One of the benefits of striking out on your own is that you can finally have the law firm you’ve always wanted. All of those experiences from prior jobs can be distilled into your firm’s philosophy, used to create your ideal work-life balance and inform the technological purchases you make.

Actually, it might be more accurate to say that you can eventually build the law firm you’ve always wanted. So many of those first decisions are based on necessity.

One of the common complaints from BigLaw lawyers is that the only option is a work-life imbalance weighted heavily in favor of work. The culprits are common enough: long commutes, heavy billing requirements and a need to impress the higher-ups in hopes of access to the partnership track. In that type of culture, it can be difficult to ask for time off or to suggest some type of alternative working arrangement (like once-weekly telecommuting).

I think smaller firms tend to have a better track record for some things — telecommuting seems a little more common, for example. All of my past firms have been understanding on the time off issue. My biggest concern has long been the ability to get two days off with almost zero notice when we get foster care calls. Fortunately, it has never been a problem.

My second concern, as most parents know, is being able to call out on days when the kids can’t make it to daycare. Somehow it always worked out, but I can’t help but feel a bit guilty about taking unplanned time off.

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On any given day, I may be in court. After enough trips, the process has become somewhat routine. I make sure that I am prepared, I arrive before the scheduled time (which allows me to talk with opposing counsel or go over any last-minute details that may have come up with my client), I wait to be called by the court and then we are off to the races.

I am also fortunate because the clients that I usually represent (businesses and their owners with any disputes that arise throughout the life of their companies) usually have some familiarity with the legal process. Essentially, for the most part, they already understand the legal process or understand the process after a brief explanation.

Unfortunately, for others, the legal system is a foreign concept shaped by two- or three-minutes clips from the daily news and hour-long legal dramas (a la “The Firm,” “Law & Order,” “Boston Legal,” “Ally McBeal” and “L.A. Law,” to name a few). These misconceptions of the practice of law (which make for good television) run contrary to the work performed everyday by each member of the legal system, including judges, lawyers and courthouse staff.

During my clerkship in Baltimore City Circuit Court, I was interviewing with the  state’s attorney’s office, public defender’s office and a private, civil defense law firm. During my interview with the PD’s office, I was asked, “Will you have any problems with representing a client who allegedly committed one or more terrible crimes?”

After a short pause, my response, which I still believe to this day, was: “All attorneys have a commitment to zealously representing their clients. In addition to representing your client, an attorney is a member of the judicial system.  Public defenders protect individuals and their rights. They protect against self-incrimination and unlawful searches.  On the flip side, state’s attorneys protect the rights of society. They help make sure that there is law and order. Without both, the system does not work and justice fails.”

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I had the pleasure of moderating a Maryland State Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Education Committee panel presentation Thursday night. Our topic: “Navigating Discovery as a Young Lawyer.”

It was a great panel, if I do say so myself. The organizers of the event did a great job of picking panelists —Magistrate Judge Charles Day and attorneys Kathleen Howard Meredith, Michelle Lipkowitz and Lisa Hall Johnson. And we had a great turnout.

The panelists were full of great tips on how to get a case started on the right foot. Some of the ones that I wrote down included:

• Take the time to outline all of the claims and defenses in the case at the beginning of the case, before starting to delve into discovery.
• Again, before starting discovery, take the time to get to know the client, how the client does business, where and how the client generates and stores documents and who the key people are (both in terms of the facts of the case and in terms of the client’s operations and document management systems). Visit your client’s place of business, if possible.
• Bring and use a translator — have someone who speaks the client’s language (or your IT contact’s language) with you at the beginning of the case.
• Get documents organized from the very start. Most panelists recommended keeping documents in both electronic and paper format, Bates labeling meticulously and making sure your electronic copy of documents is OCR’d.

In addition to the sample documents that we passed out, panelists noted some helpful resources:

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In an effort to become more organized and more environmentally friendly, I am attempting to make my life paperless (or at least, my work life paperless).

Throughout the course of any attorney’s day, he or she will review documents, draft pleadings, take notes and read case law. My personal method of organization would be to have case-related, binder-clipped stacks of documents on my desk with either a Post-it or letter-sized piece of paper of to-do’s for each case. I would also have a corresponding handwritten list, which was a compilation of everything that I had to accomplish for all of my cases. Finally, I would have an electronic version of the list saved in my firm’s system in the event that someone has to take over a case because I am indisposed. (What would happen to my cases if I get hit by a bus?)

I would then spend time crossing off and adding additional work from the lists. I would review pleadings and case law and documents in paper form, all the while making handwritten notes, highlighting relevant text and leaving Post-it notes to mark important sections. Then, I would have to get these notes scanned in, so I would have an electronic version of my work just in case something happened to the hard copies. (What would happen if a tornado hits my office and all of my stuff were destroyed?)

This system works for me, but it was time-consuming and took extra effort to keep organized. So began my quest to go paperless and become more efficient. My goal is simple: use as few hard copies as I can, save a couple of trees, get more done in less time and decrease office expenses for the use of the copier, ink and paper.

The first thing I did was get an iPad. (Actually, it was supposed to be an iPad my wife and I would share for family stuff, but since I take it to work with my every day, I think she has resigned herself to the fact that I have claimed it. I have promised to get her one for her birthday or if we win the $540 million Mega Millions jackpot). I then downloaded a few very helpful apps:

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As of a couple weeks ago, I am no longer a solo practitioner. Although I’m joining a great firm, there are many things I’ll miss about solo practice, including the opportunity it gave me to grow as a leader, test myself in new and unexpected ways and help people I would otherwise not be able to.

As a solo attorney, you are the one leading your law practice, which is a business, just like any other professional services organization. You are frequently the CEO, CFO, CTO, and marketing director all rolled into one, and how you balance those roles will determine your business success. But while you’re juggling all those things, you first have to do good legal work and give your clients great customer service.

Fortunately for me, I had a number of years of experience before I went solo. This not only gave me a level of comfort with the legal work, but it also allowed me to tap into a network I had cultivated over that time.

These days, times are hard and a lot of lawyers are hanging their own shingle fresh out of law school. My advice for those young lawyers is to carefully prepare and consider writing a business plan that includes answers to the following: what resources do you need (office space, phone, computer, etc.), what area of law will you practice, how will you attract clients and market your services and how much income do you need to survive.

There’s plenty more to think about but also plenty of resources to help you figure out the answers to your questions and help you develop a successful business plan. One place to go is the Law Office Management Assistance department of the Maryland State Bar Association. There you will find a wealth of resources to help you develop and design your law practice. While it will not always be easy, it will be liberating.

My own experience as a solo was both rewarding and challenging and took me to places I’d never thought of, including the opportunity I have now to be a part of a new office within long-established, reputable firm.

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Forgive me for what will be a short post. Forgive me for any lack of wit. I’m tired.

Why? I was really sick for a week in January and had to take a week off at the beginning of this month to deal with some family stuff. What does that mean, really? Working lots and lots of hours to try and close the gap in my goal numbers. And that means… I’m TIRED.

Due to the lackluster job market, people are doing whatever they need to do to keep their jobs.

“If you’re lucky enough to have a job right now, you’re probably doing everything possible to hold onto it,” Sara Robinson wrote recently on AlterNet in an article titled “Bring Back the 40-hour Work Week.” “If the boss asks you to work 50 hours, you work 55. If she asks for 60, you give up weeknights and Saturdays, and work 65.”

Studies researching the results of the 40-hour work week and overtime productivity repeatedly show industrial workers have eight reliable working hours in them. On average, you get no more widgets out of a 10-hour day than you do out of an eight-hour day. Likewise, the overall output for the work week will be exactly the same at the end of six days as it would be after five days.

So, paying hourly workers to stick around once they’ve put in their weekly 40 is basically nothing more than a stupid and abusive way to burn up profits. Let ‘em go home, rest up and come back on Monday. It’s better for everybody.

This is truly enlightening if you consider the number of hours an attorney at a big law firm puts in per day, per week, and per month. Above the Law reviewed Robinson’s story, concluding “one should work to live, not the other way around.”

However, it seems like the majority of working Americans are “the other way around.” I watch as my friends in law firms toil for 12 hours a day, only to spend their few, free waking moments drinking and venting about how they have no lives.

What do you think? Do you think American working culture will allow a return of the 40-hour work week as the norm?

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