Advice for young lawyers and law students: Get practical experience

The general consensus seems to be that most law schools do little, if anything to prepare their students for the actual practice of law. It is a constant refrain on many law blogs devoted to legal practice and marketing, and law firms seem to grumble about it, too.

Susan Cartier Liebel, of Build a Solo Practice, LLC, gets a glimmer of hope upon hearing a radio ad for a law school that touts its preparation of students for the actual practice of law:

I was truly impressed. Maybe, just maybe, not every law school aspires to be the next Yale. Maybe, just maybe, more positions will open at these law schools for adjuncts who actually practice law. Maybe, just maybe more law schools will opt out of competing for artificial ranking in U.S. News and World Report. And maybe, just maybe, as we preach to new lawyers to fashion practices centered around the client those same law schools will fashion educational programs around the needs of their clients, the students. And maybe, just maybe, the ABA will loosen up or revamp their accreditation process to mandate more skills training so the education makes more sense in the real world.

That would be nice, wouldn't it? I have to admit that I was awfully caught up in the old way of doing things. The reason, I think, is that I loved the process of learning the law. Loved it. I'm one of those guys that was always volunteering answers in class instead of praying that the professor wouldn't call on me. I relished the hours in the library, briefing cases, reading hornbooks, and drafting outlines. Geez, I think I even liked exams! 

I did very well in law school, and I guess I just assumed that my law school success would eventually lead to success in practice. The "ideal" career model at the time seemed to be to get a job with a big law firm (which I did), spend the first few years in the library and learning the ropes (which I did), gradually take on more responsibility for dealing with clients (which I did), and eventually start networking and bringing in clients (which I never got the hang of), after which you eventually made partner (which I never had a realistic shot at — see "bringing in clients"). 

In retrospect, neither my approach to school nor my career path were the best for me. Sure, I loved law school, but I failed to take advantage of clinics that could have taught me more of the nuts and bolts. 

And the big firm? I really didn't like most of my big firm time, and would have gained a heck of a lot more practical experience, and probably a lot more skill at networking and business development, at a small firm. 

It's never too early to start gaining practical experience. Do it in law school, if you can.

Have I been too negative?

Until my last post, I did not even have a "successes" category of posts. Oh, I already had categories ("labels," in Google Blogger parlance) regarding state of mind, like "attitude," "motivational resources," and "personal." But nothing explicitly designating a success.

Odd as it may seem, especially with my recent comment that this is a sad blog, I hadn't really thought that I was writing this blog or running my practice with a severely negative attitude (somewhat negative, sure). But I suspect that my lack of a "successes" category up to this point is because I was being too negative and overlooking other successes.

It took a big one like this — which I'm hoping is a sign of things to come — for me to start a "successes" category. Here's to many more posts going into that category!

UPDATE: You used to see this in my sidebar:

Not anymore. No doubt I will still use humor to get by tough times, but I think I'll try to keep it uplifting. I realized that sidebar gadget was violating my advice not to joke about failure.

Hallelujah! The blog finally brings in a paying client!

I can't believe it! After nearly 18 months of blogging, during which I put up more than 600 posts, finally — finally — I have signed up a paying client that found me through my professional blog (not this one, obviously — my other blog).

This started coming together last Thursday, when I picked up a voicemail from someone who had come across my blog. Immediately, I knew this contact had potential, but I was afraid even thinking about that would jinx it. A couple of phone calls later, a couple hours brainstorming at the client's office yeserday afternoon, and . . . I was driving back to the office with a $5000 check in my briefcase.

I had just about given up hope, especially with a severe run of people looking for free legal services a couple of months ago.

Let's hope this new client is a sign of things to come!

Your Pedigree -- What It's Good for, and What It Isn't

I like to make fun of lawyers who went to big-time law schools, mostly because (1) I did not, and therefore probably have a chip on my shoulder I am unwilling to admit, and (2) from what I can gather from my friends who went to schools like Cal (Boalt), Michigan, Stanford, etc., their education prepared them more for running a political campaign than practicing law. I had one colleague in a BigLaw firm who used to joke that I taught him torts, but he really wasn't stretching it too far.

Anyway, let's run down my pedigree first, so you can see that it has little to do with success or failure as a solo; at least, little to do with my success or failure as a solo. Perhaps it has greater impact for others.

In any event, this is me (again, deliberately vague to preserve my anonymity):

• Graduated from an elite undergraduate institution in the early 80s with an engineering degree.
• Took my degree and became an officer in the Marine Corps for several years.
• Got out of the USMC and did a few jobs while I applied to law school.
• Finished in the top 3% at a highly-regarded regional law school. (I don't think "highly regarded regional law school" is an oxymoron.)
• Went to work out of law school at a huge international firm (1000+ lawyers), then left for a "small" 400-lawyer firm after a few years.
• In-house general counsel for a privately held company. Then . . .
• Starving Solo.

Note that the prestigious undergrad education, top 3%, prestigious "ticket punching" law firms, and responsibility for all legal matters of a substantial privately held company all amounted to a hill of beans when it came time to go solo, because (1) none of these things taught me anything about how to do it, and (2) there was no way for me to I couldn't figure out how to parlay these credentials in the solo world.

As far as using this background in my marketing, it may have actually hurt me. You see, I was in BigLaw in some big cities. I now live in a much less urban area about an hour and a half outside the nearest large city, and I don't think the lawyers around here think too much of those kind of firms. Which doesn't exactly increase the odds of referrals. And clients -- at least real people -- really couldn't care less where you went to school.

Why I am Anonymous on this Blog

Think about it. If you were writing about your mistakes in starting your practice and getting clients, would you want people -- and possibly prospective clients -- to know it was you?

An attorney has to project trust, experience and confidence. I work very hard at projecting these things in my interpersonal communications. None of them would be easy to convey if prospects knew how little business I have right now, even if that is not in itself indicative of my skills.

The Wall Street Journal recently had an article about an attorney at some large law firm who was suffering from stress and burnout and started a website about it to help other lawyers. He is not anonymous. But I think he has less reason to be. He is a highly successful lawyer for a powerful firm serving powerful clients, apparently quite well in spite of the stress and burnout. In other words, he is writing about the downsides of success.

I, on the other hand, am not writing about success of any sort. Unless, of course, my efforts to turn around my practice work out.

I suppose there is a possibility I'll go public once day, but I'll have to be so wildly successful at that point that I will have no concern about words from this blog coming back to haunt me. But until that time, I'll probably have to be deliberately vague about certain things: my location, schooling, legal experience, my practice areas, etc. will probably only be described in general terms in order to preserve anonymity. I'll probably even have to be vague about my turnaround efforts, even though they are one of the main subjects of this blog.

I'll do what I can to make this blog useful while remaining anonymous.

About this Blog

Don't be deceived by the title of this blog, which might sound a little flip, tongue in cheek, maybe even satirical. This blog is not intended as a spoof of any of the fine solo practice blogs out there (many of which are in the blogroll to the right). Nor is this a legal humor blog like Above the Law, Lowering the Bar, Legal Antics, etc.

This blog is deadly serious.

I started my solo practice about two and a half years ago. It is horribly embarrassing to admit, but I still have negative cash flow most months. I have struggled like hell, mostly ineffectively, to get clients.

I can hold out for a few more months. But I have to turn things around quickly.

This blog will chronicle both my past failures and my current efforts. I'm hopeful I can get in the black soon. I have to. Wish me luck.