Are you having challenges marketing your firm? Many lawyers feel that most referrals come from other lawyers.  If you are a South Carolina Bar member practicing alone or in a firm with five or fewer lawyers, include yourself in the Solo and Small Firm Section’s Solo and Small Firm Practice Area Directory. The Directory is accessible from the Section’s homepage, www.scbar.org/solo and contains practice area information about fellow small firm lawyers in South Carolina. Because the Directory is cross-referenced by both practice area and geographical area, finding a lawyer is quick and simple. The Directory can be viewed online or downloaded and saved as a PDF file. The PDF also contains information for how to print the Directory so that it looks like a book. For inclusion in the directory, small firm lawyers must complete a brief online survey. Questions may be directed to Courtney Kennaday, Practice Management Advisor and Solo and Small Firm Section liaison, at pmap@scbar.org.

This Wednesday, April 28, 2010, the South Carolina Bar is hosting a legislative reception from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.  The reception is at University House at 911 South Stadium Road. And it’s free! So come on Bar members – here’s your chance to rub elbows with the big wigs from the Statehouse. Don’t miss this opportunity to show our legislators that lawyers are people too! RSVP to kstaden@scbar.org & 803.576.3782.

I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for ABA TECHSHOW.  Years ago, when I was an associate in a law firm, getting more interested in law office technology and less interested in practicing law, I attended TECHSHOW in Chicago. It was the early 1990′s and so much was happening in the legal/tech world. The atmosphere was electric, and I met other lawyers from around the country – all enjoying a truly unique experience. No other so-called legal conference has the same focus on “real” lawyers.

That first TECHSHOW, I met a kind, generous lawyer who encouraged me and introduced me to people instrumental in putting on the conference. His name was Jim Keane, and his legacy as a pioneer and amazingly nice guy lives on, even though he passed away too young from cancer.  In his honor, TECHSHOW awards the annual James I. Keane Memorial Award for Excellence in eLawyering.

Chicago seemed really distant to me back in those days and it was a big step to get on the plane and go there by myself. But looking back now, 17 years later, it was one of the best steps I ever took. This year, TECHSHOW is March 25-27, at the Hilton Chicago. If you’re interested in taking the leap, please take advantage now of the Early Bird pricing and special SC Bar discount. Just enter discount code EP1001 when you register. I hope I see you there!

What if you need to arrange a conference call among a group of lawyers – but don’t have a fancy phone system or service? One solution is to use one of a number of services on the Internet that offer “free” conference calls. These services either provide free conference calling by using a toll number (i.e. not an 800) number that the attendees dial or you can get toll free number for a reasonable price.  Some to try: FreeConferenceCall.com®, Free Conference.com®, or Totally Free Conference Calls. You could also try Skype. For web conferencing with up to 20 people, take a look at DimDim.

Occasionally I get calls from lawyers, both new and not so new, with a legal question. Fortunately for me (and them) I can give them the same answer every time. Use the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Directory. It’s part of the Lawyers Desk Book every year. It’s a list of lawyers who have experience in a practice area who have agreed to provide brief telephone consultations (up to ten minutes each) without charge to other Bar members.

You can find the Directory near the end of the lawyer listings and listed in the Table of Contents. It is meant to encourage and facilitate lawyer to lawyer consultations, referrals and associations. (You might want to check the Solo & Small Firm Practice Area Directory for referral lawyers too.)

Lawyer-to-Lawyer is a great idea. Professors in law school always told us to call on an experienced lawyer when we have questions. Knowing that someone volunteered to be “bothered” with our question makes it a lot easier to pick up the phone and call for help.