although he practices in other areas as well and Doug’s primary focus is in estate planning.  Their presentation covered several issues that solo practitioners deal with during the early stages of practicing law.  Some of the subject areas that were covered included how to utilize a paralegal’s assistance and how to go about obtaining their help.   There were suggestions about money management, client management and tips on handling daily office operations. Their presentation was very beneficial and encouraging.

PRO BONO

I will be attending the Volunteer Lawyers Network’s Annual Family Law Seminar next Wednesday.  It is 6.5 CLE credits and only $25 if you take a case.  I attended this CLE last year and found it to be beneficial.  The CLE provides an overview of the marital dissolution process and updates you on new legislation and court rules. You can find more info on this CLE at: ww.volunteerlawyersnetwork.org. I will let you know what I thought of the CLE next week.

Office Space

Ben and I met this morning to refocus our efforts concerning our firm.  Among other things, we decided we are going to begin the search for an office space.  Ideally we would like to be in an office set up with other attorneys.  We feel this will be beneficial in a number of ways.  There will be an opportunity for referral clients, there will be a possibility of finding a mentor, and we will have other people to ask questions of or just to interact with.  We do not want to fail because of isolation. If anyone has any information on where we can find a set-up like this, we would love to hear it. Thanks!

Solo Practice Pilot Group

Last night Ben and I attended our monthly solo practice pilot meeting at the Minnesota State Bar Association.  This is a group that was set up as a pilot program to see if enough people were interested in participating in something like this in the bar.  We meet once a month and usually speakers are there on various topics (insurance, family law, criminal law).  All things that a solo practioner just starting out would want/ need to know about.  Last night we did not have a speaker, but there were about six attorneys in the group there and we discussed how our practices were going and what problems we were having, and how we see this pilot group evolving.  It was very nice to be able to talk to other attorneys in our same situation.  That has been one of the nice things about this group; the interaction with other attorneys just starting their own solo firm or partnership. These kinds of interactions help me to maintain my excitement about our practice.

Rebecca Fisher

As Karen stated in the previous blog, we had the privilege of accompanying Rebecca Fisher to the LEC yesterday. This experience proved to be well worth our time. Rebecca answered all of our questions and allowed us to follow her every move.  She is apart of the Criminal Defense Services for Ramsey County.  She rotates with other attorneys who are on the CDSI at least twice a month.  This program is only available for those who fall in a lower income bracket, but whose income is too much to receive a Public Defender. I’m not sure about the exact income qualifications, but there was a calculator involved.  So my questions about exact qualifications stoped there. 

Shadowing

Ben and I spent yesterday morning shadowing an attorney at court in Ramsey County.  It was a great experience.  I was incredibly impressed by the openness of the attorney we followed.  She answered all of our questions, told us everything she was doing and why and made me feel comfortable.  It was great to be in the courtroom and interviewing clients.  In my current job I am not in the courtroom or with clients at all and it was really nice to recall why it was I went to law school and why I want this firm to be a success.  We are going to do some shadowing again this afternoon and I am looking forward to it!

Community Support

One of the nicest things I have found through our short experiment of starting this firm is the genuine support we have received from so many people.  We were having a problem figuring out what an appropriate announcement should be for our firm and a friend of Ben’s offered his creative help and skills.  Many attorneys, including the woman we are shadowing this week, have offered their forms, and most importantly their time to answer questions or give advice.  Many friends and family have offered to send us business.  One of my main concerns when we started this firm was that because neither Ben nor myself are from MN that we were going to have a very difficult time breaking into the community. I am happy to say that concern was unwarranted. 

Shadow Week.

This week begins our criminal law training.  Tomorrow Karen and I will be shadowing a criminal law attorney at the LEC (jail) for a CDSI.  If you know what these acronyms stand for please send a comment. (see below)  I am really looking forward to this opportunity.  Hopefully this week will expose me to enough different scenarios and when it comes to for me to practice criminal law I will feel comfortable in this environment. 

If you are reading this, and you are not Karen or Ben, could you please send a comment and make your best guess at what LEC and CDSI stands for.