On October 30th, Lawyers.com Editor-in-Chief Larry Bodine blogged about the decline of BigLaw, based on new LexisNexis/Counsellink research, Enterprise Legal Management Trends Report, which found that small firms now get the largest proportion of legal billings.

It’s no surprise that laid-off lawyers and grads who can’t find a job have hung out their own shingles, but there are some scary mistakes that solos can make if they’re not paying attention.  Jim Calloway outlined these in his 7 Deadly Sins of Opening a New Solo Law Practice article for the Oklahoma Bar Association:

1.  Not realizing you are running a business.  You may have studied the law, but you are running a business.  And to be successful, client development needs to be your first priority.  If you don’t know anything about marketing a law firm, make it a priority to learn.

2.  Not keeping overhead low.  The pleasure you may gain from having a fancy office is nothing compared with the worry of making those big payments every month.  Don’t strap yourself with too many financial obligations.

3.  Not identifying your niche.  Lawyers who specialize reap bigger rewards than generalists.  Focusing on a niche that you can own helps you differentiate yourself from the competition and attract clients who can pay you for your specialty.

4. Not identifying your ideal target market.  You can’t be everything to everyone; define your ideal client and focus all your legal marketing efforts on attracting them.

5.  Not paying enough attention to the finances.  The bottom line is the measurement of success for every business.  Pay attention to how you are doing now and track projections for months out as well.

6.  Not using technology that can help you cut operating costs.  Lawyers have been famously averse to adopting new technologies, but thankfully that is changing.  Automating many of your operating and marketing tasks will help you save time and money.

7.  Not micro-managing the client experience.  You must ensure your clients have the best possible experience with your firm.   You not only want them to return and refer, you want the word on your good reputation to be spread via social media – this can only be accomplished by paying very close and careful attention to managing the experience your clients have with your firm.