Articles 2024

Rocco G. Scocco offers readers his personal “Top Five Lessons” learned in his first year of sole practice as a freshly minted lawyer. If you are seeking advice about whether sole practice is right for you, the only ones who can give that advice are other lawyers who have done it themselves. Most importantly, the only person who can know if it is the right choice is you.

It’s not a matter of if, but when. Technology continues to develop in ways that are both amazing and alarming and allow us to connect in ways we would have previously considered unimaginable. With increased technological advancement and reliance, however, comes increased opportunities for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities and access hoards of sensitive personal and corporate data, which means increased cyber risks for more and more organizations.

A law practice is a business and needs to be treated like one. The great lawyers that are running them need to learn to be great business owners. Here are five steps to help you get your practice running like a well-oiled and profitable business.

Top tips for preparing law practices for disaster and developing disaster plans.

A lawyer’s time is their most important asset. Therefore, having the right tools to help you manage your workload efficiently at the office is crucial.

In a competitive legal market, many bright minds gravitate to large and multi-national firms, often taking a cut in their social lives for larger salaries and swanky corporate benefits packages. Even for lawyers who desire a more balanced approach to their career and personal life, the sacrifice of a high wage can’t come without gaining well-positioned benefits packages.

With every interaction you are establishing your “brand”. Whether you are dealing with a client, service provider, administration staff, colleagues or superiors, how you react in each situation tells those whom you are dealing with what kind of lawyer you are.

The question of money is central to all firms – new or established. Without cash flow, you can’t make your overhead; you can’t pay your salaries; you can’t invest in marketing initiatives or take advantage of expansion opportunities. And so, when lawyers begin thinking about a new practice - along with choosing a name, a logo, finding a location, researching software tools and setting out a marketing plan - they must also think of the fees they will charge.

The CBA has been actively working towards undoing the injustice done to late Justice Gerald Le Dain. Addressing mental concerns of legal professionals is the need of the hour. In fact, the Law Society of Ontario’s Mental Health Strategy Task Force has included mental health initiatives as a strategic priority for the 2015-19 governing term.

Solo practice is increasingly the preferred alternative for the millennial lawyer.