An expert panel of speakers shared ideas about practicing law in a solo or small firm Friday at the ABA Midyear Meeting. “Smart Soloing: Effective Strategies for Diverse Lawyers” – which also was webcast live for an online audience – was part of the Presidential Diversity Commission’s Distance Learning Program Series.

Topics the panel covered included:

How to find good staff: Youshea Berry, Law Office of Youshea A. Berry, Washington, D.C., said she likes to interview candidates outside of the office – like in a coffeehouse – because it’s less formal. “I get a chance to know them as a person and get to know what they want to do next,” Berry said. Paula Frederick of the State Bar of Georgia stressed the importance of communicating your expectations, both when you’re hiring support staff and once they are on the job. “I don’t like to hire anybody without giving them tests to see whether they can write a sentence, write a letter that I’m going to want to put my name on,” Frederick said.

How to find good attorneys: Not every lawyer wants to live the big firm life, Frederick said. She suggested seeking out people who’ve been with a large firm for a couple of years and may be ready for something new. A lot of small firms make the mistake of trying to recreate the large firm environment, said Elio Martinez, Concepcion Sexton & Martinez, Coral Gables, Fla. “Those are the kinds of firms that have a difficult time keeping their lawyers,” he said. “It’s not just a matter of finding lawyers… It’s also a matter of keeping them. And the way that you keep them, at least from my experience at a small firm, is by offering them a true alternative.”

The importance of maintaining work/life balance: Raymund C. King, The Law Offices of Raymund C. King, said he has three critical appointments on his calendar: dinner with his family, eating lunch, and exercising at least two to three times a week. If you’re not in the best shape you can be, you can’t deliver legal services as effectively, King said. “You have to stick to that appointment to go work out,” he said. “You cannot be late.”

Marketing strategies for diverse lawyers: James Schwartz, James L. Schwartz & Associates, said he struggled with whether he should have two resumes – “one resume with all of my gay and lesbian involvement and another one, a sanitized one, that just talks about my bar stuff.” He ultimately decided to stick with one full resume. “If somebody doesn’t want to hire me because of who I am, I probably wouldn’t have them very long as a client, anyway,” Schwartz said.

Resources for solo and small firms: If you’re starting your own practice, be sure to seek out help, Frederick said. “You can’t practice law in a vacuum, and you don’t need to,” she said. Among the resources she highlighted was the ABA’s ETHICSearch, a hotline that legal professionals with ethics questions can call for help. Schwartz mentioned the ABA’s SoloSez discussion list, calling the listserv “3,000 of your best friends.”

For more tips from the panel, watch the full video of the program here.

“Smart Soloing: Effective Strategies for Diverse Lawyers” was sponsored by the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division with several other ABA entities as co-sponsors.