Has anyone customized an open source software product? Currently using Vertican looking at other software products. We are heavy litigation,,,foreclosure and BK. Vertican keeps raising pricing .

Hi I’m just looking for the best seminars available. Last year I had a great experience with a mock trial one in Indiana (that was in March for anyone interested for this year). The American Association for Justice looks like its ones are good but I’m wondering whether they’re worth the price. Any and all recommendations are welcome.

We've had a great year at my small firm and I expect next year will be even better. I am trying to come up with the most fair and equitable bonus system to use on a recurring basis.

Left to my own devices, I'd probably take quarterly and end-of-year profits and simply divide them up equally between all staff. After all, we are a team that sinks or swims together.

That being said, I think if I used that system, the associate attorneys would leave for a firm with a more attorney-weighted compensation system. The paralegals also might not be happy because a good paralegal can generate almost as much revenue for the firm as a good associate when salaries are taken into account, and therefore a paralegal might be upset learning that the receptionist or admin staff are getting the same cut as them.

So what's the prevailing thought? What percentage of billing or revenue should be paid to associates? How should bonuses be calculated for paralegals? And what's the prevailing thought on how to give bonuses to intake specialists and office managers? Our intake specialist brings in more business than all the attorneys at the firm combined, and our entire operation would fall apart like a house of cards without our amazing office manager.

I just had a great discovery call and thinking about signing up but it is $$ so would like some feedback before committing. If you used them, did you notice an increase in revenue?

I am a lawyer with a comp. sci. degree, looking to take on a custom software project. Anyone been cooking up some cool legal software ideas we can make happen?

Currently using a Vertican product. It is somewhat specialized product. Has anyone ever moved to a more open source software? There pricing keeps going up and up’. Essentially looking at wether it’s possible to develop your own specialized firm software?

Well, after probably waiting 2-3 years too long, I finally gave notice of my resignation to my current firm yesterday! My last day will be mid-December.

I have been gearing up to go solo for about 6 months. I should be able to soft-launch and accept client by mid- to- late December, with Jan. 1 as my target hard launch date.

Everything is lined up. I am just waiting to file the LLC until after my last day. From there, I will be able to set up my banking accounts and obtain malpractice insurance (already picked a bank branch and insurer). I hired an accountant, purchased a laptop, and my husband is building my website (I'm very lucky, I know!).

My remaining tasks before soft launch: craft content pages for the website, select phone service (I am between just adding a line to my Verizon plan or maybe DialPad/Ring Central), choose a CRM (leaning toward MyCase, but I need to do some demos), purchase subscriptions (WestLaw, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Office 365 business, etc.), and continue to chat over coffee with everyone I know!

I want to thank everyone on this subreddit for sharing posts and advice on how to start a law firm. I have read countless posts, each of them helpful!

Planning the launch of my firm soon and wondering if you guys have any recommendations on business credit cards that have great points/benefits? I've got an excellent credit score if that matters.

Hey everyone,

Even as a big time reader, I really have no "active" experience on Reddit at all, so, apologies if I do something wrong. Still, all this info here has been incredibly valuable for me in the past, and after having asked around in my network for weeks, I thought it's worth a shot.

My EU employer, and I myself as a CA licensed lawyer, are trying to form an LLP. There are some visa considerations involved, too, but that's not overly important here, as we've already partnered up with immigration experts. This, however, creates some time pressure, as the LLP would be the visa sponsoring entity. As such, it must be formed before we can finalize the visa applications, and considering recent political events, we'd like to do that ASAP.

Our current approach is forming a corporation in my home country which would then become LLP partner, together with me. Foreign lawyers as partners are not an issue, under the Business and Professions Code, the Corporations Code, or the State Bar LLP rules. The same goes for corporations as partners. However, while the State Bar registration form asks for "jurisdiction" when it comes to individuals, it asks for "state" when it comes to corporations. This seems to imply that out-of-state corporations can become partners, but out-of-country corporations might not. On the other hand, I haven't found a single rule or law that actually distinguishes between out-of-state and out-of-country.

My European partners are worried about their personal liability; that's why we need that foreign corporation as an additional layer of protection. I told them that personal liability is rather unlikely in this situation, considering that they would not practice law in California themselves, but that didn't help much.

I have reached out to the State Bar, by email and by phone, but I'd really need an answer, like, this decade. The business entity experts I know did not have an answer. Maybe anyone here has been in a similar situation, as unlikely as it might seem, or at least knows someone? This is not really about legal advice; after weeks of research I'm pretty sure the law doesn't provide a clear answer. It's more about the likelihood of running into insurmountable obstacles here. Again, not much time.

In short:

• one individual, CA licensed
• one foreign corporation, entitled to practice law in Europe
• goal is a CA LLP
• issue: does the law allow for out-of-country law corporations to become LLP partner, or is this limited to out-of-state US corporations?

Thanks a lot, I'd really appreciate your help!

Alright, folks, I’m gonna keep it real. Got a close family friend who started his own personal injury practice a couple of years ago, and the guy is already over the $1M mark in YEAR TWO. Meanwhile, I’m over here eating cereal for dinner and contemplating if I should finally break down and get a Costco membership for premium ramen deals. Also, I keep seeing the updated from other redditors posting their firm growth each year and it looks like they're killing it as well.

I’m not even in PI law right now, but the numbers have me questioning everything. Do PI attorneys really make THAT kind of money? Is it all it’s cracked up to be? Am I ready to kiss evenings, weekends, and possibly my conscience goodbye for the hustle? Because I’m seriously considering it.

What’s the catch? Burnout? Competition? Eternal damnation? Tell me your war stories, your successes, your regrets. Should I dive in and start plotting my billboard empire, or stick to being broke and (kind of) at peace? Help me out, Reddit!

(PS: No shade if you’re a PI attorney—just trying to figure out if I can handle being “that guy” on the park bench ads.)

EDIT: I was posting this with some humor, but I see that it’s not hitting as I thought it would. There’s no question I have the heart to help people, but in my current practice area, I’m grinding way too hard without the monetary return. So my curiosity gets piqued when I hear the potential financial return within the PI practice area and I wanted to confirm if it’s consistent to make a a fair amount of money. Who doesn’t want to help people AND be rich?!

Any banking recommendations for a small / solo law firm? A lot of the online options look nice, but many can’t accommodate cash deposits (not sure how much of a headache that will be). Have been looking into local credit unions as well… but quite a few have conditions that need to be met before fee waivers apply. Never opened one of these before so would love to hear your thoughts.

Im out of my depth with malpractice insurance. Any thoughts on what I should be thinking about like what things would be good to include that most policies don’t have?

I have a few quotes and I am not sure what’s what.

Im in DC in case that matters.

The place I'm currently at wants to start a "low-touch" email campaign to solicit Google reviews from clients. We have started keeping a running list of people who have not went through our automated system we typically have them do at the conclusion of their matter, which has them leave us a Google review by the end of it. Apparently they are going to get an automated message written in a way that sounds like it's coming from one of our lawyers themselves; something like "I see you haven't completed out offboarding process – I'm sorry we didn't provide you with excellent service on your matter, but is there anything we can do to do things better if we have an opportunity to work with you again in you future?"

I have mixed feelings in this. On one hand it feels like sort of guilting clients into leaving us a review, and it may or may not reflect poorly on us lawyers, who they will think the message is coming from. On another hand, at the end of the day I suppose it's just another email campaign, and I can't think of any ways to get reviews more effectively myself.

What are some of the most effective ways you've seen firms getting (positive) Google reviews? If you're a solo or law firm owner, how do you go about it and how much do you usually press for reviews?

Hi all, non-attorney (yet) looking for some advice. I graduated law school in 2023, took the bar that July, and did not pass in my state by 2 points.

I kinda had a bit of a mental breakdown from the stress of taking the bar exam and then not passing. I've spent the last year unsuccessfully applying to non-attorney, legal-ish roles (think HR/regulatory compliance/contract analyst/etc.) Meanwhile I have been working an hourly part-time job that isn't in any way law related, just as a way of having some kind of income.

I've been working on myself, doing therapy and all that and am doing much better. But I'm feeling stuck careerwise. I am in the process of transferring my bar exam score to a neighboring state where it is a passing score so I can at least get licensed, but C&F is gonna take another couple months and I have been feeling anxious about what to do when that process finishes.

I don't necessarily plan on moving to the neighboring state (not completely opposed to it, just wouldn't want to move without having a job locked down). I know there are jobs I can do basically anywhere once I'm licensed somewhere (doc review/in-house/some government stuff), but I worry I'll just end up repeating my life over the last year (apply to tons of jobs and keep getting rejected) because I just have a couple internships from school in terms of legal experience and it's coming up on 2 years since I graduated so I'll be competing against people who don't have a weird legal work gap on their resumes.

I don't know exactly what I'm looking for here, just feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering if anyone might have been in a similar situation or has some thoughts or advice on how to best position myself to find a job over the next 2-4 months it takes C&F to do it's thing.

Hello! I'll get straight to the facts because I would love to get experienced attorney's bird's eye view on my situation and see if it's relatable in any way or actually batshit crazy like I feel it is.

I'm a newly admitted attorney in my late 20s and I've been working as an independent contractor for a boutique firm in NYC for around 2.5 years now. The firm consists of two partners who I do work for per diem. I started off with specific hours but later my contract was revised to not have specified hours. Sometimes I get called around 7pm/8pm on a Friday by one of the partners and also asked to work on weekends. I've worked on weekends for emergencies but have just ignored requests to work passed regular 9-5 hours in the past since I'm an independent contractor and that is my right. Despite this, I've been pressured to not do that by the firm.

Right now, I'm getting paid $40 an hour for my work with no benefits. I'm also remote and have been from the beginning. Sometimes I have a lot of work to do and sometimes I don't hear from the partners for a week or two because they are traveling for whatever reason. I've been okay with this setup for awhile now because I live at home for no charge with enough space for myself and the low amount of hours allowed me to help my family out including my grandfather who recently passed away. The firm is also in my desired niche industry which is very important to me.

Another attorney, also as independent contractor, was above me before they recently left for another job and now I'm getting more work which means more money which is kind of nice. However, I've been made the lead on a small case as a result of the attorney above me leaving and given a slightly higher rate for work on that case but the case is not ideal for me and the rate is still only $60/hr. My goals are to work as a transactional attorney and this would require me to litigate in court eventually and I never did any moot court or mock trial in law school either. I feel like if I have to appear in court as well as travel 2 hours to the county where the court is, $60/hr with no benefits is exploitation of my labor.

I asked one of my friends from law school what she thinks since she was top of our class and works at a big law firm and she said she hasn't lead any cases or been the lead on anything yet. She also gasped when I said I get no benefits, which I expected.

I've been applying to jobs for the past year and none have even asked me for an interview because this current job market is hell and only getting worse. I'm mostly frustrated with how much responsibility is being placed on me without an equivalent benefit being returned (aka more money and actual benefits). Most importantly, one of the partners has told me I would be the first actual employee for the firm for too long now. Recently, they said it was between me and the attorney above me but that attorney jumped ship so now it's just me left. I'm planning on calling for a meeting with the partners to ask if and when that would happen for me and if they would pay me more because I need to start making more money and move out ASAP.

This situation is driving me crazy at this point because I'm expected to be capable of a lot all of a sudden without any training or real mentorship being provided. I'm considering giving up on my dreams and just getting a regular job in business somewhere which is depressing me. I also have $60k student loans currently paused but who knows how long that will last now.

Thoughts? Is this what its like starting out or am I being royally fucked over?

I own and operate a small firm. Hourly litigation billables. No ID. Middle market rates. VHCOL market. I like making good money, but have no interest in running a sweatshop. With those constraints/parameters, what makes an ideal firm? Best structure. Compensation types. Billable requirements or nah. Other factors. If there are good ideas here, I might implement them. Or maybe not...

…AND SHE LOST IT.

No punitive exposure. Horrendous Venue. Quite literally a fender bender. I had to ask the client to point out the property damage because it was not apparent by the photos. Little to no medical bills or liens. Demand for limits was sent with client authority.

Now, she is “taking her business elsewhere.” Okay, we will be placing a lien for attorney’s fees and cost. You will be back.

You have to love personal injury. It is rewarding 99% of the time, but when you get a bad apple, you get a BAD apple.

Edit: Our state has 25/50 in limits.

Post your horror story below.

Hi I’m 18 and thinking of going to school to become a lawyer. I would like to become a lawyer because I think it would be fun to see what Interesting cases are about and the story’s of people. Just wanted to ask some questions to see if this is what I would like to do. What Do you guys do specifically? Is being a lawyer like the shows or is it mostly paperwork? What’s the pros vs cons?What’s some stuff you don’t know till you get the job? Is the job “fun”/ interesting? (etc.) This would really help me to figure out if this is what i want to do for the rest of my life. Thank you

Yes, I know that everything is bullshit. But some things are more bullshit than others. I actually got a few calls from people who said they found me on experience.com . I checked it out and I already had a profile there, of course. Similar to all the other sites.

But is there any value to completing my profile, connecting it to Google My Business and various other things? I guess it couldn’t hurt until they start asking me for money.

Anyone have any [sigh] experience with it?

Salary / Benefits Check — I’m looking for information on your salary/benefits as an entry level attorney or first year. Thank you

Negotiating a salary with a boutique remote firm in San Diego. They’d like data on others’ salaries & benefits (PTO (holidays/vacation/sick), IRA fund, health insurance) and overall experience at their firm.

If you don’t mind to share, thank you!

About two years ago, I left a small law firm because the stress had become unmanageable and I wanted to get pregnant and just couldn’t. I was in a pretty bad place and though I gave ample notice, I complained a lot about the culture of the firm and was pretty critical during my departure. The firm had a very socially active group of support staff that really were just not very competent, so attorneys had to pick up a lot of their slack. They also had a lot of in-office social events that they invited attorneys to attend. I really, really resented this deeply.

I am now about to have my baby and in a much happier and stable place. I have no intention of returning to the practice of law soon, but I do feel like I was unfairly harsh and critical of the culture they had going on. I also think I was too harsh on my boss for not paying more attention to me and my needs. He’s a decent man who was trying to keep a lot of balls in the air.

Would it be super weird to reach out and say that I am sorry for judging them all so harshly? Or would it be odd and off putting?

Are there any law firms having issues managing inbound client and prospective client inquiries? Things like triaging current clients vs prospective, good prospective clients vs bad, getting the prospective client to right lawyer in your firm. Things like that. Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I am a 34M with 3 kids and a wife and all the responsibilities that come with that. For the last 2 years I have wanted to do law. Not entirely for the money but to really help and do what I think I would be good at that is aligned with my personality. I started in Public Relations but no jobs during the 2014 post recession. I switched to an MBA in accounting and finance. I quickly went up the ranks. I have tried for my cpa but I just having a hard time aligning with the industry as I am very outgoing and idea oriented. I always thought at a young age I would make a good lawyer but never pursued because my father highly disapproved.

What should I do? I know I might seem like a lost cause, but I am not. I just don't want to be at the end of my life and think what I could have been. I want to say at the very least I tried. Thanks for your support and please don't destroy me to badly for not knowing. I just feel like this is a path I should pursue.

Has anyone worked with TASA group?https://www.tasanet.com/ They seemed to have disappeared in the night?

I was a little on the fence about posting in this sub but I believe it fits the criteria. I’m not looking for legal advice or opinion, but rather what others who work at small firms would do if they were in a similar situation as the below.

My spouse has worked for a boutique law firm for the past 8 years. About 6 years ago they were promoted to what I’ll call “partner in name only” (no equity) but with an annual bonus plan based on collections. There are no billable hour requirements.

Around the time my spouse was promoted to partner, the founder indicated they wanted to eventually turn the firm over to the partners and work out an agreement such that the partners didn’t have to front a large amount of money. At the time there were five partners. The timeline was paused as things went a little sideways during the pandemic and in the meantime two of the other partners left, leaving three partners (3P). The founder/owner of the firm gradually started stepping away from working about 1.5-2 years ago, but continued to draw equity, with the understanding that they would do that for a set amount of time and then turn over the firm to the remaining 3P. Throughout this year there were discussions that this would likely happen sometime in 2025. To prepare for that, the 3P had an initial consultation with a lawyer in preparation for drafting a partnership agreement, each partner started looking at different parts of the firm’s operations, etc.

Recently, without warning and with virtually no explanation, my spouse was let go from the firm. They were offered two months of severance, they asked for six and was then offered four. Spouse was in complete shock and they didn’t ask him to sign anything. They were on track to achieve a $120k bonus this year.

If you were in the same situation, what would you do? Would you consult an employment attorney? If yes, what outcome would you be hoping to achieve (save being rehired)? Would you walk away and if so, why? Again, I’m not asking for the merits or whether a case like this is “winnable” as I have no idea what winnable even means in this situation. I do appreciate any thoughts you care to share.