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Dear Lawyers: You’re in Your Own Way. Build Your Firm by Thinking Anew

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By Trisha Daho

Join a mastermind program specifically designed for attorneys, starting in 2021! Contact Trisha Daho for more information: [email protected].

We know you love control. It’s part of what makes you a great attorney. Knowing what’s next, anticipating the next fact, the next action, we get it. People rely on you for your skills of anticipation. The plans you implement in the present help them mitigate the future.

But this year, the ability to plan and predict fell apart. Most of us didn’t see this coming. (Though Bill Gates gets a pass.) The courts closed. Schools closed. The world closed. You have done what you needed to do to keep your law practice going. You’ve not only pivoted but bounced, twisted, and leapt. And you are still here! That is something to celebrate.

If you are like the rest of us, you’ve also done some soul searching about your life as a lawyer:

Do I love this? What am I doing that isn’t working very well? Many have gone even further and asked what the legal industry should be doing differently, both to handle the present situation and permanently. Because guess what? Not only do you not have to run a law firm like they’ve been run for 200 years, your firm will thrive if you don’t. You can be more successful thinking and doing in a different way.

First, it takes a mindset shift. You need to change how you think about yourself, your job, and your law firm. All of it. That may seem a bit dramatic, but it also means dramatic growth. You may also start to regain that feeling of control you once had.

But how? Here are some great steps:

1. Ask yourself: What is my strongest aspiration for the new year?

If the answer is “build your firm and grow business revenue,” good for you.

It may seem vague, but this goal allows you flexibility with how you’ll grow your business, and your expectations can start small. Multiple quick, small wins will breed more wins and you can scale up from there. The key is to feel good because that will encourage you to want to change further. Pain, criticism, and failure only sow seeds for more pain, criticism, and failure. Success breeds more success.

Read more: The aggregation of marginal gains.

2. Ask yourself: What type of person do I want to be in 2021?

Then answer for yourself: “The type of lawyer who has an ever-growing business.”

This is the mindset you want. Your brain has to buy in. You need to see yourself as the type of person whose business is always growing. In other words, success begins between your ears. It starts as an inside job.

3. Begin the brainstorm!

Now you need to prove to your brain that through your actions – what you do (not just think) – you’re becoming the type of attorney you want to be. This is when you begin brainstorming different strategies to grow your law firm.

Select the ideas you want to pursue, that you have the skills to do, and that will be effective in helping you grow your practice. Create a brand for yourself and the firm, design a marketing and business development strategy that produces predictable and sustainable results. Be strategic, insightful, innovative. Think big, about how the whole industry could be doing it differently, then move small and decide how to implement changes that lead there, starting with you and your firm. Measure what happens.

We predict you will grow between 20-35% in your first year when you get truly intentional instead of reactional. Your law firm and practice will be differentiated from the thousands of similar attorneys still stuck on the rollercoaster of marketing then practicing law, instead of laying new tracks like you will be.

4. Now really begin to build your firm: start tiny and celebrate every small action.

(Do not skip the champagne because it feels foreign!)

Based on 20 years of research at Stanford University and 40,000 case studies, BJ Fogg’s 2020 book, Tiny Habits, smashes various habit myths. Change does not have to be hard!

Habits can be formed quickly and easily but assertive self-motivation is not the key – that wavers and can be unreliable. What you need are good anchors for new habits: start with micro behaviors and celebrate your actions immediately. This is the recipe for a successful mindset shift.

As your results steadily improve day-by-day, you will literally see yourself become the attorney and person you want to be and this avoids self-sabotaging. Your brain and your thinking are in sync. The final step: teach your team to do the same. Commit to these practices and they become a culture, a thriving one.

Intentionality and focus are hard in times like these. While the solution lies solely with you, we can help.

AMATA Law Office Suites, Empowered, and Breakthrough Bound have collaborated on a growth mindset mastermind designed specifically for lawyers looking to thrive differently. Are you in? Email Trisha Daho: [email protected]

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Want to Grow Your Law Practice? This Firm Says Live Receptionists are Key

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From reviewing cases to administrative work, it’s no secret that attorneys juggle multiple daily tasks. In fact, the average lawyer only spent around three hours per day on billable work last year.

A missed phone call might not seem like a big deal. But according to a 2018 report from NewVoiceMedia, now Vonage, businesses lose $75 billion each year due to poor customer service, such as missed phone calls. In addition to that, cloud-based voice platform Aircall reports that 85% of callers won’t follow up if their calls are not returned.

Joshua Haid

In 2018, Joshua Haid and his firm, Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group by Haid and Teich LLP, moved to Amata Law Office Suites, a community of more than 700 attorneys with seven Class-A offices in downtown Chicago. He liked the flexibility of Amata’s business model, as it would allow him to expand or downsize office space to match the needs of his 16-attorney team.

He saw direct value in Amata’s reception services, as having a designated professional fielding calls was a clear way to dedicate more time to his cases. Haid’s firm immediately began utilizing Amata’s live receptionists to handle its call screening and fielding. Amata also offers personalized incoming call and client intake forms.

“It ensures our clients always have a live person answering the phone, so they’re not forwarded to a voicemail during business hours,” Haid said. “Even if an attorney is not available, clients always appreciate speaking with a person.”

Amata’s receptionists answered calls for 270 firms and managed 15,000 calls in October. As of Oct. 5, Haid and his firm also gained access to extended live reception from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. without incurring a premium price for non-business hours, for which other live reception companies often charge.

The service relieves management stress from partners’ plates. If one of Haid’s team members is at home and feeling sick or taking a lunch break, he no longer has to pull others away from their responsibilities to answer phones or worry about shuffling staff. Live reception instead helps Haid and his team focus on building the practice.

“Having the depth of Amata’s live reception staff makes it one less of a headache,” he said. “It provides us a huge financial advantage. It’s one less thing that I have to worry about.”

Lawyers are only charged for used reception minutes and unlike other phone-answering services, where receptionists are outsourced, Amata’s receptionists are part of the team and have strong customer service backgrounds. Gwen Waters has been with Amata for 15 years. Along with handling clients’ calls, she is sometimes tasked with scheduling conference rooms, sending a fax and even calming clients’ nerves on their first lawyer visit.

“That is what I’ve always liked about Amata,” Waters said. “There is no routine.”

Fellow receptionists Tara Krkljes and Natalie Gonzalez, who joined Amata earlier this year, enjoy building a connection with callers and playing a role in lawyers’ practices.

“The attorneys need important information from these callers … and I do my best to get it to them,” Krkljes said.

Amata Live Receptionists

Krkljes’s favorite part of the job is working with each lawyer to customize caller forms and greetings so the information is straightforward when presented to clients and helpful for the firm’s intake procedure.

“Amata feels like family,” Gonzalez said. “They try their best to make sure their clients and employees are taken care of.”

Call us or visit our website and take an online or in-person tour of one of our seven Class-A spaces to learn how our live reception services can help you successfully grow your law practice.

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Richard Gurak: Building a Powerful Law Firm (Paper-Free) and Out-of-the-Box Thinking | THE 1958 LAWYER Podcast

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How do you build a powerful law firm? Take Advitam IP as an example – a firm that started with a blank page, then thought so divergently they decided to just throw paper away entirely. Now, eight years running, embracing the pivot and always keeping cost in mind has made their firm thrive.

Key moments:

  • Why you should begin with a blank page (5:07)
  • How firms can meet client billing rate expectations (13:14)
  • Choosing a branded name versus a last name for your firm (24:35)
  • The importance of change in a successful firm (28:20)
  • What Richard Gurak wants to see changed in law (32:53)

Follow “The 1958 Lawyer” on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“Frankly, from the AM Law 100 firm that we were leaving, we gave up nothing. In fact, I’ve joked with Michele that I actually think that our tech capabilities are better.”

“It never fades, the happiness I feel when I get referrals, because I always tell myself okay you must be doing something right.”

“It takes time to change. It takes money, sometimes, to change. But in order to stay on top of your game – not only in the legal business but in any business – you have to adapt.”

While Lavish Law Office Space is Nice, Talent Tops List of Client Priorities

CONNECT WITH RICHARD GURAK

Richard Gurak is a Founding Partner of Intellectual Property firm Advitam IP, LLC (2012) where he represents individuals and companies of all sizes across five continents. Mr. Gurak has authored articles on legal issues relating to trademark and domain name, appearing in numerous publications, and lectures regularly on intellectual property matters.

An active networker and philanthropist, he participates in and/or is a member of the International Trademark Association, The Union League Club Chicago, and a Lifetime Member of the Natural Register of Who’s Who.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardgurak/

Advitam IP: https://advitamip.com/

KEEP EXPLORING

Have comments, questions, or concerns? Contact us at [email protected]

“The 1958 Lawyer and his 1938 Dollar” still defines the business of law…
It’s time for a change.

If you’re a lawyer, you’re familiar with the ABA article “The 1958 Lawyer and his 1938 Dollar” which gives our podcast its title, and its inspiration. That article was the start of the billable hour for law firms…And the last major change to the business of law, 70+ years ago now. Well, it’s past time for another change.

This podcast is all about bucking the status quo of the business of law. Your hosts Ron Bockstahler and Kirsten Mayfield run Amata Law Office Suites, providing law firms an alternative to the traditional fixed-cost business model that places unwanted stress on attorneys to work long hours that often-times lead to burn out, broken relationships and in many cases substance abuse. Each week they’ll discuss alternatives to the 12 hours days, endless rotation of clerks and paralegals, and the expensive offices leased to impress clients who rarely show up in person anymore. They’ll interview successful lawyers who are doing law differently, and finding a work-life balance while still running a successful firm.

Do you want to find a better way to run your law firm? It’s time for the next big change in the business of law, and you’ll get it here on The 1958 Lawyer.

More episodes of The 1958 Lawyer podcast

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Advice on Moving (or Relocating) Your Law Firm

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Advice on Moving (or Relocating) Your Law Firm

Moving from working out of your your house into a private office space? Expanding into a new location in a new state? We have tips and advice for all types of moves. It’s an exciting time, and if you’ve given your choices proper consideration, it doesn’t have to be stressful.

Your First Office: “I work remotely and want to move into private office space. How do I pick the best space?”

You’re taking a big step, both for your practice and for your bank account. Make sure you properly vet any space you are looking at to ensure it satisfies your growing firm’s growing needs and doesn’t become unaffordable overhead.

We recommend asking the following questions of your potential landlord or space provider:

  • What’s the shortest lease term I’m able to sign?
  • What happens if I need to scale up during my lease term? Or scale down?
  • What amenities are included in my base rent and what ones are add-ons that I need to pay each month (like water, heat, office equipment, etc.)?
  • What are the benefits to being at your space? And can you think of any negatives?

We especially want you to ask that last question – there are negatives to ANY arrangement, and having a landlord or space provider who is honest and upfront with you means you’re getting into business with someone you can trust.

Your New Office: “The attorney I sublease from isn’t renewing their lease. What do I do next?”

Many attorneys sublease space from other attorneys – who are effectively trying to be both landlords and law firm owners. It’s no surprise then, that so many find themselves suddenly kicked out of their space when the attorneys they sublease from decide to give up the dual roles and not renew their leases.

If this is your situation, you’re probably stressed out, and potentially a little angry. You want to make sure your next situation is stable, and you probably discovered a few options:

  1. You can sublease again
  2. You even take on the dual role yourself and lease a large floor
  3. You can take an office with a shared office space provider

Before you make a choice ask yourself: “What do I really need to practice law successfully.”

If this move isn’t really that cumbersome, and isn’t interfering with your day-to-day business, then go with option one. Just keep in mind that you may need to move again sooner than you expect, and that your options may be more limited so price and location shopping will be difficult.

If you loved your traditional space and like the idea of having a small floor of other attorneys in a community you hand crafted, then go with option two. Make sure you speak with other attorneys who have done so first, though. Otherwise you may find yourself stressed and overworked (and not with legal work).

If this move is causing stress, and you want both stability and the ability to shop around for the best price and best location, then a shared office space is your best bet. Additionally, you’ll get the same benefits as option two – a community of attorneys – if you choose a boutique shared office space provider who specializes in supporting law firms. Check if your area provides one!

Your New Beginning: “I’m opening my firm in a new state. Any advice?”

Congratulations on your success! Aside from the legal business of becoming an attorney in a new state, you’ve got a new market you’re trying to enter. Many of our own attorney clients find success by first setting themselves up to work remotely. Most often they purchase a Virtual Law Office program which gives them a local address on one of our floors, a local phone number for their firm, as well as access to all of our locations and our conference rooms for meetings. This saves them the overhead of renting private office space until they are more established in their new city, while giving them all the amenities they need to run their practice in the new location.

The added benefit of opening a Virtual Law Office is that when they do make the move into physical, private space, they are able to maintain their address by simply upgrading from their Virtual Law Office into private office space. Need more information on how this works? Visit our Virtual Law Office page!

Additional Resources for moving your law firm:

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How to Get Affordable Health Insurance for Your Small Law Firm

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How to Get Affordable Health Insurance for Your Small Law Firm

 

If you’re a partner at a law firm, then being an attorney is not your only focus: running the firm takes up a large portion of your time and energy. It’s probably why you’re reading our blog. You are interested in shared law office space (like we provide at Amata Law Office Suites) because of its cost-savings and extensive, built-in, support staff for your firm.

At Amata, we want to ensure that we help support your business knowledge so you can run your firm well, and focus on practicing law. Today, we’re tackling one of the most fraught areas of running a law firm: selecting health insurance.

The truth behind small business health insurance…

After reading The Price We Pay by Marty Makary, M.D., our CEO & Founder, Ron Bockstahler, dove deep into the world of health insurance and uncovered some interesting information: small businesses have more comprehensive and affordable health insurance options than they are often led to believe. For instance, many small firm attorneys would be surprised to learn that as a one-person business, they have access to group-health insurance.

If you have individual health insurance, you may have learned the hard way that the individual market lacks stability: the plans are often shifting & changing, and prices are prone to jumping (many see this happen yearly!). The group market, on the other hand, is lower cost and provides more stable insurance options. The plans do not change often, either in design or in price. They also renew each year, and are less susceptible to drastic federal and state legislative changes.

How is it possible that a one-person business can have access to something labeled “group”?

Technically, it is referenced as a small group, and there are restrictions. Since many of us infer group as including a large number of individuals, we don’t look into whether group insurance is an option for us as small businesses and default to the individual insurance options. For many small business owners group insurance is not only a viable option, but the best option. The benefits of group health are so large that business owners shouldn’t assume they won’t have access without talking to an experienced insurance professional first.

What are the benefits of going with group insurance?

Aside from the lower costs and increased stability, providing good health insurance both for yourself and your employees can create a better work atmosphere. Health insurance is one of the most contentious topics in America right now, but everyone can agree that they want good insurance. Being the firm who can provide great benefits will help bolster your employee satisfaction, and can boost not only staff retention but overall happiness – both of which will bolster your firm’s effectiveness.

Does your firm qualify for group insurance?

Answering this question is worth the time investment. You can either contact your existing insurance people, or if you’re an Amata Law Office Suite client, you can attend our special education event “Insurance Education: What they don’t tell you” hosted by Alexandra Eidenberg of The Insurance People and Richie Marrero of 360 Benefits. This event takes place at 77 W Wacker on Thursday, February 20th, and is open to all Amata Law Office Suites clientele. You can RSVP with us at [email protected]. If you missed the event and want more information, send us an email!

In only an hour Alexandra and Richie will give a crash course on the insurance options you don’t know about, and you can pick their brains to see if any of these options are good for your firm. If you want your questions answered, please RSVP. For anyone looking to network, cocktails and appetizers will also be available post-event.

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How to Open a Virtual Law Firm

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How to Open a Virtual Law Firm

Virtual offices are sweeping the nation, and if you’re thinking of transitioning from brick-and-mortar into a virtual law firm your options are expanding.

Whether your leaving your current firm and going solo, or you are looking to decrease the cost of office rent, a new sector of virtual law firm providers is popping up to help: boutique office spaces that cater to attorneys, and attorneys alone.

Finding a good provider is the most important part of going virtual. Below we break down the 3 steps you should take before committing to any virtual office.

STEP 1: Take a tour!

Make sure you tour the office space before you sign up for services! You may be having meetings downtown and you want a space that is beautiful, has plenty of meeting room options, and friendly staff on hand.

Here’s an easy checklist for you while you tour:

☐ No logos (you want it to feel like your space)

☐ A few meeting room sizes

☐ Professional & welcoming entryway

☐ Comfortable common space

☐ Kitchenette/Cafe for you and for guests

☐ Bonus points for natural light in common areas & gorgeous views

Luckily plenty of companies have virtual tours of their space online, so you can complete this step asap.

STEP 2: Ask yourself “Will I be virtual permanently?”

Are you scaling down as a last step towards retirement? Or are you going virtual to launch your solo practice? If you may need office space in the future  make sure the provider’s offices and contracts fit your requirements.

Ask for a pricing break down on physical space and let them know you may go permanent in a year – if they are straight forward they will provide all the information you want without deflecting. And if they deflect their contracts are most likely convoluted, and you should move on in your search.

STEP 3: Interrogate your potential office space providers

The business of law demands flexibility and extensive support options. Make a list of all the needs for your law firm, and when you tour locations ask if the office provider can help support these needs.

A good provider will have paralegal support, admin support, front-desk personnel and reception services. But they may also have partners that can help with your billing/collections and court reporting. It can’t hurt to ask, and you may be surprised by the services provided.

Benefits of opening your virtual law firm with a boutique, attorney-centric office space provider

You already know the benefits of going virtual, that’s why you’re reading this article. Scaling down overhead costs. Achieving a great work/life balance. But you can receive even more benefits as a virtual law firm if you select the right office space provider.

  • Legal office staff downtown (even though you aren’t): everything from law clerks to paralegals to court filings without having to hire any personnel personally
  • Attorney peers you can connect with online: networking is a vital part of any firm’s new business generation, and many providers have online community sites to help this
  • Events for legal education & networking: all providers host events, and ‘bring your dog to work day’ or ‘group yoga’ sound fun but you don’t want to rearrange your schedule for these activities. A complimentary CLE webinar, on the other hand, is appealing, and helpful for you and your practice.

Want to read thoughts from attorneys running virtual law firms (and loving it!) before you start these steps? The American Bar Association interviewed 5 law firm leaders for their insight on being virtual attorneys.

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Are You Concerned About Your Firm’s Cash Collections?

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Are You Concerned About Your Firm's Cash Collections?

Chasing after clients to collect money owed is no fun. That’s why attorneys often avoid the task until their coffers reach dangerously low levels. This is not a good idea. You can’t run or grow a firm without a reliable cash flow, which not only means attracting business but devising a system to collect what clients owe.

Here are 4 simple ways to improve the accounts receivable column of your ledger

Get Involved

Nobody likes calling clients and asking for money, especially lawyers, who can’t claim collections as billable hours. That’s why most law firms assign collecting receivables to lower-level employees, like paralegals or secretaries. Although this technique frees up partners and associates to do more productive work, it often is not effective. It’s easier to dodge the call of an assistant than it is to avoid the call of the attorney who’s handling your divorce.

If attorneys in your firm balk at getting involved with collections, you could tie their compensation to the money they actually collect, rather than what they bill. Also, tell them that every dollar collected is a dollar earned without putting in extra hours.

Don’t Delay

Clients won’t pay a bill they don’t receive, so it pays (literally) to send out invoices quickly and regularly. Don’t wait until the end of a case to bill clients, who then have no incentive to pay quickly.

Invoice Often

It’s easier for a client to ignore one bill than regular, monthly statements that remind them of how much they owe. Monthly statements inform clients of the terms of your service, how much they owe, and when you expect to be paid. Make sure statements have easy-to-read contact information so clients can call or e-mail you with payment questions or problems.

Become Tech Savvy

Technology may not be your specialty, but today’s billing software is so easy to use that it pays to invest in a program that regularly invoices clients and keeps track of those who fall behind on payments. If such software makes you shutter, consider outsourcing your accounts receivable division. You’ll pay money to collect money, but when you consider the billable hours wasted while you chase receivables, or the wages you pay someone else in your firm to collect funds, outsourcing won’t seem that expensive and, ultimately, could pay for itself.

Our next CLE will address attorney billing practices and how to maximize your collections. Join us on July 30th, email us at [email protected] for more information!

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Do You Maintain These Key Management & Financial Reports?

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Do You Maintain These Key Management & Financial Reports?

Numbers may not be your forte but keeping track of certain numbers is key to the success of any law firm. Here are some key management and financial reports you should prepare – or have an outside source prepare for you – to understand the business health of your law practice.

  • Cash-flow projections:

    Spreadsheets that show how cash comes in, and flows out of, your business – usually 12-18 months of revenue and expenses. Most firms run these reports annually and update them monthly.

  • Balance sheet:

    List of a firm’s assets and liabilities on a particular date.

  • Profit-and-loss statement:

    Charts a firm’s profitability, either annually or quarterly. Shows revenues, costs, and expenses, and signals to a firm that, to become profitable, it must either cut expenses, increase revenue, or both. (Also called an “income statement” or “P&L” for short.)

  • Accounts payable aging:

    Gives a picture of how much money a firm owes, to whom, and when. This valuable planning tool tells a firm which bills are due this month or somewhere down the line, usually in 30-day increments.

  • Accounts receivable schedule:

    A monthly schedule that shows how much each client owes the firm. This schedule is key to keeping on top of collections.

  • Accounts receivable aging:

    A periodic report that shows how long clients’ bills have been outstanding. Collections that are slower than normal can be a warning that a firm is slowing down or taking on risky clients.

  • Hours worked:

    Every lawyer knows there’s a difference between hours worked and billable hours; both are included in this regular report that compares these hours to a daily, weekly, or monthly billing goal. A 2012 LexisNexis survey of about 500 attorneys showed a 33 percent gap between average hours worked and hours billed to clients. The biggest non-billable time-eater was “practice management and administrative tasks,” like billing, accounting, and filing. According to the survey, bigger firms typically report fewer non-billable hours than small firms with one or two lawyers.

  • Write-offs:

    Lists bills a firm never expects to collect from clients. Write-offs can result from a client complaint about service or billing, or they can result from hours spent on cases that a firm decides not to collect. Write-offs are often used as a snapshot of a firm’s efficiency.

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Proof You Only Bill 2 Hours a Day, and How Data Collection Can Help

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lawyer time tracking

You’re not a scientist or an analyst, so you may be doubtful that data collection can do anything for your firm. You are not alone. Since the orators of Greece till modern day, we have had little legal industry data to look at. However, with the shift in technology in the legal profession, data has begun to appear. And the discoveries are shocking.

The Truth About Tracking Billable Hours

Clio, a technological software built to help lawyers with time management and organization, released their first “Legal Trends” report in 2016, with a second released in the fall of last year. These two reports contain an analysis of data collected from their 40,000+ attorney clients. While their reports are thick one-inch print outs – yes, I printed them both, I am no friend of the forests now – one piece of information sticks out as especially disconcerting.

In 2016, lawyers only logged an average of 2.2 hours of billable time per day, and only billed 1.8. This result is supported in their second legal trends report, which collected data from an additional 20,000 lawyers.

Right now you may be saying ‘Not me. I’m different.’ To which I need to ask, how do you know?

As a lawyer, you understand that you cannot solely trust a person’s self-reported version of events due to bias. And our ability to not trust lawyers on their billable hours is proven. In 2012, lawyers were self-reporting numbers closer to 6.9 for an average 8.9 hour workday. Studying the quantitative numbers, such as Clio did, removes this bias. If you don’t have the numbers, you cannot be certain that a large portion of your day is not spent on non-billable work.

Scrutinizing minds may be wary of how Clio can benefit from releasing this report. Obviously, they are using this example of non-billable hours to prove to potential clients that time management is key, and, how convenient, Clio is there to help. However, don’t forget that all the lawyers included in this study are already using Clio.

One can infer most of these lawyers also take care to control their time, stay organized, etc. That’s why they turned to Clio in the first place. Which makes me wonder, how bad are the numbers for those who don’t have a clue?

How do lawyers track billable hours?

We suggest you start collecting the data yourself to learn just how productive you truly are. You can sign up for a program such as Clio or go the traditional route and use pen and paper.

  • Mark the time you start
  • Note what case you are working on
  • Note specifics on the work – document review, research, memos, etc.
  • Mark the time you stop, – and why you stopped. Was it a phone call? An issue with your printer? Another case at the back of your mind?

Interruptions are often the culprit of lost work time, so once you know the reasons you stopped working, you can work towards solutions to fixing them. Set specific hours where you answer calls and speak to clients. Go paperless. Practice your focus techniques through meditation.

But to refine your processes, it all starts with collecting that data.

See how Amata Law Office Suites can help you become more efficient in your day-to-day. With access to more than just office space, you can finally focus on what you need to – billable hours.

KIRSTEN MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS WITH AMATA OFFICE SOLUTIONS

 

Kirsten Mayfield, Director of First Impressions with Amata Office Solutions

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Law School Students Get Exclusive Treatment at Amata

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Law School Students Get Exclusive Treatment at Amata

Amata is aware of how hard and costly it can be to get your law firm up and running. And for law students, if you want to be successful in the legal world, you need more than stellar grades and an innate knowledge of law.

The increasingly competitive nature of the legal marketplace has meant that attorneys need to make sure that all aspects of their business are flawless. And your physical workspace can’t be overlooked. In fact, it has become more important than ever before. After all, it can make a meaningful difference in your productivity and longevity.

Discover How Amata Can Help

Starting a law firm, particularly in today’s aggressive market, is no easy task. But Amata Law Office Suites is making it our business to help law students’ transitions to the legal marketplace easier than ever before. For any startup law firm that’s looking to grow, Amata can provide credibility and a more professional image, both of which are key to selling legal services.

Qualified participants in the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Solo & Small Practice Incubator program are able to receive many of Amata Law Office Suites’ services at no charge. With our assistance, you can maximize your chances of success.

Instantly Jump Start Your Law Practice

We also offer a program available exclusively to attorneys – both those that are leaving the Chicago-Kent Incubator program and those in their first year of practice – specifically designed to financially assist new attorneys in getting started with their solo law practice.

Amata knows that the environment you choose to work from can have an instrumental impact on your success. Establishing a strong network is one of the most important steps to starting a law practice. Word of mouth will always be a key driver of law firm growth, so building up a network of attorneys, as well as other professionals, can help generate business.

Enjoy Immediate Access To The Features And Services You Want and Need For Your Firm

The legal profession is one that involves great responsibility in the handling and resolution of important matters in our clients’ lives. Trustworthiness and professionalism are a necessity for any attorney to be successful at landing clients and growing their firm.

Perhaps even more crucial is the workspace environment and staff on hand.

Take Advantage of Amata’s Highly Trained Staff With A Personal Receptionist

Having a polished office space with high-end finishes is an easy way to exude professionalism. Amata comes complete with luxury finishes and even a highly-trained receptionist to greet your prospective clients. We provide these professional reception services at no charge, so you can concentrate on what’s truly important.

  • Incoming calls are handled by a professional receptionist
  • Assistance is provided with any new client intake
  • Receptionist greets visiting clients and announces them upon arrival

Daily Task Assistance Made Easy

The daily tasks of a burgeoning attorney can stack up very quickly, and when you’re still burdened with finishing law school, coming up with the funds to pay for these services can seem overwhelming.

  • Custom call answering based on your requests
  • Personal phone number with voice messaging
  • All assigned phone numbers are owned by you and easily portable
  • Free document scanning at all Amata locations

Grow Your Practice With Exclusive Networking

Attorney networking opportunities can be the platform for taking your law firm to the next level. Working at Amata Law Office Suites with other attorneys is an excellent way to form strong relationships early on. You can establish mutual referral arrangements, share resources and information, and learn valuable lessons about marketing and running a business from other attorneys who are in a similar position.

What’s more, Amata offers exclusive networking events tailored specifically for attorneys like yourself.

  • Membership with 800+ Chicago-based attorneys
  • Social activities designed with lawyers in mind
  • Networking events and speaker series for professional development

Make It Professional With Bonus Access To Many Amenities

The daily needs of a law student preparing to start their own firm extend far beyond routine services. You need a place for working and meeting clients, as well as a collaborative and vibrant workspace. Amata has all your bases covered.

  • Access to all of Amata’s open work areas
  • Private huddle room and client intake room access
  • Free access to WiFi at all of Amata’s locations

A La Carte – Member Rate Services

When you need to go beyond the routine services and are looking for access to specific needs, Amata is your complete source. Amata Law Office Suites offers law school students the ability to gain access at member discounts.

  • Copier and mail machine use when you need it
  • Utilization of our paralegal and administrative team and court filing services
  • Access to our network of business partners and discounted rates

Starting a law firm is no easy feat. There’s a lot to consider, including your potential revenue and expenses, as well as the environment from which you work.

For your workspace needs, let Amata Law Office Suites be your ultimate solution. You can customize your plan today, and take advantage of all Amata has to offer. As a law student, it could be just what you need to get your firm up and running.

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