nursinglawbandit

Present Onto Others as You Would Have Them Present Onto You

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202423103864

I do my fair of presenting and I like this article.

I have found the more comfortable you are with the topic, the better you present.

I present on legal issues in nursing and licensure matters. I also instruct the attendees to jump in with questions whenever because it makes the session more interesting for me and everyone. I don't have a wait until the end of my presentation rule that I see with some presenters.

Are you comfortable with public speaking?

I know you have a website and blog, right?

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202423101062

I use typepad for my blogs and I have my website with networksolutions.

I don't mind paying for professional services. But I refuse to pay someone thousands of dollars to develop and update my website or my blogs when the technology exists to do this yourself. Its not difficult and I like to play with the formats and colors myself.

Declined to Meet with a Prospective Client and His Mother

The more you practice you can pinpoint those cases that you will regret taking or the one's that you say "I knew better." When you are new and growing your practice you take on those cases for the challenge, sometimes and most time for the additional income.

Several years ago I would have taken this case but not now. This is my 11th year of law practice, 7 years as solo and I get a "gut feeling" when there is going to be trouble with a representation.

A mother contacted me about representing her son, who is studying for his RN Boards. The son did not disclose a criminal conviction to the Board as required. I agreed to meet with the mother and son asap. The son is an adult in his early twenties. The mother contacted me several times after I spoke with her initially and several times the next day, just a few hours before the consultation.

When I spoke with the mother, she was agitated and asking me for legal advice about how her son should proceed. I indicated we are meeting soon and we can discuss this. The mother became agitated and informed me "I wasn't answering the question asked."

I informed the mother I was not available for the consultation or representation and that she could have the son contact me and I would refer him to another licensure defense attorney. I abruptly ended the conversation with the mother.

I have this issue now in case where a parent wants to be overly involved in the legal representation and I have to remind the parent that I represent the nurse regardless of who pays for my representation.

I declined to meet with the prospective client and his mother. I can imagine this parent calling me two or four times a week for case updates in an administrative law case and second guessing my legal advice and counseling provided to her child. No sir re bob, not me. Been there, done it and not doing it again. Its not worth it!

As a self-employed nurse attorney and small business owner, of course I could use the money generated from the legal consultation and/or representation. But I decline.....

Are the Services You Provide a Non-essential Purchase in Today's Economy?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/18/news/companies/starbucks_closures/index.htm?postversion=2008071814

This article discusses Starbucks and why the company is closing hundreds of locations:

The Seattle-based coffee company has said the cutbacks reflect a difficult economic environment in which rising gas prices and unemployment, as well as falling home values, have consumers cutting back on nonessential purchases like premium coffee.

Think about the services you provide as a small business owner or as an attorney. Are you providing a non-essential service or product?

I am not a Starbucks fan even though I really like the Strawberry Frap. I prefer coffee from White Castle. I used to tease one of my cousin's about drinking Starbuck coffee everyday for the last two years. After she closed on her house and had a baby this year she switched from Strarbucks to Dunkin Donuts coffee. I really like the Strawberry Banana smoothies at Dunkin Donuts.

 

 

Working with a Family Member: For Better or For Worse!

I need some assistance with my law and consulting firm. Not alot of assistance but just a little with clerical and administrative tasks.

My sister is going to assist me on a trial basis starting next week. Its already off to a questionable start because she didn't show up for training on Wednesday afternoon.

I will try her out with small tasks initially:

1. Scheduling Appointments

2. Following-Up with Prospective Clients; and

3. Proofreading Documents.

I have a feeling however that I will be firing her before she starts!  Does anyone care to share any stories?

Smaller Law Firms Folding into Larger Firms: Not this one!

The tight economy impacts law firms and the provision of legal services. See this article at Law.Com http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202422726953.

I don't have any plans to fold or merge into a larger law firm or any other law firm. This is why I have always ran a lean and mean (I am not mean but I like to rhyme) law practice. I use independent contractors for projects and assistance.

When I considered hiring someone a few months ago, I changed my mind. 1. After seeing the quality of a few of the writing samples and 2. After deciding I didn't really want the hassle of training and paying someone on a consistent basis.

I may eventually use the services of a virtual assistant but for now I like using project assistants for tasks. I also like to work on my own schedule and could not take the "face time" needed to work in another law firm. I did it for several years and I didn't like it. I don't like being told what to do. Therefore being a solo practitioner in my own law firm works for me.  

I worked in a law firm where face time was mandatory and meetings were routinely scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays instead of a weekday. I could have wrote a book about "death by meeting" because I lived it and I worked many of "jobs" (yes these were jobs) where I only worked for the paycheck and I dreamed of and planned my escape like a career criminal in a minimum security prison.

I tolled through five years of nursing college for a ASN and BSN, 3 years of law school, and sat for and passed 3 bar exams on the first try. I want to work in an environment where I am happy and satisfied with the quality and quantity of work I perform. I just want to be "me" while I work and make a living.

I had someone ask me recently why don't I represent nurses in criminal matters as its a "natural extension" of my licensure defense practice. Because I don't want to practice criminal law.

Do what makes you happy for a living and eventually you will start to generate enough income to survive and thrive.

Concerns of 30 Something Women

If you are thirty something and single, read this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/07/18/o.30.something.in.us/index.html

I am one of maybe 140 women in my extended family here in Cincinnati. Maybe I should bring a copy of this article to the next family function. The majority of the women in my family are single. Some would say "I am single by choice and happy." We have a wedding in our extended family maybe once every 10-15 years. I am not kidding! 

I am in a long-term relationship (5 years; hey that's long for me) with my fiance. We live together and we are planning to get married one day soon in the near but far away future. 

Some advice that I picked up from Ally McBeal, the TV show, a decade or so ago. Women, especially those of you who are educated and professional women, stop looking for Mr. Right and settle down with Mr. Right Now. You will may even be "presently" surprised.  

Do You Have a Law Practice, Business, or Both?

Read this article from the Complete Lawyer. I must say that I enjoy reading the Complete Lawyer and its one of the most practical benefits offered by state bar associations for solos and small firms.  http://indiana.thecompletelawyer.com/volume4/issue3/article.php?ppaid=8307&apage=2

The difference between a business and a practice. Do you have a business or a practice? Here's an easy way to tell: if you leave on a vacation for a month, will you still have clients and enough money to cover expenses when you return? If not, you have a practice, not a business. A practice means you have enough clients for yourself, but not much more. A business is where you have people and systems working for you while you grow the law firm, practice law and enjoy your life. One is not better or worse than the other, but the process of building a business is very different than building a practice. Know the difference and know which one you want to build.

Do you have a law practice or a business? I have a law practice and a business. I don't plan and have never planned to hire additional attorneys to grow my law and consulting practices. I can hire independent contractors to assist with projects and tasks as needed. Frankly I don't want the headaches associated with employees.

I am planning to use the services of virtual assistant in the near future but I can receive the same services from the girls at Office Suites Plus in Blue Ash, Ohio where I have a virtual office. See www.officesuitesplus.com.

Do Most Attorney Hate to Market?

http://indiana.thecompletelawyer.com/volume4/issue3/article.php?ppaid=8286

See this article about attorney marketing. Do you dislike marketing? I don't and I am always puzzled when I read articles starting attorneys hate to market as a profession in general.

Balancing Act: Practicing Law and Speaking Engagements

I was asked by another national company to present a full day seminar across the country. I declined.

I informed the company that I am available to present and speak on legal issues in the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana area however I can't commit to a national schedule.

Its grueling. I presented in March with Cross Country Education for three days in three cities and I had to rest three days. No, I am serious I was tired and I am a serious multi-tasker and workaholic.

I don't present as much as I used to anymore because my law practice keeps me busy and I am consulting with a national professional association on legal projects. I am also more selective in accepting speaking engagements than I used to be.

I looked at my CV and I spoke and traveled heavy from 2003-2005. Once I went from Cincinnati to Anchorage, Alaska (Alaska Nurses Association speaking engagement) to Arizona (National Home Care conference presentation) to Orlando, Florida (Metrade presentation) to Cincinnati, Ohio then to Washington, DC (ANA Meeting). This occurred all in the span of ten days.

I also prefer poster presentations at regional and state conferences and regional, state, or local oral presentations to speaking at national conventions.