Josh Dickinson
Posts by Josh Dickinson
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Admin, Announcements, Military / Military Law, Small Law Firms
Goodbye Josh Dickinson… and Hello Job Opening (Above the Law Seeks a Small Firm Columnist)
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 […] -
Bonuses, Job Survey, Money, Small Law Firms
Small Firm Bonuses: The Results
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 […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Canada, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
A Small Firm Renaissance?
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 […]
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Blogging, Small Law Firms, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Attention Small Law Firms: Beware the Social Media Marketer
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 […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Bonuses, Job Survey, Money, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
(Hopefully Not Very) Small Law Firm Bonuses: Time for a Reader Survey
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 […] -
Blogging, Law Schools, Money, Small Law Firms, Student Loans
Small Firm Lawyers Balk at ASU 3L's Request for Sponsorship
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 […] -
Legal Ethics, New Jersey, Real Estate, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Virtual Law Offices Are a Real Issue for Small Law Firms
Brick and mortar is so last century. Nowadays, one can get an entire post-secondary education without ever leaving the comfort of home, including a law degree (no I’m not talking about Belmont) and an LLM. Then, with your degrees and fully developed agoraphobia in hand, you can move seamlessly into a fully virtual law practice […] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Boutique Law Firms, Election Law, Politics, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, Sonia Sotomayor
Under the Shingle: 11.15.2010
Welcome to the second installment of Under the Shingle, an occasional round-up of news and musings from the world of small firms and solo practitioners. In other words, you get a break from me — mostly. I’ve added a bit of play-by-play to explain and connect these links, which cover such topics as the intersection […] - Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Legal document automation is no longer only for the exclusive few. -
Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Spurning Biglaw: Graduates Choose Starting a Small Firm Over Getting a Big Paycheck
America is often called the “Land of Opportunity.” To many, that means cashing in on one’s education, ideas and talent as soon as possible. The corollary is that we frequently assume that folks who aren’t rich are only so positioned because they failed at all their attempts to become rich. After all, actually turning down […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Law Schools, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Bridging the Gap: UMKC Law Opens a Solo and Small Firm Incubator
In the good old days, an aspiring lawyer could just read the law under the tutelage of an existing member of the bar. Then, around the beginning of the twentieth century, the ABA and AALS teamed up to begin requiring that wannabe lawyers graduate from law school as a barrier to entry. This was, I […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Lawyer Advertising, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Shameless Plugs, Small Law Firms, Technology
50,000 Reasons to Consider Revamping Your Small Firm Website
To borrow a line from Sharon Nichols, I judge you when you have a poor website. Like it or not, we live in a superficial world where your website is judged on a daily basis — and not just by me. Friends, colleagues, potential employees and most importantly potentially paying clients are all looking at […] -
Blogging, Small Law Firms
Little Richard Comes Out of His Pseudonymous Closet
I’ve been appropriately chastised for writing this column from behind the protective wall of a pseudonym. Readers want to know who’s talking to them. As a reader, I get that. To the extent I did not get it, the point that was made very clear in the comments to my inaugural post: It’s hard to […] -
Small Law Firms
Thoughts on How to Network as a Lawyer at a Small Firm
Okay, so you’re not socially inept. I’d offer my congratulations, but being socially adept and willing to mingle is only part of the battle for a small firm attorney. It’s a necessary but not sufficient component of long-term success. (Remember all that necessary/sufficient crap from the LSAT? Yeah, me neither. It doesn’t matter.) What does […]
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Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
Sponsored
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
Please help us benchmark your firm against your peers through this (always) brief and anonymous survey and enter for a chance to win a $250…
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How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
Findings from the "Future of Professionals Report," based on a survey of 1,200 professionals from North and South America and the UK.
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Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Legal document automation is no longer only for the exclusive few.
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Associate Salaries, Bonuses, Boutique Law Firms, Job Survey, Money, Small Law Firms
A Small Firm Salary Survey: The Results (Part 2)
A recent study by economists at UC Berkeley gives employers a nice argument for keeping salaries a secret. Well, luckily for you, I’m not your employer. Therefore I have no qualms about sharing with you Part 2 of the results from our small-firm salary survey. In your emails following Part 1, many of you asked […] -
Associate Salaries, Bonuses, Boutique Law Firms, Job Survey, Money, Small Law Firms
A Small Firm Salary Survey: The Results (Part 1)
Over 650 of you responded to last week’s salary survey. In poring over the results, I learned several lessons: (1) Don’t make salary questions fill-in-the-blank. It creates a host of problems, including the inadvertent omitting/adding of zeroes, and makes data compilation and analysis unnecessarily difficult. (2) Do include open-ended “anything else” questions; people write all […] -
Small Law Firms
Caveat Small Firm Hopeful: Socially Inept Need Not Apply
My former practice at a small law firm was primarily commercial and residential real estate development. The week after my bar results came in, my boss gave me a stack of documents to read through and let me sit in on a couple of closings. I watched, listened and pretended to take notes. Then one […] -
Associate Salaries, Bonuses, Boutique Law Firms, Job Survey, Money, Small Law Firms
Show Me the Money: A Small Firm Salary Survey
Biglaw salaries are no secret. You can find numbers all over the internet, including places like oh, I don’t know, Above the Law (not just the home page, but also the Career Center). But what about information for everyone else? You already know what I made during my time at a small firm, but that […] -
Blogging, Small Law Firms
Under the Shingle: 10.11.2010
I like to think of this column as a conduit for information relevant to small firm practices. Given the variety of practice settings we’re lumping into the phrase “small law,” it’s important that you hear from people other than myself. I know, you’re crushed — me too. Toward that end, I’ll be interviewing small firm […] -
Legal Research, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, Technology
LexisNexis Launches New Platform for Solos
Over the next year, LexisNexis is rolling out a completely redesigned research platform, and guess who they’re starting with? From the press release that came out Tuesday: LexisNexis… today announced the launch of Lexis® Advance for Solos – the first in a series of releases of new Lexis® Advance online legal research tools. Created through […] -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Small Law Firms
Great Expectations (Part 3): Is It All About the Benjamins?A Comparison of Biglaw v. Small Firm Compensation
Yes, yes it is. At least that’s what I gather based on the relative volume of commentary I received on the subject since the inception of this column about small law firms. I’ve been avoiding the topic, mostly because salary discussions usually degenerate into little richard-measuring contests but, in addition to the comment wars that […]