First, I want to thank Peter and the rest of the gang here at the Writer's Block for extending the invitation to make use of their blog. I'll try to make my stay here similar to that of a conscientous houseguest--cleaning up after myself, being productive, not overstaying my welcome, and occasionally offering to cook dinner.

Like Peter said, I've recently decided to go out on my own.  I worked on the Obama campaign and following the November election, it became quickly apparent that my return to corporate America would be turbulent, at best.  I was a young attorney known for taking jobs high on ideal and risk and low on remuneration and all around me, my barrister friends were being laid off, taking salary cuts, losing benefits.

Since the germ of the idea began in February to its realization in April to the website launch last Thursday (www.bardinelaw.com), the mission has been to find creative ways to find work in a challenging economic enviornment.  After all, simply because law firms are not hiring does not mean there is a shortage of clients.  Indeed, the opposite may very well be true.

Though certainly not an expert, I think there are some key things those striking out on their own can do to drum up some work and keep the beat going through these tough times:

1. Use technology to keep overhead comparatively low. As Peter writes quite aptly here, using your dad's marketing tools simply won't cut it.  In my situation, a dearth of capital meant that television and billboards were not even an option--at least not yet.  I can't even remember the last time I saw a phone book--though I assume they are still made--so I did not consider that, either.  Further, the aforementioned media reach only a small percentage of people and are not cost-effective.  Instead, I opted for Media 2.0--a clean website, consistent blogging, and employing an Obama-esque level of free-flowing discourse between the lawyer and his prospective clientele.  Well-written and savvy webcopy can create site traffic from people in geographic proximity and in need of your services. Relevant blogging further reveals a lawyer committed to continued learning and the sharing of information to his clients.

2. Don't be afraid to extend yourself. Sometimes, just to put food on the table, you don't get to choose what you do. Rather, it chooses you.  When I envisioned being an attorney, I never thought I would be defending foreclosures and handling bankruptcies. Yet, here I am (and I like it exponentially more than I thought I would).  When the dynamics of the economy change, so do the types of cases that are prevelant.  There's no shortage of troubled homeowners or consumers on the verge of bankruptcy and by marketing to them, you have an opportunity to earn a living, fill a social need, and help a lot of people. I would also advise to be aware of legislative and governmental decisons that might affect the legal field.  For example, I suspect there will be substantive changes to immigration law by the end of the year.  In anticipation, I have my copy of Kurban's in the mail. Do not be afraid to tackle an area of law of which you know very little. You are a quick study and your law school training has prepared you for this.

3. Join, join, join. This may be a bit obvious, but I think it's a common error of attorneys to believe that if they are not doing something that is actively making them money at that moment then they are wasting time.  This is not true.  Within a week of my admission to the state bar, I had joined the St. Petersburg Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and several other local groups.  I've immersed myself in local politics and sit on city commissions. And I never miss an opportunity to tell people what I do and I always have a pocketfull of business cards.  Your time is an investment that can yield lucrative work in the future.

To reiterate, I am far from an expert at law firm marketing, and I've just begun this experiment myself.  But this is how I'm tackling this new endeavor and I hope to use these pages to keep you abreast of my successes (and, hopefully, to a lesser extent) my stumbles.