The Dreams of a Solo

Joining the Billable Hour Melee

In addition to the recent banter on various listservs, the topic of the Billable Hour has been fodder for a couple articles and numerous blog posts throughout the blogosphere.  To celebrate the "back to school" period I find it compelling to join the conversation (again) in a kind of dog pile activity you may find on the playgrounds of yesteryears.  I say the playgrounds of yesteryears because I'm not sure what sort of activities today's kids are doing on the playground or what activities they are even allowed to do anymore.   That is another discussion for another time, however.

As mentioned the topic for this post is the Billable Hour.  It appears to me that the classic mechanism for determining the fees for legal services is facing the most serious attack in its history.  The billable hour's history can be traced back to 1914 when a recent Harvard law school graduate by the name of Reginald Heber Smith joined with Harvard Business School to develop a system to track and manage finances related to the practice of law.  The result of this joint venture was the development of what would become today's billable hour method, which is best illustrated in the simple equation, time spent X hourly rate = legal fees.  No one can dispute the simplicity of this model, especially from a mathematical perspective.  In fact, most if not all practicing attorneys can do this math very easily in their heads.  The downside of the billable hour is not as straightforward.  It requires more thought, albeit not that much.  The system is inherently efficient for the attorney since it quantifies revenue and allows the law firm to more accurately prepare a budget.  From the client's perspective the billable hour system does not appear to be as efficient.    To a large degree it promotes the exact opposite, inefficiency, since the lawyer gets paid more if he or she takes longer to do something.

I would be remiss to jump on the anti-billable hour campaign by only stating the obvious facts and observations as noted above.  I say that because it is one thing to criticize when a viable alternative is available and quite another to criticize just because something isn't perfect.  I am not convinced that this situation falls in the former, since I haven't heard a convincing argument for a solution that would disband the billable hour in all types of cases.  The most glaring example is in the area of litigation, but I would expand that to include cases or matters that depend on either the court or other third-parties.  It is difficult if not impossible to estimate legal fees in cases such as those.  However, the flaw with my defense of the billable hour is that I have not allowed myself to fully escape the hours times rate mindset.  I am still expecting legal fees to loosely reflect that simple equation.  Otherwise I wouldn't say things like "it is difficult if not impossible to estimate legal fees," since the estimation idea is linked to what one would expect to receive had the billable hour been used.  Any alternative to the billable hour is going to have to sever all ties with the hours times rate equation.  One such alternative can be found in areas of practice such as estate planning.  Most practitioners in this area bill on either a flat-fee or value-bases billing approach.  Sometimes this flat-fee approach is very much linked to the billable hour.  For instance, let's just say that a typical husband and wife estate plan would consist of an hour initial meeting, a couple hours of document drafting, an hour for a signing meeting and an hour for follow-up.  Also assume an hourly rate of $50 (hourly rate number used in this example is not in any way representative of a typical hourly rate used by any practicing attorney in any part of the country.  I picked it out of thin air for illustration purposes only).  This traditional estate plan may then carry a flat-fee of $250.  As this example illustrates this method is straightforward and workable.

But is that really an alternative to the billable hour?  All I see in this approach is the elimination of daily time records and the passage of the risk baton from the client to the attorney, since inefficiency is no longer rewarding.  I'm not complaining about either result to be honest.  I was never a fan of the daily time record and I think that some of the risk should lie with the lawyer.

Admittedly, I need to spend more time researching the various non-traditional or alternative billing methods.  I think there is room for improvement in this area and I am certainly looking forward to developing an approach that is acceptable to both the attorney and the client.  I'm not sure that a reasonable comparison exists in today's marketplace but that will be where I start my research.  How do hospitals, dentists, therapists, developers, or businesses in general, service or product-based, set their prices?  Do the economic principles of supply and demand control?  Can and do law firms bill based on the value delivered and at a rate up to what the market will bear?  If the same work has a value of X to Client #1 for a fee of Y and 3X to Client #2 is a fee of 3Y for Client #2 justified?  I will get back to you with my answers to these and more questions in the coming weeks.  That is, of course, assuming that I can find the answers out there somewhere.   

New and Improved (?) Site Design

As part of the refocusing mentioned in my previous post I decided to overhaul the Dreams of a Solo blog design and layout.  It wasn't simply an exercise in cosmetic blogging though since I had been meaning to try out a couple free open source image editors that I had heard about recently, Seashore and GIMP.  I had used the more primitive imaging programs like Paint and Paint.net while in the windoze world.  Needless to say I was anxious to find something that would allow me the simply luxuries that come with using a Mac. Now I have to admit that I am by no means an expert in image creation or editing.  As you can see from my Dosch Law Firm banner I have some things to learn. But the good news is with the help of programs like Seashore I feel as though I can take steps in the right direction.  It may sound harsh and somewhat unfair, but the Dreams of a Solo is going to be a bit of a guinea pig as I navigate these new frontiers for me in blogging.

The end result of my first experience with Seashore is the new banner you see above.  From what I can gather Seashore is based on GIMP's technology and it uses the same native file format.  So far I have preferred Seashore to GIMP, but that is likely based on the fact that I decided to spend the lion's share of the evening trying to figure Seashore out.  I will continue to tinker with each program over the coming weeks and I will report back my observations.

One other thing I wanted to mention was the differences I have once again noticed between Blogger and Typepad.  This site is hosted by Blogger so I am using all of the Blogger templates, layouts, functions, and tools.  The Planning for Life's Certainties and Dosch Law Firm, LLC blogs are hosted by Typepad.  One difference is the price:  Blogger is free; Typepad is a paid service.  Another difference that relates to the subject matter of this post is extent I have access to HTML or other design options.  I do not currently pay for Typepad's highest level package so I do not have access to certain elements of HTML editing relating to design, while at Blogger I can edit HTML to create a whole new design.  At this point that has not been much of a problem for my other two blogs.  What I mean by that is it hasn't stopped me from doing all of the this that I would like to do.  However adding this new banner to the Dreams blog was an interesting project that turned out to be a bit more difficult than my previous experience on Typepad.

As is the case with GIMP vs. Seashore a lot of the difficulties with one hosting service over the other stem from the amount of hands on experience that I have had with each.  Until now I had spent more time recently designing and editing the Typepad blogs than I had with the Blogger blog.  I am happy to say that I have managed to survive my experiences with each and I am excited to continue the process.   I am also happy to say that each hosting service has its advantages and disadvantages, especially related to the specific purpose of your respective blog.  I still prefer the classic and professional templates on Typepad for my practice related blog and quasi static website.  But the customization elements are the fun part, at least to me, so we shall see where this new design road will lead me.

 

Refocusing on the Task at Hand

After a less than dedicated couple of months in regards to this blog and to some degree failing to fully focus on the next steps in growing a law practice, I am using this weekend to reevaluate the overall situation.  The last part of this week has been very important for both my wife and me.  First off, she took her Physical Therapy Board Exam, which carries the same weight in her profession as a Bar Exam does in the legal profession.  So needless to say it is a really big deal.  When I wrote my introduction post yesterday I did so while sitting at a coffee shop in a Milwaukee suburb while she was taking her 5 hour exam.  I am guessing that I was more nervous and anxious during those 5 hours as I thought about my wife's test than she was.  I know I was more nervous and anxious about her test than about discarding my cloak of anonymity.

It is amazing what a day of reflection will do to help put things in perspective.  I had the opportunity to get out of the office and to take stock of the progress of Dosch Law Firm after 7 weeks.  My reason for continuing this blog without using the Solo Dreamer persona is two-fold.  First, this blog served the very important purpose of focusing my efforts during the planning process and I believe it important to extend that purpose to the ongoing and building stage of the process.  Second, if this blog can help even one soon-t0-be solo to set up or build a solo law practice, than it is well worth the time and effort.

With that I look forward to refocusing on the main task at hand, which will involve an increased blogging presence both here and on my practice related blog, Planning for Life's Certainties: Death and Taxes.  I would also like to thank fellow blogger, Grant Griffiths, for his advice and comments recently.  For those law office Mac users out there, if you have not already done so, join Grant's and Ben Stevens' Google Group, Macs In Law Offices (MILO).  With the quality of members in MILO including, Grant (The Home Office Lawyer), Ben (The Mac Lawyer), Sheryl Sisk Schelin (The Inspired Solo), and Finis Price (TechnoEsq) the sky is the limit as far as the resource that MILO is and will continue to be.  My apologies to the other 250 plus members that I have left off.  Each member and each contribution is important and that is why the MILO group will continue to assist those of us using Macs in our law practices.

Who is Solo Dreamer? Part Two

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good day to all of you.  As you can infer from the title of this post I have decided (once again) to make the formal and official announcement of who is behind the Solo Dreamer persona.  For those of you who have been following this blog for the last few months you know that I initially made an announcement of my true identity shortly after giving notice at my prior firm.  When I provided that notice I was allowed to wind down my work over the three week notice period.  Thinking that all was well of the western front, I "outed" myself.  Within a day or to I noticed an IP address from inside the firm logging visits to this blog.  To make a long story short, it freaked me out.  I had read the posts from The Greatest American Lawyer regarding his dispute and litigation with his prior firm and I simply got scared.  Within a week I had taken down the posts and deleted a few less than flattering observations of my previous firm and/or bosses.  By the way, when they say that publishing things to the internet is permanent, they are not kidding.  Some of those permalinks are still floating around after getting picked up by other sites and blogs.  The moral is, "Don't publish anything on the internet that you don't want the world to see for the rest of time."

With that and without further ado I am once again happy to reveal that Solo Dreamer is in fact Nathan Dosch, an Appleton, Wisconsin solo practitioner.  I am married to an amazing and beautiful woman named Karyn.  Our picture is included below.  I am the founder and owner of Dosch Law Firm, LLC.  I also publish a practice area blog called, Planning for Life's Certainties: Death and Taxes.  I practice in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration, tax, elder law, and business law/organizations.  As you can see from this blog's archives I am an avid golfer, an enthused Mac user, I hold my friends and family near and dear to my heart, and I adore and love my wife, Karyn, more than anything else.  I believe in God, I am confirmed Catholic and Lutheran.  As far as I can trace back my family on all sides is German in descent, having come to America after leaving Odessa, Russia at the end of the 19th century.  I believe in democracy, but I am often disappointed by politics, politicians, and our current political parties.  I believe in capitalism, but I don't believe Adam Smith would agree that our economy fully implements his idea of the "invisible hand."  I believe in living life to the fullest, cherishing each and every moment that we have, and never taking anything for granted.  I believe there should be more civility, not only in the legal profession, but in our society in general.  I believe that people working in service industries should be reminded every day that it is their honor, privilege and responsibility to serve the client/customer.  I believe that our society and the mass media focuses entirely too much on events and people that add nothing of value to society and are far too insignificant to care about.

I could go on and on, but then I wouldn't have anything to write about going forward.  I fully understand that my positions on things like politics, religion, etc. are polarizing, not necessarily because my positions are radical but because the issues are so stratified.  The good news is we can all get along just fine, even if we happen to disagree here and there.

With that I once again welcome you to this blog.  If this is your first experience at The Dreams of a Solo, then you picked a good time to join the party and I thank you for visiting.  If you are one of the dedicated readers, then I thank you as well for reading, your comments and your support over the last five months.  As Rick said to Captain Renault at the end of Casablanca, "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."  I for one am hoping that is the case.  Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Coming Back From Vacation

My recent silence on this blog has been by design because my wife and I took our traditional, early August vacation last week.  The idea of taking an actual vacation was a foreign concept to me until I met my wife five years ago.  While I was growing up my family really did not take family vacations.  I am not really sure why, all I know is that we didn't.  Now each year in the end of July or early August my wife's family spends two weeks on the Michigan side of Lake Michigan at a Lutheran bible camp in Arcadia, Michigan.  I'm not sure if I could have possibly used Michigan any more in that last sentence, but it was worth a shot.

The details of the trip are unimportant for the purposes of this blog post, but I did want to share my thoughts and feelings regarding leaving my law firm for 4 business days after being open for only 6 weeks.  The truth is I felt the two conflicting emotions that one would expect of a small business owner about to embark on a first vacation.  I was excited to get the chance to relax and hang out with family.  I was also feeling a bit of stress knowing that my time spent away would mean I would not be making any money.  I am extremely happy to say that the excitement of getting away ending up carrying the day, which made the vacation an absolutely perfect time.  In my mind I analogize these conflicting emotions to the feelings I used to get while playing competitive golf.  By that I mean when I would stand over a five foot putt for birdie or to win the whole in match play I would have two different thoughts randomly bouncing around in my head.  First, if I make it I win the match or I go one under par.  Second, if I miss it I'll extend the match or stay at even par.  Both of the latter results are negative thoughts in case that isn't clear on its face.  I am not saying that it is completely counterproductive to be aware of the negative elements of any action.  What I am saying is that it IS a lot more difficult to realize and attain the positive results if you focus too much on the bad.  As a wise and long-time golf partner used to say, "Its hard to make a putt or hit a golf shot with both hands around your neck."  I couldn't agree more.

So now I am back after a short, yet perfect vacation and I am picking up right where I was before I left.  My experiences lead me to believe that the flexibility of schedule that many seek in going solo is in fact a very real possibility.  I was upfront with my clients, office mates and contacts in regards to my vacation and as a result all the feedback has been great.  More than anything else I have learned again and again that communication is key.  I didn't have a partner looking at my billable time for the last week wondering how I would make up for that lost time.  I didn't have clients calling with numerous fires to put out.  I just left, enjoyed myself, and now I am back.  As the sign in my kitchen says, "Life is simple, it's just not easy."  My  advise take a vacation and leave the office behind for a few days.  It will still be there when you get back.

Solo Law Firm: Early Stage Difficulities

It has officially been a month since my law firm has been in business and things have gone very well to this point.  But as they say, "Not everything came up roses."  So I thought that I would share some of the difficulties and issues that I have experienced in my first month of solo law practice.  Most of these items were expected considering the fact that I made the transition with no ongoing matters and no official clients.

The first difficulty relates to cash flow and this is relevant for all fresh-of-the-box start up businesses.   There is a lag between being retained and getting paid.  That is just a fact of life.  This is especially the case in my estate planning practice where I am paid upon completion and execution of the documents.  This is not to say that I do not require a retainer.  It just means that I do not draw down the retainer or otherwise cash the check until the plan is completed.  The estate planning process typically takes a couple weeks to a month depending on everyone's schedules.  With that in mind, the clients that have retained me so far are not likely to provide positive cash flow until this month.  As I said before, this slight lag was expected and it will not be a lasting issue.  It is just worth mentioning and considering when completing a business plan.

The second difficulty relates to the administrative tasks around the office.  By design, I am pretty much a one man shop.  I do have a shared receptionist and a share paralegal for the witnessing of documents and what not.  But the day to day functions of my law firm, including copying, scanning, mailing, scheduling, etc. fall on my shoulders.  Again, this was expected and thankfully I enjoy doing all of that stuff.  It is mentioned as a difficulty because it is something a bit different than the way I practiced before and it takes a little getting used to.

The third and last difficulty I wanted to mention is finding time to update this blog.  With the launch of my firm I started a website/blog for my law firm and a estate planning/tax/elder law related blog.  On top of that I have managed to attract a number of clients through referrals in addition to the clients that followed me.  So here I sit with a decent sized client/case load, three blogs, two golf leagues and the best weather of the Summer so far, and I have to find the time to squeeze it all together.  No problem.  Time management is the name of the game.  If you look at it all together it can be too much, but if you take it all in stride it is definitely doable.

As each day passes I am happier and happier about my decision to go solo.  I will gladly take these few difficulties I mentioned above in exchange for the many positives I have experienced on a daily basis.  I am already getting to the point where I ask myself why it took me so long to see the light.   Either way I am very glad that I did and that I took the leap into solo practice.