Episode 127-Law Firm Operations and Launching Your Own Firm-With Diane Camacho

In the legal press and even in popular media, larger law firms tend to get a most of the attention.  In truth, a high percentage of lawyers in the United States practice in firms that are under 20 attorneys.  And many of those are solo practitioners or very small firms that have broken away from larger firms. While I know that there are many lawyers who are satisfied with practicing in a large or mid-sized firm, as technology has continued to improve over the last two decades, I have seen many attorneys realize the benefits of running their own practice. Being your own boss is not for everyone, but I can say as a solopreneur, it can be very rewarding. I have worked with quite a few lawyers who have left comfortable law firm jobs to go out on their own or join forces with a handful of colleagues.  Most of them are happier on the other side. The challenge for lawyers who are contemplating this type of move is that they have never run their own business.  Where should the practice be located?  What services should the firm provide?  And perhaps even more challenging:  What technology should you be using to run your practice? Should you hire anyone? What are your obligations to employees? How should you set up your books? Who should do your website or maintain it? and What things should you be outsourcing? To answer those questions and provide some tips on how to be successful as you launch your own practice, I invited Diane Camacho.  Diane is the owner of DLC Consulting Services, LLC.  She and her team work with established law firms to improve operations and increase profits.  They also help attorneys start their own firms. Diane has worked with many partners who have decided to break away from much larger firms. She has helped them get set up so that their launch is smooth, and they are set up for future success.

Om Podcasten

Counsel to Counsel is a periodic podcast produced by Stephen Seckler of Seckler Attorney Coaching (www.counseltocounsel.com). It addresses important career, marketing, and leadership issues facing attorneys. The target audience is associates, counsel and partners at law firms of all sizes; but the podcast also addresses issues that are relevant to in-house counsel, law students or any lawyer who is looking for career insights inside or outside of the law. Counsel to Counsel is aimed at individual lawyers who are looking to increase their own career satisfaction and build their marketing and leadership skills. The podcast features interviews with leading consultants, career professionals and marketing experts who advise attorneys on careers, marketing, law firm management and related issues. The guests are also a roster of successful attorneys who have found career satisfaction inside and outside the law. Counsel to Counsel is a direct outgrowth of the blog Counsel to Counsel which Stephen Seckler has been publishing since 2005. Since graduating from law school in the late 1980s, Stephen Seckler has been advising lawyers on career and marketing issues and working with a broad mix of law firms and corporate law departments. He began blogging when legal blogging was in its infancy and his blog Counsel to Counsel was named to the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 in 2007 and 2008 (the first two years that list was in existence). Steve has written extensively on career and marketing issues and he has spoken at many law school, law firm and bar association events. He served on the Boston Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Work Life Balance and was Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association. He is active in the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, the ProVisors business network, and has been quoted frequently in the legal and business press.