Small Law Firms

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Since obtaining this illustrious post, I have done my best to invoke the great Andrea Zuckerman (another legendary Jewish newswoman) and find out what makes an attorney happy in her small law firm. The answer, […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Nor does it create an attorney-client relationship between you and Above the Law. It may also constitute attorney advertising, depending on the state you’re in (such as boredom or apathy). Please consult the […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I moved from Biglaw to a small firm in 2008. I had heard the term “litigation boutique” used positively. Also, I had heard tales of Biglaw associates going on to small firms and doing great […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I live near Wellesley, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb usually described with words like “leafy” and “tony.” (I get “leafy,” but I’ve never really figured out “tony.”) Think soccer moms in yoga pants and […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Valentine’s Day was yesterday, and everywhere you turned, someone was trying to spread the message of love. Rachel Ray was on Good Morning America, showing us how to cook breakfast in bed. Every grocery store […]

Many large law firms forbid their lawyers from visiting social-media sites while at work. Some have actual software blocks, preventing sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even blogs like Above the Law from loading on the firm computers. Other firms tacitly discourage visiting these sites, since every six minutes wasted on them are six minutes that could have been billed. Small firms are less likely to have these policies or blocking programs, mainly because small firms are less likely to have any policies. Or IT departments. This is partly a generational issue. On the one hand, you've got the Millennials: twenty-somethings who are used to having IM chats, Pandora music, and Facebook walls floating in the background while they bash away at Lexis or Microsoft Word. On the other hand, you have more-senior (or just plain "senior") lawyers, for whom the Interwebs are something to either be feared or restricted to off-duty hours.

Ed. note: This is the first installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Who am I? I graduated from a top law school in Chicago. (Okay, there’s only two.) From there, I went to work for Biglaw for several years. Or, maybe it was only a year and […]

I've been working in small law firms my whole career — nearly 17 years. I'd like to tell you that I chose this path for carefully considered and noble reasons, but I can't. In truth, I ended up on the small-firm path for one simple reason: A blonde. Let me explain. Now it's not what you think. I didn't turn my back on a BigLaw career to pursue a flaxen-haired beauty. That would almost be romantic, and this is a serious law blog. Ish. No, the story is a bit more prosaic.

As we recently mentioned, Above the Law is dramatically increasing its coverage of small law firms. Clients and lawyers are moving in the direction of smaller firms, and ATL is following suit. In response to our posting for a new small-firm columnist, we received dozens of superb applications (and we thank everyone who applied for […]

Above the Law’s coverage of small law firms is about to ramp up. We will soon be announcing our two new writers on the small firm beat. (If you responded to our open call for new columnists, we thank you for your interest. We received a slew of excellent applications, which made the selection process […]

Above the Law’s second annual holiday card contest was a great success. Thanks to everyone who responded to our call for nominations, thanks to the finalists who created such great holiday cards, and thanks to all the voters. The campaigning was vigorous. And the final winner actually wasn’t one of the two firms that was […]

Our law firm holiday card contest is still underway, but we’re in the home stretch. Voting closes tomorrow, January 9, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time). If you haven’t done so already, review the finalists and vote over here. In the our earlier post, we promised a post in which we’d (1) give shout-outs to some […]

The holidays may be behind us (sigh), but Above the Law’s second annual holiday card contest remains in full swing. Thanks to everyone who responded to our call for submissions. The response was overwhelming. Perhaps too overwhelming: we received dozens and dozens of nominations. I have literally spent several hours reviewing them all — hours […]

Don’t say I never did anything for you — I’m creating jobs. Okay, I’m creating a job. Well, not a full-time job, just a freelance writing gig. (But at least it pays more than this legal job or this one.) Yes, after some deliberation, I’ve decided to step away from writing the small law firm […]

It was almost two weeks ago that I, still fat from Thanksgiving turkey, wondered publicly about the status of bonuses at small law firms. Well, it’s time to get the results of that status check. I recall Elie using the term “anemic” to describe Cravath’s bonus numbers (which were looking like the standard for Biglaw […]

It’s pretty clear that traditional large-firm jobs in big cities are still hard to come by. Even those cushy government jobs sometimes offered as a Biglaw equivalent are, as of last week, slightly less appealing. Well, fear not; the small law firm renaissance is here! A recent article in Lawyers Weekly suggests that small towns […]

Earlier this week, I had the chance to sit down with David Tanenholz, one of the co-founders and partners at Hardinger & Tanenholz LLP (H&T), which is one of the few firms — if not the first — to promote itself solely as “discovery counsel.” And with their experience as Biglaw alumni, the two founders […]

Small law firms have many of the same management issues as Biglaw firms, but often deal with them differently — for example, setting billable hour requirements and adjusting pay scales to keep their lawyers happy (or at least just happy enough not to quit). One such issue that keeps coming to my attention is social […]

While Biglaw types may or may not have had something to be thankful for over the holiday weekend, many small firm lawyers were feeling the Thanksgiving love via the SoloSez list serve. There were numerous magnanimous emails coming through about what small firm lawyers are thankful for. I found myself wondering whether these warm-and-fuzzy feelings […]

While bonuses are burning up the comments here at Above the Law, there’s another discussion raging over at the ABA’s SoloSez Listserv — where solo and small firm lawyers from around the country share resources, practice tips and the occasional anecdote. It seems that a 3L at Arizona State’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law […]