The Solo Advisor

We’ve all heard about the droves of employees leaving their jobs to rest, recuperate, and find their passion. As Solo and Small Firm practitioners, we don’t have the luxury of leaving a stressful job so easily. But many of you may know attorneys who have asked you for advice on how you started your solo/small firm career. Read more

Nondisparagement clauses are commonly used in settlement agreements. Some clauses are simple one-liners such as “The parties agree not to disparage each other.” Read more

The Solo and Small Firm Section (SSF) of the California Lawyers Association’s Mission is to foster a supportive community for solo and small firm practitioners across all areas of practice, to guide our members on their path to becoming strong, competent and ethical solo and small firm business owners Read more

At its meeting January 20 and 21, the State Bar Board of Trustees began work on the State Bar’s next five-year strategic plan, which is expected to continue at a February meeting and be finalized at the Board’s March meeting. Read more

Solo and Small Firm Practitioners everywhere – will you be my Valentine? Solo and small firm practitioners are close to my heart. We have the hardest jobs in the legal field and we are so much more than attorneys. Read more

There are many grounds for both mandatory and permissive withdrawal under the California Rules of Professional Conduct. When it's time to withdraw from representation in a civil case, the attorney should send the client a letter like one of these. Read more

Welcome to the start of a new year – which, frankly, is starting to feel very much like the old year. But nevertheless, as Solo and Small Firm practitioners, we soldier on in the service of our clients and our practices. If the last two years has taught us anything, it’s that the ability to be flexible to handle rapidly changing circumstances is the key to survival. No other attorneys are more well equipped to pivot quickly than Solo and Small Firm practitioners. Read more

A question to a witness is objectionable on the ground that it's compound if it joins two or more questions with the disjunctive "or" or the conjunctive "and." But it may not always make sense to object. Here's a look at the dangers of compound questions and how to handle them. Read more

Well, we’ve made to the end of 2021. I’m still not certain if this is a feat of accomplishment or just survival. But either way, we should all take a moment to reflect on the challenges overcome, the lessons learned, and the moments of joy and success that Solo and Small Firm practitioners have fought hard for during a challenging year. Read more

There are many grounds for both mandatory and permissive withdrawal under the California Rules of Professional Conduct. When it's time to withdraw from representation in a civil case, the attorney should send the client a letter like one of these. Read more