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| How To Start A Successful Law Practice
Paperback
Author: William L. Pfeifer Jr.
Publisher: Pipers Willow, Inc.
Release Date: 2006-10-12
ISBN-10: 0978727703
ISBN-13: 9780978727703
List Price: $29.95
Average Customer Rating:
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How to Start & Build a Law Practice, 5th Edition (Career Series / American Bar Association)
ISBN-10: 1590312473
ISBN-13: 9781590312476
List Price:$69.95
How to Start a Solo Law Practice - 2008 Edition
ISBN-10: 0970186924
ISBN-13: 9780970186928
List Price:$29.95
Flying Solo, Fourth Edition: A Survival Guide for Solos and Small Firm Lawyers
ISBN-10: 1590314808
ISBN-13: 9781590314807
List Price:$99.95
Start Your Own Law Practice (Open for Business)
ISBN-10: 1572485213
ISBN-13: 9781572485211
List Price:$16.95
Start Your Own Law Practice (Startup Series.)
ISBN-10: 1932531319
ISBN-13: 9781932531312
List Price:$14.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
HOW TO START A SUCCESSFUL LAW PRACTICE: The New Lawyer's Guide To Opening An Office As A Solo Or Small Firm Attorney by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. Whether you are a new lawyer who does not want to work for a firm, or an experienced lawyer who dreams of taking control of your professional career, How to Start a Successful Law Practice is the blueprint you need to start your own law office and make it a success. In How to Start a Successful Law Practice, you'll learn: ? How to develop your personal identity as an attorney ? What to consider in choosing a legal specialty ? How to select an office location ? Which form of business is right for your practice ? The steps to setting up your business ? What office equipment and supplies you need to get started ? Ways to create a professional image through your stationery ? How to set your fees - and how to collect them ? What to look for when you hire a secretary ? Ways to market your practice ? Where to go for legal research materials ? The basic forms you need to get your practice in order Don't spend another day working in a job where someone else gets rich off of your hard work. Start your own law practice, and enjoy the personal freedoms and financial rewards that come from working for yourself. About The Author: William L. Pfeifer, Jr., is an attorney who started his own law practice shortly after graduating from law school. He has practiced both with a partner and in a solo law office, and has firsthand experience in dealing with the challenges of starting a law firm. He is a frequent speaker at legal seminars and political events, has published numerous articles, and maintains a busy and successful law practice.
A Decent Basic Outline
| Customer Rating: |
This short book can be read in a matter of hours. It provides a decent outline of the basics of starting a solo practice. I would love to find an up-to-date book that goes more in-depth as to the details of actual practice. I worked for a solo practitioner and feel that this book underplays the challenges of running a solo practice. I would recommend this book as a first step into researching and planning the start-up of a solo practice, however much more information is needed in addition to this book. |
Insubstantial and Disappointing
| Customer Rating: | I had to double check the title and this page after reading through this slim offering from William Pfeifer in one afternoon - did I really order the right book? Did Amazon send me the right book? This was in fact the book reviewed, and Amazon didn't mess up, so I'm left with a very sour taste in my mouth.
I was really hoping that this book would offer what lawyers contemplating solo practice really, really need - a thorough discussion of the many facets of Project Solo Start-Up. Alas, it's worse than Foonberg, worse than the "Flying Solo" collection (which is a useful compendium on various relevant topics, if it doesn't quite do the job of shepherding the lawyer-entrepreneur through the process start to finish) - it's the single least helpful book I've read on this subject (though I haven't read the Hal Davis book or "Hanging Out a Shingle" the apparently outdated Weyher offering).
Pfeifer does have a fairly straightforward and easy to read writing style, which I appreciate. He knows his stuff - and I'm sure he's a very successful solo lawyer. But unfortunately, being a successful solo lawyer doesn't always translate to being able to write about being a successful solo lawyer. While some chapters contain helpful bits (the rundown on practice areas in Chapter 2, for instance, and the discussion on office location in Chapter 3), no one chapter really gets it quite "right" and much is omitted. Where's the discussion on web marketing, for instance? (It gets one paragraph.) How about some information on paper-less offices? (A scanner isn't even mentioned as an essential piece of equipment!)
Some of the advice he offers strikes me as strange. He bucks the conventional wisdom concerning nicheing your practice and advocates new lawyers open generalized practices, and compete on price. I (and many others) think that's just wrong. Even the collection of forms in the last chapter are useful only as beginning templates. The one page retainer agreement leaves out a lot - evergreen retainer, anyone? how about an email policy? a description of the exact services offered and excluded? This is the theme of my reaction throughout the book - "but what about ...?" and "is that all there is?"
That's not all there is to the subject of starting a solo practice, and readers are shortchanged everywhere they turn, it seems. No one book gets it quite right. Foonberg's meaty, but outdated, a bit stilted, and strangely arranged. Flying Solo is good, but it's not a real "how to" guide. This one's insubstantial as cotton candy in places, though it does offer some good thoughts. It's a difficult thing to do, setting up a solo practice, and it deserves a better treatment than it's gotten so far. But I can't lay all that at Pfeifer's feet. I will, however, take him to task for an incomplete discussion, and some odd (if provocative) position statements.
A different version of this review appears on The Inspired Solo, [...] |
really good starting point for opening a law practice
| Customer Rating: | | I was surprised when I read this book and liked it as much as I did. Because it was not as thick as Funderburg's, I didn't know if it would be as helpful. But I actually found that the reverse was true. Instead of a lot of fluff that, to be honest, the Funderburg book has, this book by Mr. Pfeifer was streamlined and only filled with information I needed to know. For example, the section on Selecting an Office Location was particularly helpful. I hadn't even really considered the possiblity of a Virtual Office before. The only drawback I could really see with this book was that I wished it was a little longer, perhaps going into more detail in a couple of areas I was most interested in. But that's really nitpicking. I would have given it a 4.5 but obviously I couldn't. If it had been a little longer in a couple of places, I probably would have given it a 5. |
good starting point for starting a practice
| Customer Rating: | | This is a good starting point for anyone considering the idea of flying solo in their own law practice. Lawyers with a few years of experience may find the book to be a little too basic, but new lawyers will find that the book has everything they need to know to get their business off the ground. All the essentials are covered, plus it contains a section of forms that are fantastic. The book would be worth buying just to get the forms. The advice in this book is solid and should be read by any new lawyer trying to start a practice. |
Very Disappointing
| Customer Rating: | | As a writer and an active attorney, I was very disappointed in this book. Some of the advice contained within this skimpy read is mind-bogglingly inane. For instance, the author finds it necessary to instruct future solo practioners that they should not place "adult" magazines in the waiting room. (I promise this is not a joke). In addition, the chapter on choosing a corporate form is completely unhelpful. For one thing, it should be noted that attorneys can't practice under the umbrella of an LLC in California, among other places. In addition, the advice on how to calculate your anticipated expenses is meager, to say the least. The topic deserves more consideration that what is provided in this text. I can't imagine that this book is helpful to anyone who has attended law school. Perhaps someone who is considering becoming a lawyer and has no exposure to the field might find it interesting. But I suggest you save your money. This book is not helpful. Foonberg's tome is more useful, and though it has its own problems, it is a worthwhile read. I wish I could say the same about this book. |
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