Solos/Small Firms

Litigation boutique firm will pay special bonuses as high as $60K

Litigation boutique law firm Wilkinson Stekloff will pay special bonuses to associates ranging from $25,000 to $60,000, the firm recently told employees in a memo.

Apr 17, 2025 12:51 PM CDT

Top 10 Your Voice columns of 2024

One of the ABA Journal’s most precious assets is our access to engaged legal professionals with a knack for writing and a point of view to share. Since 2018, we have featured their words in our Your Voice section. Here are the top 10 of 2024.

Dec 24, 2024 9:00 AM CST

2 BigLaw firms reject routine special bonuses as several boutiques match or surpass market rate

Above the Law’s bonus tracker continues to expand, as an increasing number of boutique law firms announce associate bonuses that match or surpass market rates set by Milbank. But some BigLaw firms are not falling in line with the standard special bonuses.

Dec 19, 2024 11:00 AM CST

Car-racing costs can’t be deducted by lawyer as marketing expense, 10th Circuit rules

A solo personal injury lawyer can’t count the costs of car racing as a marketing activity, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Dec 11, 2024 8:48 AM CST

RNC election lawyer, a ‘very genial guy,’ will be new White House counsel

The White House counsel in the new Trump administration is a former BigLaw lawyer who worked as the Republican National Committee’s outside counsel for election integrity in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Nov 13, 2024 11:24 AM CST

Which law firms are expected to win influence in Trump administration?

Boutique and smaller law firms that have advised President-elect Donald Trump and his allies may be among the legal counsel who benefit when he takes office in January.

Nov 7, 2024 9:22 AM CST

What’s next for Clio? ‘We’ll always remain focused on customer success’

As Jack Newton, the CEO and founder of Clio, a legal technology company, took the stage for his keynote address Monday at the 12th annual Clio Cloud Conference, happening this year in Austin, Texas, he was in a reflective mood.

Oct 10, 2024 3:10 PM CDT

Judge tosses lawyer’s dueling lawsuit against Willkie partner in spat over New York Post story

A solo practitioner accused of facilitating a negative story about a BigLaw partner in the New York Post can’t sue for a declaratory judgment that his actions were protected by the First Amendment, a Connecticut judge has ruled.

Oct 1, 2024 10:54 AM CDT

How midsize firms are achieving growth through adaptation

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Debbie Foster, the CEO of Affinity Consulting; Jennifer Sherman, the chief product and experience officer at Caret Legal; and Laura Wenzel, the global marketing and insights director at iManage.

Aug 23, 2024 10:14 AM CDT

Lawyers must lead in efforts to preserve accessible, equitable and transparent rule-of-law system

As a nation, we have made the decision to be governed by the rule of law. This means that as a society, we have agreed to abide by a set of transparent, fairly enacted and fairly applied laws and rules that will govern our conduct in our private and public affairs.

Aug 21, 2024 1:39 PM CDT

How to create a legal tech budget

As the legal landscape becomes more technological, law firms are struggling to devise a potentially robust legal tech budget. But this cost-value equation is a complicated one. Worried about having enough funds to devote to legal tech? It’s time to set a budget.

Jul 1, 2024 9:13 AM CDT

‘The Lawyer Millionaire’ author shares the 7 biggest money mistakes lawyers can make

Despite a high earning potential, new lawyers usually have high debt. People who chose to get JDs instead of MBAs often find themselves operating as entrepreneurs to launch a solo practice. The author of The Lawyer Millionaire is here to help.

Jun 19, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Narcissistic Lawyers and Artificial Intelligence: A band of dysfunctional brothers?

“Your honor, no artificial intelligence was used to generate content in this document. However, we would also like to disclose that there is someone in the courtroom who exhibits highly narcissistic traits and, therefore, is likely to lie, project, confabulate and inflate the truth.” With the rise of narcissism and societal celebration and reward of narcissistic traits, is this where we are headed? Should we consider such disclosure requirements?

May 29, 2024 11:40 AM CDT

Artificial intelligence tools for brief writing and analysis are a small firm litigator’s new best friend

We’re in the midst of a seismic technological shift that will reinvent workflows and radically alter the practice of law. Artificial intelligence is improving at an unprecedented pace, with new legal AI tools rolling out regularly, some stand-alone and others as features built into existing legal software platforms.

May 24, 2024 10:17 AM CDT

How lawyers can use Substack to generate business

Founded in 2017, Substack, which is a publishing platform open to anyone and everyone who has something to write, has recently attracted a slew of lawyers and attorney-adjacent writers who realized how much it could help their careers.

Mar 1, 2024 1:18 PM CST