Camille Stell is President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting and Services, offering succession planning, business development coaching, keynote presentations and more. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualconsulting.com or 800.662.8843.
Paralegals play a crucial role in law firms, especially solo and small firm practices, serving as the backbone that supports attorneys in managing heavy caseloads and maintaining smooth operations. Far beyond administrative tasks, paralegals are skilled professionals who conduct detailed legal research, draft essential documents, and organize case files, contributions that not only streamline workflow but also save firms significant time and resources. Read More
I’ve recently returned from the 2023 Clio Cloud Conference. This was the 11th conference and I started attending in year 3 – so it’s my 9th event. I am a raving fan of this conference and would encourage solo and small firm folks to attend whether you are a Clio user or not. A… Read More
The end of the year is barreling towards us – are you ready? If not, here are a few tips for tidying up the financial side of your law practice. Financial Management For many lawyers, financial management is the business area of practicing law that provides the most heartburn. It’s complet… Read More
Tips and resources for hiring paralegals. Read More
Law firms are known for being notoriously slow in hiring. One of my favorite jobs took me five months to get after making the initial contact. I was employed at the time, but five months is a long time to wait. Job candidates tell me they can go weeks or even months without hearing a status update from a potential employer. While I was willing to wait five months, this scenario is unlikely to work in your favor in today’s employment climate. Read More
The market for buying and selling law firms continues to grow. Established firms and attorneys are looking for succession or sale due to attorney retirement, labor needs, and changing marketplace landscapes. Read More
Pay down debt. As you approach retirement, you don’t want debt to stand in the way of your future. The snowball method of debt reduction allows you to see wins along your journey which keeps you inspired to move forward. Identify your smallest debt and pay it off as quickly as possible. Then take the monthly payment that had been allocated towards the debt and add it to the minimum payment you have been making on your next smallest debt. Read More
Retirees returning to work is a rising trend in the workplace. Camille Stell interviews attorney Will Graebe on his unexpected return to work and lessons learned. Read More
Have you ever wished for a group of experts down the hall who were available anytime to answer any questions about building your law practice? With a virtual community, you have just that – a group of experts ready and willing to help. A virtual community is simply a group of folks with common interests who use an internet platform to share ideas. Read More
There are 1.3 million lawyers in the United States, and 30,000 of them live in North Carolina. Nationwide, there are approximately four lawyers for every 1,000 residents, but most lawyers work in urban areas. Many rural areas of the country have few or no lawyers. Legal experts call these legal deserts. Read More
Heyden Enochson, strategic communications manager with OnStrategy, says that strategic planning as we have always done it is dead, especially in the age of hybrid work and the fatigue that many organizations face today. He even suggests calling it by a different name such as growth planning or future planning. This provides a fresh approach while staying true to the core components of being strategic. Read More
Dr. David Ekerdt is a former professor who spent his career studying retirement as a sociology and gerontology specialist. In an essay written for the Wall Street Journal titled “I Spent 44 Years Studying Retirement. Then I Retired.”, Dr. Ekerdt shares his personal story. I believe lawyers who are … Read More
Stay-at-home orders and self-quarantine are impacting our ability to leave home, but they don’t mean our networking efforts have to cease. Having a vibrant network is essential to keeping your law practice healthy. Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we do business. If your practice was already prepared for remote work, or if you had to figure it out on the fly, here are some tips for making sure you are practicing safely in this strange, new world. Read More
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.” Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft In 2019, I set a New Year’s resolution – a reading c… Read More
Lawyers Mutual has published previous alerts regarding the new filing requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) that went into effect January 1, 2024. After reviewing additional resources, we want to emphasize concerns that we have about the risks and increased potential liability for lawyers undertaking the reporting requirements. This is especially true for the continuing reporting requirements after entity formation and initial reporting.
The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) recently announced additional go-live plans for counties transitioning from paper files to Enterprise Justice (Odyssey), which currently serves Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Mecklenburg and Wake counties. Twelve northeastern counties comprising Track 3, as previously announced, will go live on February 5, and 10 counties comprising Track 4 (Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Guilford, Orange, Person, Vance and Warren) will go live on April 29.