Closing Thoughts on Opening a Law Practice

This is my fourth and final guest post. I have dedicated my blogging this month to the topic of starting a law practice. The first week was focused on the reasons why people would want to hang a shingle. The second week’s post discussed start-up costs. The third week was focused on attracting clients. This week, I wrap up with a few final thoughts. Some of these points are responses to questions and comments I received from people thinking about making the leap.

1. Yes, there is a lot of work involved. Starting any business requires a lot of passion, hard work and long hours. Starting a law practice adds to that the work of practicing law, which is in and of itself a full-time job. My take on this is that for the first couple years until things stabilize, you should fully commit to getting your practice off the ground. This means working evenings and weekends if that’s what you have to do.  

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The Negative News About Positive Political Ads

Near the end of Tuesday’s “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at the Law School, Gousha asked Mike Tate, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and Reince  Priebus, chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party, whether they thought candidates can win while running positive campaigns.

Neither directly answered the question from Gousha, the Law School’s Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy. But Tate came closer.  You have to have to draw contrasts with your opponent, he said. And when one campaign launches an ad that is arguably negative, “it’s an arms race,” Tate said.  If you don’t respond, you risk losing. Voters remember negative ads, Tate said.

Priebus responded by criticizing Democratic campaigns for playing what he called “small ball” this fall, focusing on minor matters that they could use to attack Republicans instead of on major issues, like jobs, the economy, and the growth of government spending.

What neither said to Gousha’s question was, yes, you can win by staying positive.  

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Why Do Women Hate Negotiating?

Last week, the Washington Post had an article on its blog with this title reviewing the depressing research that women “don’t ask” at the same rate as men and exploring why this might be so.  After all, as the author notes, women are negotiating every day at home — why do we choose not to do this in the workplace?  Selena Rezvani notes that her own research on top executives shows that top women learned to negotiate through experience and that

Negotiating isn’t just one of several leadership competencies, it is the most important tool at women’s disposal.  A woman can work on being well networked or technically brilliant, but without the ability to ask, she has nothing.

I couldn’t agree more — we all need to be negotiating more effectively. 

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