Why Lawyers Cost So Much

Last week I had a simple motion to present in traffic court in Virginia. My client just needed a little extension of time to pay his fine.

It took about 30 seconds to actually explain my motion in front of the judge and get his approval.

I had to be at the courthouse at 8:00 AM.

My motion wasn’t heard until 10:05 AM.

I had to wait for 2 hours and 5 minutes for a 30-second motion. And of course I couldn’t do anything productive during that time. You just have to sit there and wait.

This is why lawyers cost so much. We spend …





Most Expensive Lawsuits

Andrew’s Note: This post was sponsored by Lawsuit Funding.

Lawyers know that lawsuits can be incredibly expensive. If you’ve ever been on either side of a big lawsuit, you know first hand that costs can easily skyrocket. Let’s look at some of the world’s most expensive lawsuits.

Robertson lawsuit against Princeton University

Princeton University is a big school with lots of property and employees. It’s no surprise that they’ve had some costly lawsuits in their long history.

But Princeton’s most expensive lawsuit was about the control of a …





Law Firm Productivity with Remember the Milk

As lawyers we have tons of tasks and deadlines to keep tabs on. We have to do something today for Client A, be sure we don’t miss Client B’s hearing tomorrow, and remember that Client C still hasn’t returned a call. Fortunately, Remember the Milk can track everything for us.

I’ve developed a pretty solid way of using Remember the Milk (RTM) to track all of my tasks. My system has been working great for several months, and I’m pretty happy with it. Here’s my attempt to illustrate the system I use to be productive.

A list …





Referral Marketing Books Reviewed and Rated

As a business owner, I’ve been trying to build my base of incoming referrals. I get very few clients from referrals, and I want to change that!

Referral marketing is a basic way of building business that’s all about word of mouth. But true referral marketing uses a system to consistently obtain referrals. It’s not just a clumsily relying on people to occasionally drop your name.

To beef up my referral marketing, I checked out three books from the local library. I want to share my thoughts on …


Alternative Office Space in Fredericksburg – Coworking at Business Playce

My law firm operates out of my home office. But I needed a professional place to meet clients, and sometimes home gets old. And boring.

No longer!

Fredericksburg, Virginia now has a coworking facility. It’s called Business Playce.

Coworking provides an informal office space where you can work, meet clients, and chat with other professionals. Coworking is a level of space in between a coffee shop and a “virtual office.” You don’t get your own office, but you also don’t have to shout over the espresso machine’s noise. You can just work in a …


Contract for Legal Services vs. Client Plan

I think it scares my clients when I ask them to sign a contract with me. Especially when they’re coming to me because they were just burned in a contract with someone else.

It’s partly my fault.

My previous contract was proudly titled: Contract for Legal Services. I was trying to be a good lawyer, explaining exactly what the document is about. It made sense to my rational brain.

But then I started thinking that maybe the title is daunting. I decided the title itself might be scaring clients.

I …


Print Postage Online – In Your Pajamas!

Don’t you hate going to the post office? The lines are long, the building is dingy, and there’s never enough parking.

I’m now a proud endicia user! I can print whatever postage I need, right from my desk. It’s already saving me time and money. I’ll bet it will work for you too!

As an attorney, I mail lots of things. We have to send documents to court, our clients, and other attorneys. Without endicia, I had to keep a supply of stamps on …


Biggest Jerk Award Goes to LexisNexis

Update – Sept. 4 – Lexis posted a comment below.

It’s funny how some big companies just don’t understand the internet. And it’s infuriating when they breach simple rules of netiquette. LexisNexis wins the Biggest Jerk Award today.

I linked to Lexis

I wrote an article (Lunch, Break, and Hour Laws) over a year ago that linked to one of Lexis’ products. Ironically, that article is the most popular one on my entire site.

I provided a link to Lexis’ lawyer directory, since I thought it added some value …


Solo by Choice by Carolyn Elefant Gives Great Advice!

Buy now for $40.50

Are you a brand new attorney, wanting to hang up your shingle? Or maybe you’ve been working at BigLaw for 10 years, and you want to start your own firm. If you are thinking about being a solo attorney, you need to read Solo by Choice by Carolyn Elefant. This is a must have book!

Awesome author

Carolyn Elefant is a widely-known and well-respected authority on solo and small firms. Her blog, …


Good Luck With Bar Exam Studying!

Now that May is almost over, thousands of law school graduates across the country are buckling down to study for the dreaded bar exam. To all of you, I say: good luck!

I just got some unsettling reader feedback, where one bar exam taker said she was already stressed out and my website made her even more stressed. She specifically asked me not to email her back, so I won’t. But I certainly hope all of you guys can have a relaxed and fruitful preparation time.

On …


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    Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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