Small Law Firms

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Like many unhappy lawyers, I find Cee Lo Green’s F**k You — which has been picked up by radio stations in a more family-friendly version, Forget You — to be a personal theme song (a […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Let me tell you about a couple of cases I lost. Now, wait: before the Commentariat sharpens its knives (“This guy couldn’t get a big-firm job, then loses all his cases. No wonder […]

Are you a law student concerned about this upcoming summer? Perhaps you haven’t figured out what you’ll be doing yet. Or maybe you have landed a coveted summer associate position, but want to make sure that you land that full-time job offer (and don’t get no-offered). If you’re looking for advice on how to make […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Let’s get one thing straight here. It’s a universal law: You can’t give yourself a nickname. Only someone else can give you a nickname, and it has to happen pretty much organically. There’s […]

Associates in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin seem to be doing a lot of walking these days. Last week, for example, bankruptcy associate Tyler Coulson announced that he was leaving the firm in order to walk across the country with his dog. Today we bring you the tale of Sidley IP associate Robert Leighton, […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. We all know that it is only a matter of time before we are replaced by computers. As Elie explained a few weeks ago, the legal community is already predicting how computers can do the […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. About ten years ago, my former law partner and I were involved in a noncompete case against the fourteenth-largest firm in the country. (It’s since slipped about forty spots. As you’ll see, payback’s […]

In our most recent practice area survey of the Above the Law readership, the most popular single response was “Intellectual Property.” Eighteen percent of survey respondents identified themselves as IP attorneys. So many of you might be interested in the latest controversy to heat up the small-firm blogosphere. If you’re an IP lawyer, if you […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. As has become my tradition, Sunday night I watched the Academy Awards while drinking an Oscar-themed martini. While watching the three-and-a-half-hour award show, I was reminded of a few life lessons that I have learned […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. It’s been many years, but I still remember the steps I took to land a job at a small law firm. Even though some of the methods have changed with technology, law students […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. It is no secret that I do not like my small firm. But I do know people who have found happiness and professional fulfillment by working at small law firms. And, since Biglaw probably can’t […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Many Above the Law readers are currently facing dismal job prospects as the law-firm economy continues to trail the national economy. Some are law students contemplating graduation without an offer in hand. Others […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Since obtaining this illustrious post, I have done my best to invoke the great Andrea Zuckerman (another legendary Jewish newswoman) and find out what makes an attorney happy in her small law firm. The answer, […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Nor does it create an attorney-client relationship between you and Above the Law. It may also constitute attorney advertising, depending on the state you’re in (such as boredom or apathy). Please consult the […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I moved from Biglaw to a small firm in 2008. I had heard the term “litigation boutique” used positively. Also, I had heard tales of Biglaw associates going on to small firms and doing great […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I live near Wellesley, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb usually described with words like “leafy” and “tony.” (I get “leafy,” but I’ve never really figured out “tony.”) Think soccer moms in yoga pants and […]

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Valentine’s Day was yesterday, and everywhere you turned, someone was trying to spread the message of love. Rachel Ray was on Good Morning America, showing us how to cook breakfast in bed. Every grocery store […]

Many large law firms forbid their lawyers from visiting social-media sites while at work. Some have actual software blocks, preventing sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even blogs like Above the Law from loading on the firm computers. Other firms tacitly discourage visiting these sites, since every six minutes wasted on them are six minutes that could have been billed. Small firms are less likely to have these policies or blocking programs, mainly because small firms are less likely to have any policies. Or IT departments. This is partly a generational issue. On the one hand, you've got the Millennials: twenty-somethings who are used to having IM chats, Pandora music, and Facebook walls floating in the background while they bash away at Lexis or Microsoft Word. On the other hand, you have more-senior (or just plain "senior") lawyers, for whom the Interwebs are something to either be feared or restricted to off-duty hours.

Ed. note: This is the first installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Who am I? I graduated from a top law school in Chicago. (Okay, there’s only two.) From there, I went to work for Biglaw for several years. Or, maybe it was only a year and […]

I've been working in small law firms my whole career — nearly 17 years. I'd like to tell you that I chose this path for carefully considered and noble reasons, but I can't. In truth, I ended up on the small-firm path for one simple reason: A blonde. Let me explain. Now it's not what you think. I didn't turn my back on a BigLaw career to pursue a flaxen-haired beauty. That would almost be romantic, and this is a serious law blog. Ish. No, the story is a bit more prosaic.