On Ethical Issues Raised by “Letter Lawyers”

Jamison KoehlerLaw Marketing/Networking, Professional Responsibility/Ethics

  Mark Bennett refers to them as “letter lawyers”; they are the lawyers who, with the hopes of securing new clients, send out advertising materials to the people whose names and addresses have been listed on public arrest records. A friend of ours was charged recently with a misdemeanor traffic offense and received over 20 letters in the mail.  She …

U.S. Capitol building

On Building a Support Network as a Solo Practitioner

Jamison KoehlerLaw Practice, Social Media and Technology

One of the things I liked best about the Philadelphia public defender’s office – in addition to the camaraderie and sense of shared mission — was the support you got from other lawyers.  If you had a legal question or wanted feedback on a possible trial tactic, you could step out into the court hallway or into the office next …

American flag

Six Months Into A Solo Criminal Law Practice

Jamison KoehlerLaw Marketing/Networking, Law Practice

Mark Bennett and Brian Tannebaum both announced last week that they have been practicing criminal law for 15 years.  While I have nowhere close to this level of experience, I recently celebrated an anniversary of my own. As of this past month, it has been six months since I opened my D.C. law office and one month since I began …

On Free Consultations

Jamison KoehlerLaw Marketing/Networking

In an entry today called “Don’t Blame Clients For What Lawyers Do,” Scott Greenfield writes of the “huge rift” within the legal profession “between those desperately seeking business and those desperately seeking to provide clients with excellent representation.”  As an example of the lawyers on the “seeking business” side of the divide, he cites lawyers who offer free consultations to …

U.S. Capitol building

Disenchanted with Avvo

Jamison KoehlerLaw Marketing/Networking

My niece attended her first baseball game when she was four or five years old. After the first inning or so, she announced that she was done with baseball. I am done with Avvo. As reflected on the ABA listserv for solo practitioners, Solosez, other lawyers seem to have all sorts of concerns about this legal networking and referral service, the …

Jefferson Memorial

Finding The Right Name For A Criminal Law Blog

Jamison KoehlerCriminal Law Bloggers, Law Marketing/Networking

Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice wrote a complimentary piece about this blog earlier this week. While I was very flattered to be described as “one of the newest and brightest additions to the blawgosphere,” Greenfield continued to encourage me to change the name of this blog.  Wrote Greenfield in a postscript: “Jamison, attempting to straddle the marketing blawgosphere and the …

The Koehler Law Logo

Jamison KoehlerLaw Marketing/Networking, Law Practice

There are many things you need to do when setting up your own law firm, from securing business licenses, malpractice insurance and bank accounts to buying furniture, legal research materials, and computer software and equipment.  Of all the tasks involved, selecting a logo for my new firm was by far the most enjoyable task.  That’s one of the perks of …