#sole practitioner

ALWAYS RESIST BEFORE YOU CEASE AND DESIST I was contacted by the management of a consumer product line; the COO was in a panic “we are being sued for trademark infringement and we received a 30-day cease and desist letter.” Me: First, let’s be clear. You are not being sued. This is only a threat. Him: But I am looking at the court papers, we are being sued. Me: These haven’t been filed.  They…

Many attorneys come out of law school and do not join a large law firm.  In fact, 68% of all attorneys in private practice in the U.S. are sole practitioners or in firms with ten or fewer attorneys.  These small practices, along with accountants, entrepreneurs, and other startup companies are always looking for that competitive edge that will help grow their business into something renowned and distinguished.  One of the biggest obstacles these small businesses have to overcome is the need for bringing in new clients all of the time while still maintaining the needs of all current clients.  All of the time spent talking to potential clients on the phone and in meetings trying to sell yourself is time that will not be billable.  Larger firms have a lot less time that is not billable because of the full-time office staff that help with mundane details like scheduling and routine questions and allow the lawyers to spend more time in the courtroom and maintaining current client’s needs.  All of that time spent by the attorneys is billable, resulting in a higher revenue stream while not losing and potential clients.  As opposed to a sole practitioner, who needs to spend a lot of time on both the maintenance and the recruiting, so one of those crucial aspects of a growing business is going to suffer, if not both. 

One very helpful solution for those sole practitioners and entrepreneurs is a virtual office.  Virtual offices provide these small businesses with the appearance and the functionality of a large, fully staffed firm.  A virtual secretary alone would be able to handle all incoming phone calls, answering questions any current or potential client may have, leaving much more of the attorney’s time to take care of clients in a way that only he or she can.  Also, virtual offices can provide you with a physical conference room in a big building, charging you hourly for a meeting room or an office, while giving the client the impression of a very successful and credible business person.  This is a great alternative to paying for a full time office because being a sole practitioner, you can pay for the space you rarely need on a by-need basis.  No wasted money, no wasted space.  This is a very efficient alternative to staffing a full-time receptionist, with whom comes a bunch of paperwork and training hours and other turnover costs.  The virtual receptionist and virtual assistants will greatly increase the efficiency of the money you are saving and the time you are saving.