16 years ago today I opened my practice.  I knew nothing – none of the field in which I currently practice, nothing of running a viable business, and zero about the definition of success.  All I had on my side was youthful optimism.

December 19, 1995.  I was 25 years old and had been admitted to practice for about 9 months.

No clients, no money, no valuable knowledge.

What did I do?  I set to work.

Every night was spent in the law library in midtown Manhattan.  Every day was spent in court poring over case files.  I spent time online (yes, the Interwebs existed) and did what I could to piece together scraps of knowledge.

When I landed a client, I charged a fraction of the market and let them know I wasn’t the most experienced guy on the block (indeed, in the building).  My first bankruptcy petition took about 80 hours of work to draft.

Now, 16 years later I still practice law.  I don’t mean that I am still a lawyer.  I still practice – I learn, I try, I do what I can to get better.  I’ll never be perfect, but I’m always trying.

You’ll never be perfect either.  Put in the work, learn the craft and be diligent.

Sometimes you’ll make a mistake.  That’s the imperfection of life.  Learn from those mistakes, and do everything possible to rectify them.  It’s all you can do.

And every day, go out there and practice.

Here’s to the next 16.

Image credit:  littlemaiba

I picked up a copy of Steve Jobs, the new biography by Walter Isaacson, yesterday afternoon during a lull in the day. Having a Kindle leads me to impulse purchases; click a button and suddenly you’re the proud owner a book you didn’t want to buy twenty minutes earlier.

I’m sure I’ll put up a full review once I’ve finished the book, but for now I’m 17% done with it according to the notifier at the bottom of my screen. I want to let you know that you absolutely, positively need to buy this book.

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When the honeymoon’s over and it’s not easy anymore, what do you do?  Keep going, or pack it in?

I remember vividly when I became a bankruptcy lawyer, and how much fun it was.  I picked up a cool computer program (Chapter 7..13, well before it was destroyed by the folks at Thomson-West), a few books, and a head full of knowledge.  Clients came in with new and interesting problems.  Best of all, the money was crazy easy.

This was back in 1996, when consumer bankruptcy work was like a walk in the park.  Learn the basics, fill out the documents, attend a meeting of creditors and move along.  No mortgage mess, no major credit reporting problems, no means testing.  I was like a puppy with a squeaky chew toy.

Eventually, the joy of exploration faded.  Clients became a chore, the work rote, the trustees difficult.  So I began to dabble in other areas, not so much because I loved them but because they gave me some variety.

Still, I couldn’t bear to walk away from my consumer bankruptcy practice.

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When I first became a bankruptcy lawyer way back in 1995 I was a solo.  I expected to build an empire out of my law firm, amassing an army of lawyers and support staff in an effort to take over the world.

Come on, I was 25 years old.  Cut me some slack.

Over the next few years I did bring on a partner and then a second.  The business arrangements were fine for a time, but unsuccessful long-term.

The problem was that I was picking the wrong partners.

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Do you know the proper role for the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant?

Some attorneys (not to mention a few VBA’s) believe a virtual bankruptcy assistant can train an attorney in the practice of bankruptcy. They also think that a VBA can (and should) get the court’s CM/ECF filing certification on the lawyer’s behalf.  Because of this misconception and other reasons, I feel it is important to discuss the proper role of this important professional to the way your office works.

If a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant offers to train you, run as fast as you can in the other direction. A VBA cannot and should not train lawyers. To do so is improper and dangerous.

When it comes to your bankruptcy practice and your license, don’t cut corners. Experienced lawyers such as Cathy Moran offer excellent training programs for attorneys, and these are only sources you should be using.

You can’t outsource your entire practice; delegating some of the administrative work will allow you to handle the complex legal matters, but this isn’t a field of law in which you can have a non-lawyer do for you in total. You, the attorney must have a command of the field.

Remember, I said that you must have a command of bankruptcy law.  I did not say you needed to know how to fill out forms.  Unfortunately, the notion of the “simple” Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case went out the window long ago.

How The Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant Can Be Involved In The Process

At the outset, meet with your VBA and discuss your current needs and assignments. Your VBA will send you a Service Agreement at which time you will review and sign so work can begin.  It’s like a retainer agreement between you and your client – defining the role to be played this independent professional is critical to a long-term working relationship.

After you have met with your client, your VBA (depending upon who you’re working with) may be able to undertake the tedious task of document collection and petition drafting. Your VBA should NEVER meet with your client without meeting with you first. Your VBA cannot legally determine your client’s best course of action.

Have lawyers asked me if I would call a new client to qualify them?  Sure, it happens fairly regularly.  Each time I decline I do so knowing that there’s someone else who’s willing to assist them.  If anyone but a licensed attorney does any of those things, it’s Unauthorized Practice of Law.  It’s also malpractice and puts your license at serious risk.

Now that you’ve signed up the client you can get your virtual bankruptcy assistant involved to help gather documents and information. It’s all done under your supervision, though; at no time does the VBA place his or her judgment before yours.

At the end of the pre-petition phase, your VBA will prepare a detailed petition ready for your review and approval.  He or she won’t go through them with your clients, won’t sign on your behalf, and won’t act in your stead.  You are the lawyer, and you’re the only one who is legally allowed to give advice.  Period.

Other Ways A Virtual Bankruptcy Can Help

If you’re a new to the practice of bankruptcy law then you may not have a full complement of forms and checklists.  Some virtual bankruptcy assistants will gladly share theirs with you, and they can be helpful in getting the administrative portion of a practice up and running.  But these are forms only, not substantive educational documents.

So the upshot is this – don’t make the assumption that outsourcing administrative work is tantamount to offloading your legal and ethic responsibilities to your client and your practice.  You’ve got to be well-versed and trained in the field of bankruptcy law in order to do a good job for your clients.  The ethical and proper role for the VBA is to support you in your efforts.

Image credit: EpicFireworks/Flickr

Vikki Watanabe is the President of the National Society of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants, LLC, a professional organization for Virtual and On-Site Bankruptcy Assistants located in the United States. She is also a working Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant.

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There’s a lot of talk about creating systems in your law firm.  I’m not opposed to it – in fact, we’ve got some pretty awesome systems cooking where I work.  The problem arises when you rely too heavily on that system.

In order for a system to work well, it’s got to take into account your clients and how their minds operate.

You want to send out a single letter when someone hires you, detailing the exact steps they need to take in order to do their fair share of the work involved.  Some clients may appreciate that one-stop resource whereas to others it will be information overload.  So you need to break it down for them, maybe into a few smaller letters or emails sent over a period of time.

You need to cover yourself in your retainer agreement, setting out the scope of the relationship.  But to a client, the language may be incomprehensible.  Time to re-word it.

It’s easy to forget to listen to your clients and solicit feedback.  Feedback is hard, forcing you to make changes and recognize that things aren’t perfect.  But it pays off.

Not only do I take this approach in my law firm, but also here at Legal Practice Pro.  Our listserv boasts well over 250 lawyers and provides a place to talk about marketing a law firm, office management and technology issues.  It’s become a vibrant community in a short time, and I’m looking forward to watching how things develop.

Why did I go decidedly old school with a listserv?  Because lawyers live and die on email, and I wanted to extend the conversation that takes place here on the blog.  Some of you love the comments here, others chat with my on Twitter and Facebook.  But In trying to nurture a more meaningful community I adjusted course and made it easier for us all to connect.

Come on by and sign up for the Legal Practice Pro listserv.  No charge, no obligation – just a comfortable place for all of us to share our insights.

Image credit: Luke Robinson/Flickr

When you’re a new lawyer, everything is a challenge.  Where to find the courthouse, where to stand in the courtroom, and how to make a motion look like it’s been drafted by someone who knows what they’re doing.

But over time, it becomes rote.  You’ve got a form to work with, a regular parking spot scoped out in the lot, and the clerks know your name.  When you need an adjournment you instinctively know who to call, what to say, and whether your judge needs something in writing or if your say-so will be enough.

So, too, with running your practice.  Bills come in and get paid in a particular fashion, vendors keep in providing the same service year after year on autopilot, contracts get renewed.

Part of you goes into a fugue, only half-aware of what’s going on in your practice.

Think about the last time you drove to court only to find all the parking spots taken in.  Or when that new judge was appointed and suddenly changed all the courtroom staff and procedures.

Suddenly you were scrambling, just like you did when you started out.  You woke up.

Is there a piece of software that does a better job?

Is there a faster way of doing things?

Is there a more cost-effective way to run your practice, leaving you more money for your efforts and better results for your clients?

If you’re asleep, you may miss that window of opportunity to remain relevant as the market changes.  Because I guarantee that there’s someone out there who’s just starting out.  And you’d better believe that lawyer’s not asleep.

Time to wake up, don’t you think?

Image credit:  Mundoo/Flickr

I’m wandering around an exhibitor hall, looking at all the cool stuff people are trying to sell to lawyers attending the annual convention for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.  There are some good folks here, showing off some finely crafted solutions to the problems that plague us.

At the same time, there are more than a few hucksters.  People who plunked down their money, brought in their swag and are trying to sell us the moon and the stars in return for a swipe of the credit card.

Instant search engine optimization, flashy websites, cheap credit counseling from companies that offshore their call centers (nothing wrong with it, but you’d think they should disclose these sorts of things), turnkey systems and the like are all over the place.

But here’s the thing.  The organization sponsoring the convention isn’t responsible for investigating each and every one of the companies and their claims.  We think this is a safe place for us to make deals, and that a company’s presence is an implied seal of approval from the folks in charge.

Not so.

Sure, NACBA isn’t going to allow an outright fraud to step into the exhibitor space because that’s a bright line.  But when it comes to most of these companies there just isn’t enough time or manpower to do the due diligence required to vet everyone.  That’s your job, not theirs.

So here’s my advice to you.  Don’t sign up for any services or make any commitments while you’re at the convention.  Take down information, check references, talk with happy (and unhappy) customers and demand to see proof of results.

If it’s a company offering to do SEO work for you, go to your own laptop and verify their claims by looking at where their customers show up on the organic search engine results.

Don’t believe anything a salesperson tells you – they exist to make the sale and that’s it.  I’m not saying that they’re liars but cautioning you about what may be a gap in their knowledge about how their product or service functions on a day-to-day basis.

Get the proof before shelling out the cash or putting your neck on the line for a long-term obligation.  If you don’t, you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself if it turns out to be a bad deal.

Image credit: rzrxtion (pronounced resurrection)/Flickr