Competition and Rivalry

By Bankruptcy Lawyer

As if being a solo was not hard enough with the stringent rules we have to follow, the client headaches, stressful workdays, income fluctuations but ah-ha we have to at times deal with the condemnation of older practitioners who feel that we do not have our place in "their world."

My experience is similar to that movie "Mean Girls." A group of solos in one particular practice area approached one of the Attorneys I associate with and stated that they were working to run me out because they did not like my fees or my advertising. These older solos have more clients than I do and charge more money. They felt as though I was cutting into their competition. All I can do is laugh. This is so childish that I don't feel that it should be worthy of a post; however, the backlash that i have received while practicing this particular area of law by other Attorneys and court officials has made me think that I am damned if i do and damned if I don't. I have to make a living and need to advertise to get the clients in and I can not justify charging more money than I do because it's simply not feasible for me.

So what do you do when your competition is systematically trying to run you off and file motions against you? and get other Judges and Court officials against you? You throw the wolves a bone. Although I think it was really immature for the wolves in sheep's clothing to not approach me personally, I will give them one concession, which is to not publish my fees. Although the publication of my fees are not against any ethics rules. BUT I will continue to advertise and do what I need to do to get my clients in.

Solos need to stick together and not work to tear each other down.

Good Luck Solo you will need it, there are hungry wolves out there searching for blood!

Rule 11 Sanctions

By Bankruptcy Lawyer

There is Federal rule which is a little more detailed and each state has their version of the Rule. In a sense it is a rule that provides Sanctions against Attorneys for filing frivolous claims and pleadings. The movant (persons requesting sanctions) must meet the standard and show the court the following:

Either:
"In analyzing whether a pleading, motion, or other paper meets the first certification requirement under Rule 11, the Court “must determine: ‘(1) whether the [party] undertook a reasonable inquiry into the facts and (2) whether the [party], after reviewing the results of his inquiry, reasonably believed that his position was well grounded in fact."Kohler Co. v. McIvor, 177 N.C. App. 396, 402, 628 S.E.2d 817, 822 (2006)

OR 

"T]he Rule 11 movant’s subjective belief that a paper has been filed for an improper purpose is immaterial in determining whether an alleged offender’s conduct is sanctionable.” Id. (citing Taylor v. Taylor Prods., Inc., 105 N.C. App. 620, 632, 414 S.E.2d 568, 576–77 (1992))."


Further, a brief is required in North Carolina to accompany the motion laying out the grounds for sanctions.

In Federal Court an addition requirement must be met:
"A motion for sanctions must be made separately from any other motion and must describe the specific conduct that allegedly violates Rule 11(b). The motion must be served under Rule 5, but it must not be filed or be presented to the court if the challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, or denial is withdrawn or appropriately corrected within 21 days after service or within another time the court sets. If warranted, the court may award to the prevailing party the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred for the motion."

Please keep in mind it is extreme burden to meet whether you are in state or federal court and should only be used in extreme cases. The court does not favor these motions and more often than not will not award them.

Practice Areas

By Bankruptcy Attorney

I have been an Attorney for several years and I have gone through several practice areas since opening my own law firm.

I originally had three (3) or so practice areas which i decided i would enter into because they were "hot" at the time.

I recently spoke to a solo who had been practicing for 20 something years and he told me that he had managed to stay alive by changing his practice areas with the times.


Here are my recommendations:

1. Do what interests you, because if you hate what you do it will show.

2. Change and alter an area or two as the market changes.

3. Stay informed. I know CLE is boring, but sometimes it can be extremely helpful. I am constantly updating myself on changes in the law.

4. Have a mentor in your corner for each area of law you practice so that you can pick their brain when you need to. Listservs can be extremely helpful. I head one solo listserv and I am on two others. We freely ask questions and exchange referrals.

5. Market yourself. It does not cost money sometimes to attend networking events or to call up your friends and let them know you are now solo and what you do. Create a website and send out some promotional information.


Good Luck solo, its a competitive market out there!

Practitioner Etiquette : Part 2

By Charlotte Attorney

Often times we get so caught up trying to defend our clients and put notches under our belt that we forget the other Attorney deserves respect.

Lets face it everyone makes mistakes, lefts face it. Everyone has a law degree and a bar license, which is pretty hard to get. That being said, everyone deserves respect.

Do your best

Follow the local and procedure rules

It's ok to try to frervently represent your client, but do not be rude or disrespectful to another Attorney

Get on the Phone talk to the other Attorney a lot of times things get lost in translation over email and pleadings

Your client has a goal and their client has a goal. Find out what their client's bottom line and what your client's is.

Talk to your client about realistic outcomes and goals.

If opposing counsel and yourself get off to a bad start, try to workout the differences and work together to get the case resolved with ethic rules in mind.

Good Luck Solo hard work is only part of the job, relationships is the other portion!

Unconscionabilty of Law Schools

By Bankruptcy Attorney

Every year new law schools are springing up and charging high tuition and fees. Why does the ABA allow this to occur? There is a supply/demand imbalance. There are fore more Attorneys than there are jobs and opportunities. The real reason is that Law Schools are businesses and they feed the ABA $ to keep their accreditation.

Take Charlotte School of Law For example. This is one of the most evident cases of greed. Tuition here is somewhere between $22,000-$30,000.00 a year. The received their accreditation sometime in 2008 or 09. It is a Delaware non-profit corporate organization and is run and owed by a series of investment companies in florida! What does this mean? A lot of people are going to lawschool these days thinking that they will get out and be able to get a good job. Good LUCK. Even biglaw attorneys (larger firms) are being laid off and forced to hang their singles and start anew.

So when you sit there and think about your student loan balance and how you will be paying that off for the rest of your life, think well at least i got a law degree! And that's just invaluable isnt?


Our contribution Attorney represents clients in North Carolina with: bankruptcy court, filing for bankruptcy, chapter 7 bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, chapter 13 bankruptcy representation, and loan modifications.

Reinventing the Wheel

By Traffic Attorney

One thing I have learned over the past couple of years is that as a young Attorney, you have to think of fresh new ideas to market your firm. The days of newspaper ads being the end all be all are over!

These days you have to go to marketing events. Be careful who you give your card to here, they may end up harrassing you for their services.

Advertise on the internet.

Send out newsletters

Give referral incentives.

Print promotional items: shirts, cards, magnets, ect.

Network with other Attorneys who are in different practice areas.

Whatever you do don't give up! Hanging your shingle is no easy task!

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