* Incentives to donate your hunted meat. [Tax Prof Blog]
* Somebody is going to sue the Biggest Loser, right? [Legal Blog Watch]
* Charlie Rangel is kind of a disaster. [Going Concern]
* Is law still a “white man’s game”? [Law and More]
* Denying cert. [Courtoons]
* How many lawyers do you need to close a deal? [Business Insider]
* A medical legal blog. Sounds interesting. [The Wise Files]
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Chances are, if you decided to get into shape you wouldn’t tell anyone right away. After a few weeks of running, dieting and lifting weights, when you start to see some results and people noticed, you would let the cat out of the bag. It feels sort of foolish to talk about it until you have taken some action.
Making a career change is the same way. This creates a conundrum: how do you get started if you don’t want to talk to anyone about it until you’ve done something? Forget the “starting a law firm” websites – you probably already know that you need a telephone and letterhead. So what is the first step?
The best place to start is to define your niche. This includes determining the services you will offer, the types of clients you will seek, your pricing strategy, your staffing and recruitment approach and your management structure. These will often change from your current platform. Focus on how you will be different from the competition. For those leaving Biglaw, a “vertical niche” strategy is often the way to go.
The next step is to put together a detailed financial forecast. This allows you to project the profitability and income you can expect to generate. It’s not much more complicated than estimating your revenue and then subtracting all of the expenses you anticipate. You can increase the precision of your revenue forecast by breaking it into small pieces. Try to project revenue by client, or by matter, or by task. On the expense lines, be sure to research and re-research costs to make sure that you haven’t overlooked anything. Then add some cushion, because you are bound to forget something.
The last thing to consider is whether you want a partner or not. A successful practice requires business development, professional development, business management and a leader who will motivate the team. If you are all of these things, then you can slap your name on the door and be done. If not, consider the types of partners you need to attract, how you will recruit them and where you are comfortable ceding control. Many firms go under because partners cannot get along, and many more fold because they are missing these ingredients needed for a successful practice.
Now you are ready to go public with your plans to start a firm. As you approach potential clients, partners and employees, focus on the differentiators and invite them into the thought process. The more people who take emotional ownership of your idea, the more likely it is to succeed.
If you are an in-house or Biglaw attorney, starting a firm might be the best career path for you. Contact NexFirm and we will give you the tools to decide. 646-666-8989 or www.nexfirm.com
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Smells like B.O. in here.
First to say first! Yes!!!!
I hope your ready for our match tonight Elie…
Gentle Readers:
I hope you’re excited as I am about my new series, “My Job Is Murder,” posted exclusively here on Above The Law. I will be forever grateful to the many readers who have already left supporting comments about the series. For those of you who are regular readers, I know that you are looking forward to Monday’s installment. Rest assured that there will be many, many more for your enjoyment.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to read “My Job Is Murder,” please take the opportunity to delve in right now.
All the best,
Susanna
No. Elie you f’ing race baiter. Law is not a white man’s game. Not a game at all. Look, black americans have the presidency, the AG’s office, head of the republican party, more US attorneys than ever, more chief justices of state and federal courts than the proportional black population, more politicians than ever, etc. Barack Obama has appointed more black people to high positions than any other president. Most of these positions are filled by lawyers. Black lawyers.
if anything – law is becoming a black man’s “game.”
I can’t believe you posted a link to that crap.
Oh wait . . .
As a Mormon, I strongly advise against donating your meat. Everyone should build up their food shortage, here’s a nifty calculator to determine how much you need: http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm
The author of the blog “Law and More” only made it through 2 months of law school before dropping out.
Please never cite the blog again. No credential, no basis, just stupid talking point opinions.
Elie – posting to the “white man’s game” article completely shows your racist tendencies. I know you are a racist, but I thought you would be smart enough to hide it. But now that I reflect on your prior showings of intelligence – I realize my error.
I think it’s hilarious that people think Elie’s anti-white. He’s about the whitest dude around…he just happens to have the wrong skin pigment. Every time Elie tries to talk like a black man I visualize this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE
Yes – law is certainly a white man’s game. It’s not like two black lawyers (one a woman) sit in the White House or anything. That will never happen because America is irredeemably racist.
9 – Your comment shows that you have never had the pleasure of meeting Elie.
Mystal hates white people because he is a fat white kid trapped in an even fatter black kids body.
# 6 Mormon men need much more meat because they have all those celestial wives to feed.
By the way #6 … what do you do with the excess males? I’m sure its not pleasent.
Big Buck Hunter is okay, but I’m more a fan of “Big Bottom Hunter.”
My love gun’s loaded and she’s in my sights
Big game is waiting there inside her tights.
Elie = racist
I suggest you make another ATL blog. One with Elie . . . and one without.
See which one gets better traffic. When Elie’s ATL falls below 10,000 page views a month – FIRE HIS RACIST ASS.
Ass candy.
This post shows that gays are irresponsible.
Lat should be checking every post that Elie is about to submit.
Big Buck Hunter my ass.
How about some Big Booty Hunter up in here:
please go to phatwhitebooty.com
for brothers only (NSFMFW)
I love how a black man mentions race and he is automatically racist. I guess the non-racist way would be to never mention it. Sounds like a great plan.
The fact we can name black 3 black lawyers as demonstrative of racism being over is ridiculous. I also know 3 women in college who were not date raped – I guess that is no longer an issue either.
20 – your plan is sound. race is an artificial construct. acknowledging this and forgetting about the idea of race would reduce much tension and hatred amongst the angry crowd – like Elie for example.
21 – brilliant. I see that you forgot all that you learned from the logical reasoning portion of your LSAT class.
Why do white people like marathons so much?
White do white people like film festivals so much?
I was date raped in college AND I’m racist. Go whitey!
That cartoon was awful.
24 – They can like them all they want. When is the last time you saw one of them win one?
Why do Black people where suits with at least 4 buttons so much?
Wow ! Those Red Baron pizza banner ads at the top of the home page are so effective. I am craving frozen, cheap processed flour and food-like toppings like nobody’s business.
If only ATL’s advertisers knew how wasteful their purchases were with this pathetic racist blog.
29 – because they are taller than all you little disgusting white midgets.
white midgets
well elie, that was a great post, just one thing:
QUESTION MARK GOES INSIDE THE QUOTES! INSIDE! BAD BLOGGER!
If you want to be an interesting person; take an interest in other people. Ask about where they are from; what they hope to do in the future; and what they think about various things; if someone asks you a question and you respond but you don’t ask a question back they may think that you are not interested in them and will be less likely to approach you in the future….
A big predictor of success is to have a two parent household that encourages learning and education. Apply this fact to the black community and it might shed some light on the issue of diversity of the legal profession. It ain’t all about sharing power.
I have a white friend who is a teacher at a predominantly black high school. One of the students onced asked her what she was doing over a 3-day weekend and she said she was going camping, which involved going out into the woods and sleeping in a tent with no electricity or running water. The student simply replied “damn, white people crazy!” and walked away.
“Kai Hibbard, the runner-up on Season 3, said she and other contestants would drink as little water as possible in the 24 hours before a weigh-in, and try to sweat out other water by exercising in heavy clothing. Hibbard weighed in at 144 pounds at the show’s finale, but promptly added 31 pounds over the next two weeks as she rehydrated.”
with maple syrup, obviously
Rangel is the black, urban version of Boss Hog
The law is definitely still a white man’s game. Anyone who doubts this is probably still in law school. If you ever land a job, check out how many partners aren’t white males.