The Greatest American Lawyer

Reflections on Reflections

I have never been one to live in the past or the future.  I am very grounded in the present.  I couldn’t tell you the name of single teacher I had in grade school or high school.  I might be able to name three professors I had in college.  Some people remember everything.  I am not one of those. 

I tend to let things go as soon as they pass me by.  I don’t hold grudges.  I see the grand sweeps of life, which gives me a sense of perspective and priority.  People get so caught up in things that we all know don’t matter at the literal end.  The things we get so swept up in each day, we can’t even remember two years from now. 

No one likes being sued.  We, as lawyers, file suits all the time.  Litigation is like divorce.  There, quite simply, is nothing good about it at its core.  But if you look a little deeper and expand your mind a little broader, you can always pull positives out of anything.  I’ve always said, “There is good and bad in everything.”

One of the wonderful things that have happened as a result of being sued again by Big Boss and the firm is that it has forced me to do something that I am otherwise not inclined to do, reflect.  The issues presented in the lawsuit include:

The process of me deciding to quit the firm;

How I went about quitting the firm;

Starting up my law firm and setting out on my own;

My firm’s success as driven by the use of innovative technology including dictation, extranets, and virtual workers;

Developing a business model which is, in many ways, the opposite of a traditional firm model; and

Finding ways to treat clients like business partners, rather than bank accounts. 

I’ve been walking around for two days with a big smile on my face.  In fact, I saw Tim, my old partner, in court yesterday and I found myself almost giddy.  Tim seemed a little shy and withdrawn when I approached him, probably embarrassed by all the nonsense that his firm seems so caught up in.  I couldn’t help but thank him for filing the lawsuit against me.  It is hard to explain in words why I feel the way I do.  But I do know it has something to do with the pride and excitement of looking back on that time in my life and my accomplishments since.  Quitting my old firm ranks up there as one of the top decisions that I have made in my life.  It is hard to explain the positive impact that it has had on me personally, professionally and on my relationships with friends, clients and others.

I would have never stopped to think back on the period affectionally categorized on this blog as “I Quit” before this litigation.  And as much as I have told a small part of my story about quitting my old law firm on this blog, it is a mere fraction of what will come out in depositions and other discovery.  The transcripts from those depositions will read like a biography of that portion of my life, what I was feeling going through. 

This will be a wonderful opportunity to take stock and pride in these last two years.  They will also remind me of the differences in my life now compared to before, and that is probably something I needed right about now. 

Complaints Can Bring On Such Fond Memories ..

My old firm blogging you ask?

Bad Dream Flashback:  I once tried to do a mailing of a firm bulletin to prospective clients.  Big Boss intercepted them, and without even as much as a comment to me, instructed my secretary to throw them in the trash. 

More flashbacks:  I once tried to put a couple we are friends with on the Christmas party list. One is a local doctor and the other the CEO of one of the largest companies of its kind in the world.  I had to explain a half-dozen times to Big Boss why I was putting them on the list, after he kept crossing them off.  The firm spent huge sums entertaining his clients in order to perpetuate his origination.  For me (a partner), adding a person to the Christmas list invited something just short of the inquisition.

Fond reflection:   My blogs were mere baby blogs back then.  And who knew about incoming links back then? And who knew about 'no follow' tags in comments?  I thought I was driving traffic by placing comments on other people's sites.  The couple of blogs I had were test tube babies, the bastard children of my passion for everything Internet and my frustration that a single partner usurped virtually the entire marketing budget to perpetuate his origination.

More Fond Reflection:  What seems so obvious to me today was viewed as a bad joke back then. Using blog software for a firm web site?  Yeah, right.  In order to usurp, someone has to want it in the first place. And even if they can say they wanted it with a straight face, they would have to know what to do with it. And even if they knew what to do with it, they would have to devote untold hours of non-billable time to nurture it. Too funny to even imagine, but for the judicial resources which will be "usurped" by the folly of this litigation.

The Early Days Of Blogging

My old firm's latest lawsuit attack brings back such great memories. Back in the days I left my firm, blogging was a very fringe activity. No big firms did it. It was an experiment by those of us interested in technology and search engines. People like Dennis Kennedy, Ernie the Attorney, and Carolyn Elefant at MyShinge were blazing new trails. No one knew where those trails would lead. For the first year of my practice the debate raged - can blogging be done for business purposes? The debate goes on today. Blogging is still largely for innovators and evangelists. Blogging was about immediacy, typos, and stream of consciousness. The templates available for blogs were one-step below what we now know as myspace.

However, the old firm, having seen my current success, now wants its cut, not of what existed when I left, (They got all the cases that came in through the blog while I was at the firm) but what I have created since I left! Can anyone spell w-a-i-v-e-r (whoops, maybe Big Boss' son shouldn't have alleged in the complaint that he knew I had blogs while I was there, I took them with me and did nothing for two years until after losing on unrelated litigation).

So stay tuned. This one will be even more interesting and perhaps has implications for many of you who blog at your firm.

Who Owns Your Blog

Who Owns Your Blog? This is a question that makes me laugh just a little bit. My thought at the time I quit my old firm was that putting unauthorized content on-line was pushing the limits in my firm. Everything had to be approved by Big-Boss. One of the reasons I quit was that I wanted to blog, and there is no way my firm would support the effort and time that it takes to do it right.

My blogs back when I left my old firm were Ugly Betty; they must be cuter now. And apparently, I stole their idea. Posting unmonitored, unregulated stream of consciousness information on your firm web site definitely fit the old firm model. Broadcasting free information about client rights and legal issues was part of their pro bono activity, right? I should have anticipated this. When I think back on all those typos (well there are still some but that is the nature of blogging).

Of course, the point here for you the dear reader is this.... Who owns your blog?

What if two years after you leave your company, your old firm sues you for your blog? Not just the baby blog as it existed long ago, but the content and links you have generated since then? Moreover, what if they want your profits? After all, it must have been the blog, not the business model that landed all those clients! Clients are dumb, right? They sign retainers with the first blog they land on....

So who owns your blog? Some obvious questions you might ask:

1. Did your company provide support for your blogging?
2. Did they pay for the software or server space?
3. Did they allow you to blog and provide resources for you to do so?
4. Did they have an email or blogging policy that claimed ownership rights?

The answer to all four questions in my case was 'no'. According to their complaint, at least one partner knew I was blogging and that I took my blogs with me on departure (a big yawner at the time for him I am sure. I know it was for me).

But they now know from reading this blog that I did a lot of business off my various blogs this last year. Or maybe they just want the two blogs that existed at the time I left. Let's see, there was an auto no fault blog that generated a single client, who by the way retained their firm. Or perhaps they want my domain dispute blog that was a mere seed when I left. Then again, they really could not have had that blog since they would have had to defraud clients to do the work (they did not do trademark work, let alone domain arbitration). Or maybe the last blog, a vaccine injury blog, which I deactivated long ago, is the one that they want. HMMM...

These issues touch on many of us who blog. Of course, we will post all the pleadings, depositions and other public documents on-line as they are filed. Interesting indeed.

Blog Fight!

Yes, the rumors are true, GAL was sued once again by his old firm.  Ah yes, my old firm ....

...  A firm which just can't seem to let go of the past.
...  A firm which apparently can't make its own future. 
...  A firm that still cannot accept the fact that any of its attorneys could be successful after departing (despite the fact that virtually all of them have been far more successful after leaving).

Last time Big Boss sued, he wanted my fee (he didn't get it).  He filed a grievance (which was summarily dismissed by the Grievance Committee before I even had notice it was filed).  This time, Big Boss wants my ...   you will never guess ...  Big Boss who has his secretary print his emails and bring them to his desk in paper format wants ...   my blogs! (apparently and to my surprise, he was going to develop these blogs, change his business model to reject his hourly billing model and devote staff time to becoming entrenched in the blogosphere - Who knew!?!).

If I had just left him the initial typepad URL, he would himself be the author of th Greatest American Lawyer blog today. His inner-blogger never blossomed and it is all my fault (apparently, he did not realize that he could have opened his own blogger account for free and developed his own blogs instead of trying to take mine).

YES THAT IS RIGHT.  YOU HEARD IT HERE.  A first ever for the blogosphere.  Blog-fight!

Big Boss Sues GAL Again!

On the eve of coming out into the light of day, my stream has taken a turn.   With full knowledge of this very blog and the fact that I am revealing my identify in 4 days, my old firm has jumped head first into the stream.  My first thought is - well - what in the world are they thinking?

At 4:00, my old firm sent a young daughter of one of the legal secretaries to my office. I invited her in my office, of course. She came in and served me with yet another lawsuit filed by Big Boss.  The first lawsuit had been settled [more here] two months ago. I figured they would finally get on with their lives (who would think one departing attorney could draw such attention?). It has been two years since deciding to quit.   But here they are again ... sending little girls to serve complaints (like I wouldn't accept service!), giggling back in Big Bosses office while sipping scotch.

The truly funny part is that the Greatest Aemrican Lawyer web site is the key basis of their complaint. This blog is a virtual  'play by play' of my departure from the firm.  This latest lawsuit by Big Boss presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on the day I was set free from my old firm. What a perfect theme two years post "I  Quit!" - on the eve of the unmasking of the author of the Greatest American Lawyer Blog.

Thanks Tim (one of my old partners, Big Bosses' son and heir apparent to Big Bosses' origination formula)!  I could not have written a more perfect script if I had tried .... I am ready for round two.  I regretted settling the last case before the court ordered partner formula was provided in discovery (Ken and I always suspected there really was no formula).  And now, about those counterclaims  ...

Is There More Risk In Staying At Your Current Job Rather Than Quitting It?

It always surprises me when I speak to people who are considering their employment alternatives.  The gravity, which holds them in place, is weighty.  Changing jobs or even careers is venturing into the unknown. 

My belief is that talented people are often trapped in situations that don’t make good use of their talents.  The gravity that holds them in place was born of the industrial age.  You remember, the age our parents lived in.  the one where the father went to work and held down the same job for the same company for an entire career. 

Technology has allowed talent to become a more dominate market force.  Longevity and loyalty count for little when considering employment prospects.  This is great news for the silently repressed masses of talented people. 

But talented people have to be willing to step up to the plate to.  Too many talented people feel stuck in their jobs.  They think the risk of leaving is great and the risk of staying is small.

There is risk in staying.  There is tremendous risk.  When you stay in a job that does not utilize and appreciate your talents, you risk living an entire life unfulfilled.  You risk the prospect of failing to fulfill your potential and, in some cases, your destiny.  You risk sending the wrong messages to your family and children about what is important.  Many fail to realize that the information age has already turned the marketplace upside down.  The risks associated with jumping off the cliff has become dramatically less.  The risk of staying put in the wrong job has become much greater. 

Stuck In Your Current Job With No Way Out?

I wonder what percentage of the American Bar Association feels stuck in their job.  There are thousand ways to get stuck in your current position.  I would submit that nearly all of them are psychological barriers. 

You could always come up with a list of reasons to stay at your current job.  If you’ve been there for any length of time, you probably have security.  Its nice not having to be the person who has to pay the bills the following month.  Perhaps something great is about to happen in your new job (although you’ve been waiting for that great thing for a decade).  You have a mortgage and your kids need to go to college.  Whether you admit it to yourself on a regular basis, you know you are stuck.  Sure you would like the creativity and flexibility of running your own show.  Answering to nobody except you and your clients would, you acknowledge, change the entire experience of practicing law.  Testing your wits and your business savvy against the marketplace would add passion and purpose to your work life.  Working from home in the morning while your kids get ready for school using VPN, digital dictation, extranet and cell phone technology without anyone looking over your shoulder would undoubtedly provide a much better sense of work life and family balance. 

But you are stuck in your job.  There’s no way you could just simply take your talents and whichever clients we choose to come with you, under your own shingle.  I mean, you can see how easy it would be to distinguish yourself in the market and develop a business model that would provide a higher degree of client service and satisfaction.  But you’ve got kids now and it wouldn’t be fair to them to risk your financial health at their age.  It is, after all, much more important that the bills get paid money gets saved in normal cp preserved.  It is just not that important that your children see you fulfill your potential, be your own boss, and try to change the world around you without anyone telling you how things should be.  Children respect a parent who they know hates their job.  Right?

So, really, my advice is that you just stay put.  You and your family will be better off staying the course. 

Who Has the Guts To Speak Out?

I could not resist posting this commentary by Olbermann on MSNBC concerning Bill Clinton's response to the Fox New interview with Bill Wallace. 

Forget the politics for a moment. Isn't it refreshing to hear a bare fisted commentary about important issues?

What if we had such debates about the hourly billing model?  What if we were willing to take on the status quo within our own profession?  Free speech is only as powerful as those willign to step up an dbe heard.  Have you found your voice yet? 

The most difficult part of hanging out a shingle.

I have regularly posted about the joys of being an independent practitioner and striking out on my own. An equally relevant question is the opposite one; what is the most difficult part about being an independent practitioner?

Without question, the most difficult part about being an independent practitioner is the stress and strain of running your own business. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in any business effort. The hardest part about being an independent practitioner is laying awake at night worrying about all those things you can’t control. I would be the first to admit that good old fashioned dumb luck certainly plays a part in success or failure. However, success is far more likely if you have the right mindset. You have to find a way to deal with all those issues you can’t control which crop up almost every day in your practice and set you back. Instead of worrying about those things you have to accept them and embrace them. Psychologically, you have to view them for what they are, problems. Then you have to set out to solve the problems as they arise.

Too often those problems seem bigger than they really are. The phone line goes down. The internet connection goes down. Email stops working. The file server disappears off the network. A disgruntled client calls and starts giving you grief. You're uncertain about whether or not new clients will walk in the door tomorrow, next week or next month. Bills arrive at your desk which you forgot about or didn’t anticipate. You end up with too much work and cant possibly get it done in a timely fashion. The problems which arise are endless. A successful lawyer views those problems for what they are and sets out to solve them in a rational way.

The hardest part about being an independent practitioner is finding the right mindset to deal with the issues which arise and laying in be awake at night trying to figure out how you are going to solve them.