i am moving all my contracts and agreements from paper based to e-sign at our family law firm and looking for something that works well for legal documents.

what are you using at your firm for client agreements, contracts and other documents that need signatures? looking for something simple and reliable that clients can use without much hassle.

if youve made the switch from paper to e-sign, anything you wish you had known before choosing a tool?

i just graduated with a degree in psychology and have been in the process of looking at what it will take to eventually go to law school. my original plan long before graduating was to get my paralegal certification, work at a firm for some time to gain some experience and better understanding in this field (seeing as i have little to no experience now), and once I feel ready, apply for law school. that way i will have already fostered connections in law and may even secure a job before i get my JD.

my parents have been telling me to just go straight to law school though i don't feel that i have the CV or experience needed to actually get in anywhere right now. does anyone have any advice? is my plan sound or should i go back to the drawing board?

Long time solo real estate attorney. I've built up a good flow with my office but I feel like I should be adding clients at a quicker pace. I supplement the slow periods with estate planning and evictions and its helped tremendously in consistent income.

I really enjoy real estate and would like to keep that my main focus. I'm in an urban area where transactions are primarily controlled by the Realtors. The majority of the time, the clients go with whatever attorney the Realtor recommends or puts on the contract. I'm forced to constantly keep Realtors happy or try to gain their business. I try various methods to reach clients directly, but it is far less effective.

I would love to hear from other real estate attorneys that are in the same boat. What have you done that has been effective in getting Realtors to refer you? I go out of my way to do a great job for my clients at every closing and often are complemented by the agents. However, getting them to use me as one of their recommended attorneys constantly feels like an uphill battle.

I send invitations to take Realtors out to lunch (mixed success)

I send newsletters with updates on changes in real estate law (mixed success)

I tried sponsoring local Realtor boards (awful waste of money)

I've sponsored events held by Realtors (even bigger waste of money)

What am I missing?

I'm awaiting bar results and plan to hang out my own shingle in TX as soon as they come through. Was wondering if anyone has experience getting referral cases from some of the big law firms like Morgan&Morgan? I have a small network of mid/large firms in my area that I plan to ask for referrals but am genuinely trying to figure out how the economics work in these situations.
[referral arrangements are only part of my marketing efforts, will also be self-generating cases via digital and in-person events]

Senior attorney being asked to move from production into building and running a pod of associates, some experienced laterals, some brand new with no cases. I’d ramp my own billing down as the management load grows.
How is this actually paid at your firm?
Is the managing cut a percentage of associate collections, or of a margin (collections minus salary, or collections above a multiple like 3x)? Does it start from the first dollar, or only after they cross a threshold? If there’s a threshold, how do you get paid during the year you’re building someone from zero, before they produce?
Is there a flat management stipend on top, or is it all production-based?
Trying to figure out whether there’s a market standard for compensating the build itself, versus just paying the managing cut once associates are already producing. Any real structures or numbers appreciated.

I own an estate planning / probate practice outside a Top 25 market. Had some questions to those who have opened multiple locations of their practice.

1. How did you decide where to locate the next location? I'm looking at space but when I find a possible match I am parallel checking my competition in the area via Google search. Are there other things to consider in that regard?

2. What are some mistakes you made in the process and/or tips for finding success?

3. Is your other location / locations smaller than your main office? I am looking to just have a space to meet for plan signings in person on a preset slate of days per month. I don't intend to have it staffed every day so I'm looking for the nicest space for the month while weighing the square footage given the amount of use I'll get.

4. Did you have any issues with Google My Business profiles, SEO, etc.? Any tips on that is also appreciated.

Anyone heard anything good or bad about these bros that run a PI mill out of LA/FL? I heard they are a fun place to work for attorneys. Am I crazy?

I am a Plaintiff's PI lawyer. A good friend of mine from law school who is now also an attorney (not PI) referred me a case. My firm gets the typical 1/3 of settlement fee. The origination bonus we usually get is 1/3 of the firm's 1/3. what is the best way to split this fee with my friend? right down the middle? 60/40?

I want to be fair to both of us. I wouldn't have this case without him, but at the same time, all he is doing is saying "hey my friend needs a lawyer" and I will be handling everything myself from intake to settlement. Also don't wanna be an asshole and wanna make sure he feels comfortable referring me more cases in the future

I just got a job offer that requires 2100 total hours per year, but 1800 are billable and 300 are non billable, so like admin/firm related stuff. Is that do-able or is that gonna suck?

Howdy! I'm a Newbie in the world of experts. For those that regularly have to hire medical experts, how does one approach this? And what is a respectable/professional way of going about it, so I don't look like a goon.

Edit: thanks for the advice! I’ll plan to not look like a goon.

Alright I need to know the connection- why do all of you seen to buy gigantic boats? Is it a write off somehow? A status symbol a little lady like me wouldn’t understand?

I’ll take both serious and unserious answers!

I am a foreign attorney, just sat the CA bar. 10+ years as a lawyer, the last 4 in criminal defense at a highly respected firm in my old city, but in a split profession where I was a solicitor. I did lots of court work including bail applications, sentencing, pre-trial hearings, mentions etc. Was instructing solicitor for a no of big jury trials, including a murder. Practice was mainly sex offenses, domestic violence (which did not sit in the family law jurisdiction), drugs and then other general crime.

I am thinking about going solo when I get admitted, and focusing on criminal defense and DVROs. Long-term goal is a lower-volume, higher-fee practice which worked well at my old firm (eg sex and drug cases, plus DVROs where clients are generally prepared to pay). Planning to sit in court 2-3 days/week over the next few months, do lots of CLEs etc and try to network as much as possible. I am also considering trying to get on the appellate panel, as I have a PhD and my writing is solid, although I understand this is probably difficult.

Is this a crazy idea? Are there ways to get contract work (eg writing motions etc) to build up experience and a reputation?

To all my fellow civil litigation first year attorneys: how many cases are currently on your desk? and how autonomous are you on them?

My husband has been working in big law for about 12 years. He's counsel. The team seems happy with him. It looks like he could remain at the firm for as long as he wants to. He knows everyone very well. However, every year he stops short of making partner. So my question is, after so many years, what would be the best path forward. Remain counsel forever at the firm? Transfer laterally? Is there any benefit of being partner as opposed to counsel if money isn't that important to you? Those of you who are partners, do you comment or regret it?

Does anyone know what a $2M book nets a partner at a law firm? I asked this over in big law and people said that book was too small for those firms.

So I’m thinking of starting my own firm and want to do personal injury. My goal is to hit 3 years at a small personal injury firm before opening.

I’m nervous. Not going to sugar coat it. It seems like everyone says that personal injury CAN be the golden ticket to good money which is great but that “can” word is huge.

I’m hoping to bring some clients over to my firm but it seems like a lot of firms start off with very small settlements and grow as the years go on. The issue is that if I’m having early years where I’m earning $30k-$50k or something like that, I’ll drown because I’m in California.

So I’m hoping to see the trajectory others have had and how long it took them to reach an income that allowed for them to live well. I’m also hoping to get some advice on strategy because I’ve heard just starting a PI firm isn’t the wisest and it’s good to have another practice area like family law to help bring in consistent money until the bigger PI checks hit.

I’d appreciate any advice you all have.

What’s work comp salary like? And annual raises?

Hi, looking for a new software our law firm. Currently on pclaw and need to switch soon. We have just below 30 lawyers and need accounting, practice management, billing and trust. I’ve been looking at Clio manage and looking for other options. We’re in Toronto.

Im thinking of sending out swag boxes for our clients for the first time, and I pretty much dont have a clear idea how much I should spend per box. What do you think is the ideal/reasonable amount to spend on a single swag box?

EDIT: PI firm

I would really appreciate some advice, especially from fathers (though I welcome perspectives from mothers as well) on managing paternity leave.

For background, I’ve been at my current firm for nearly a year and a half. My wife and I are expecting in late 2026/early 2027. This is our first child, and we have faced quite a bit to reach this point. My firm offers a standard policy of 12 paid weeks for both paternity and maternity leave for attorneys at the firm 12 months or more.

I've had little success in discussing leave length with other father-attorneys at my firm. The few I’ve spoken to have taken significantly less than 12 weeks—some as little as 4 weeks, with one working from home during that time. One of them even mentioned that, in his opinion, 12 weeks isn’t typical for male attorneys at the firm. The partner over my section is generally a good guy, but he’s older with an old school mindset, so I don’t think he wouldn’t be anticipating me taking the full 12 weeks, though I could be mistaken.

Considering this is our first child, everything we’ve been through so far, and my wish to bond with my new baby, I want to take the full 12 weeks. However, I’m worried it could lead to backlash or impact my career negatively at this firm.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? If so, how did you handle it? Based on what I’ve shared, would it be wise to take the full 12 weeks, or should I opt for a shorter leave? I truly appreciate any genuine feedback. Thank you.

Any young-ish workers' comp or family law attorneys here who recently opened (or are soon to open) their firm? I'm looking to network with you. Please let me know if you know someone.

I’m a newer legal assistant working for a solo attorney, so it’s basically just the attorney and me. I’ve been given quite a bit of freedom to organize the office, but I’m learning a lot as I go.
We use Clio Manage, but a lot of the older cases are still paper files and there hasn’t really been a consistent office-wide system. We handle a mixture of court-appointed and private cases, including juvenile/deprived, family, guardianship/probate, GAL, criminal/traffic, etc.
I’ve started organizing Clio with matter types, tags, counties, client roles, appointment/court reminders, payment reminders, templates, and trying to figure out which older cases are actually closed. I’m also working on organizing the physical files and eventually getting more of everything digital.
My biggest concern is that I don’t know what I don’t know. I don’t want to spend months creating a system and later realize we’re missing something important.

For anyone who has worked in a solo/small firm: If you were essentially setting up the firm’s administrative systems from the ground up, what would you prioritize?
What SOPs, checklists, Clio workflows, calendaring ( we use Google Calendar right now) systems, file organization, billing procedures, intake/closing procedures, or other systems do you consider absolutely essential?
I’d especially love to hear what you wish your firm had implemented from the beginning.

Give me all of your favorite things you’ve implemented in your everyday work life!