The importance of mentors

While the subject line of this post is a no brainer, I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences on the subject.  Without a doubt, mentors are essential to the development of every lawyer.  This is just as true for the newly minted lawyer as it is for more seasoned attorneys.  The reason is simple: law and the practice of law - very separate entities - are two vast oceans that can easily swallow up the unwary practitioner.  Mentors, function like life lines - or a walking/talking GPS, if you are very lucky.  With the help and guidance of a mentor, you are that much more likely not to stray into the path of an iceberg (Read: most sticky situations you thought back in law school would never happen to you as a lawyer).  

Mentors come in all shapes, sizes and from all different walks of life.  There's no set criteria for finding one and no rule that says you are limited to just one mentor.  I consider myself lucky to have no less than three solid mentors, as well as two or three other back-up mentors.  Solid mentors are those attorneys who have not only expressed their committment to helping you, but have demonstrated it time and again.  These are the lawyers who are willing to take your "urgent" call even though its 5:35 PM.  These are the same people who reply back to your email, on the same day, to give you feedback on a pleading you asked them to look over.  Put simply, these are the folks that sincerely want to help you succeed as an attorney.  

Back-up mentors, for lack of a better term, are no less committed or sincere about helping you succeed.  However, because of their own work/life committments, they aren't able to devote as much time as your solid mentors.  Even so, it's important to have these kinds of mentors in your life if only to give your solid mentors a much needed break.  Afterall, the last thing you want to do is be a pest.  Also, this type of mentor is more likely to be closer to you in terms of years of experience practicing - roughly within five years of your experience level.  So the relationship is more on the level of colleagues, rather than the master-apprentice relationship of a solid mentor.  

A healthy mix or ratio of solid and back-up mentors provides a good wealth of experience from which to benefit.  It can also provides you with a strong support system.  Inevitably, there have been times when I doubted my decision to open my own practice.  There have even been times when I doubted my decision to become a lawyer. The latter usually coincided with some extremely complex legal or procedural question that I just could not figure out for the life of me.  My mentors have all played key roles in helping me through difficult times or solving tough issues. 

So this post is as much to thank them for their help and guidance as much as it is to urge you, dear reader, to seek out some mentors of your own.  

Rainmaking: Contract work and hearing coverage

Yesterday brought a profound and sweeping change to what has felt like years of dreary dreams without any sense direction or financial stability.  And on top of that, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, took office yesterday too!  Without a doubt, President Obama's inauguration was beyond profound and captured the hopes of the nation.  But, of much smaller significance in the grand scheme of things - but of great personal significance to me - yesterday marked my first real foray into the world of contract legal services.  And just over twenty four hours later, I was asked to take on two more projects!

I'm finding that contract work can be rewarding both professionally and financially.  First off, it is a wonderful opportunity to network with other attorneys that you might not otherwise meet.  Second, depending on the nature of the work, it is a chance to take a closer glimpse at other areas of law.  Third, from a financial standpoint, it can help supplement your revenue and improve cash flow during these lean times.   All of this can be accomplished regardless of whether you offer to cover hearings, draft documents, or simply take on a legal research project.

While contract work might not lead to the kind of "rainmaking" that will buy you a vacation to Hawaii for a week, it could lead to a steady stream of work that pays the rent or a much needed CLE course.  There are a number of books and blogs on the subject that cover everything from marketing to malpractice insurance issues.  Likewise, those considering adding contract work to their practice should consult their state bar's code of professional responsibility as well.  

Rainmaking: To Craigslist or not to Craigslist?

Over the past month I've been keeping a close watch on Craigslist.com.  Okay, to be fair, I check out the website every day to see who is selling what.  It's amazing to see all of the different items that people are selling.  You can imagine, then, my intrigue when I came across the "legal" link under the "services" section for my local area.  Each posting date was packed with no less than a dozen different ad listings for lawyers offering their services.  

After checking my state bar association's ethics rules on advertising, I posted my first Craigslist ad about a month ago.  Less than two weeks later, after not so much as a nibble, I tried it again.  And then again two days after that.  Maybe I'm better at fishing than advertising on Craigslist.  See Recharging and Reflecting.  In all fairness though, my sporadic posts were likely swallowed up by the numerous ads that appear like clockwork in that section.  

I've recently heard from the local-lawyer-rumor-mill that some small firms have broken advertising on Craigslist down to a science.  In a nutshell, they have an assistant post their Craigslist ad as that assistant's very first task in the morning.  This can be tedious and time-consuming considering that Craigslist doesn't allow you to post the same or strikingly similar ads within a thirty day period from the same user account.  This means you have to either create another account to repost the same ad, or tinker with it just enough so that the website system will accept the ad.  In terms of time spent versus results, I'm not convinced yet that this would be the most effective use of my time - since I'm the one who'd be doing all of the morning posting.  Even so, it's hard to argue with free advertising.  

2009: A New Year with New Possibilities

Happy New Year everyone!  It's taken longer to get back to blogging than I thought it would.  So far, 2009 is off to a good start.  Where December was a relatively quiet month in terms of potential new business, January has been anything but quiet.  And the month has just started!  Although I'm a cautiously cynical optimist, I think that 2009 will be full of new possibilities.  

Late last month and recently, I've been busy researching new ideas for marketing and rainmaking.  Additionally, I've been looking into ways to fully utilize the technology I'm currently using in order to improve client services.  Finally, in light of the current market condition and demand for legal services, I will likely add a third area of practice.  I'll be covering these topics and more over the next few weeks.  

Meanwhile, what do you think 2009 will have in store for the legal profession?  Many are forecasting a tough year that may see more layoffs.  Others see an opportunity to reorganize and diversify legal services in direct response to issues that contributed to, or were spawned by, the current economic climate.  

Client Matters: The Inevitable No Show

One of the down sides to being a solo is the specter of prospective clients who schedule an interview and never show up.  No matter how serious someone sounds over the phone, you just never know whether they will actually show up until they walk through the door.  Worse is the fact that few, if any prospects ever call to cancel their appointment.  Well, one out of four isn't too bad, I guess.

But it doesn't pay to be irrate or hold a grudge.  It's bad for your professional image and bad for business.  And in the case of today's no show, the fact that the streets near my office were closed due to a parade in the downtown area makes for a pretty good excuse.  

With no shows, you never know the reasons why they don't show up.  But, just because they didn't walk in through the door today does not mean that they won't tomorrow.  It's just part of the business and comes with the territory.  

Rainmaking: Do You Habla Espanol?

Today I fielded a call from a prospective client that was referred to me by another attorney.  I was warned ahead of time that the prospect spoke Spanish.  To my relief, I later discovered during the early part of  the phone call that the prospect also spoke English.  Was that a momentary air of apprehension, you're liking asking yourself.  Darn right it was.  Don't get me wrong, I can and do speak Spanish.  However, it's not my first language and I don't consider myself to be a fluent speaker.  While I've conducted a decent number of client interviews solely in Spanish, I often found myself constantly worrying afterward that something got lost in translation.  Fortunately, that never turned out to be the case.  

As a Hispanic attorney, this has been an on-going concern for me for quite some time.  Prospective clients, both bilingual and Spanish-speaking only, tend to expect that their attorney can communicate in both languages.  Likewise, bilingual attorneys with Spanish speaking clients who need assistance outside of that attorney's area(s) of practice are more likely to refer those clients to other bilingual attorneys.  How, then, does someone break into that market?  I have relied on a few personal rules that have continued to work well for me.  

First, a little self-confidence can go a long way.  When I stop reminding myself that Spanish isn't my native tongue I find that my words and thoughts flow more smoothly.  This, of course, translates into a more productive client interview.

Second, don't get cocky and understand your limitations.  My verb conjugation and pronounciation isn't perfect, but much better than my skill as a fisherman.  So for me, trying to sound as eloquent as a Spanish Tv news anchor or radio show host just isn't going to happen.  But that doesn't mean that I can't hold a conversation and still get my point across.  

Finally, be honest with yourself in order to strike a balance between the two rules.  By taking an honest look at my limitations, as well as my confidence levels, I've found that I'm more effective with bilingual clients than with those that only speak Spanish.  With two languages to fall back on, the consultations run smoothly and few details, if any, are missed.  Equally important is that I feel comfortable and confident during the interview.  Clients are quick to pick up on that and, generally, feel more relaxed as a result.  

So when asked whether I habla espanol, I keep three things in mind.  Be confident.  Be realistic.  Be honest.  

Work v. Life: Recharging and Reflecting

It was a beautiful day today.  So I went fishing with my step-daughter, (let’s call her Diva), father-in-law (let’s call him The Captain) and brother-in-law.  When we arrived at The Captain’s favorite fishing spot on the shore, the current was a lot stronger than expected.  Since I’m not much of a fisherman – downright pathetic, to be honest – I deferred to The Captain’s experience.  He privately told me that we weren’t likely to catch anything today because the current was too strong and moving too fast.  But we were determined to make the best of it and the whole point was to get the kids out of the house for a little while.  We didn’t catch anything other than a couple of mosquito bites, yet the four of us had a great time just being together.

The trip and The Captain’s words got me thinking.  As I already said, I’m a terrible fisherman.  And as a general rule I hate baiting the hooks with live bait.  Maybe it’s some sort of residual trauma from a past life experience as a shrimp.  Diva, on the other hand, took to it like a natural – that is, once she got over the way the bait shrimp squirmed and wiggled in her hands.  She said that it wasn’t so bad once she knew what to expect from the shrimp and the way it reacted to her.  Watching Diva reminded me of myself during the first few days after I opened my practice:  scared and unsure until I finally took a deep breath, closed my eyes and took the plunge. 

New client interviews, deciding whether or not to take a particular case, and negotiating with attorneys only slightly more experienced than me were all nerve wracking experiences.  Truthfully, to the new solo attorney anything outside of that comfort zone of previous experience can be scary.  But as Diva showed me, it’s not so bad once you get used to it.  And the only way to get used to it is to just stick your hand in the bait bucket and grab the shrimp by the horns – prawns.  You get the idea.