Letter from the Chair

• Publication year: 2019
• Author: By Renee N. G. Stackhouse

Letter From the Chair

By Renee N. G. Stackhouse

Renee Stackhouse is a San Diego trial attorney and founder of Stackhouse, APC who focuses on plaintiff's personal injury, military, and criminal defense. She is Chair of the CLA Solo & Small Firm Section, Immediate Past President of California Women Lawyers, President of the CWL Foundation, and sits on the San Diego County Bar Association. She is faculty at the prestigious Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College and the founder of MSheLE.com. She can be reached at Renee@StackhouseAPC.com.

Don't settle this year; thrive.

As Solo and Small Firm business owners, managers, and stakeholders, we are the law firm. Have you asked yourself what you are going to do this year to make achieve your goals? Have you taken the time (I know it's so hard) to sit down and actually figure out what your specific goals are? If not, I highly encourage you to do so. We all want to be successful (whatever that means to you), we all want to make enough to at least pay the bills every month, maybe we want to "do better" than last year or "network more" or "get on a board" or "insert vague aspiration here." Let's get specific. Let's make a vision board or a specific goal list if crafting makes your skin crawl.

Pick three things that you want to achieve this year. And let's get specific.

Instead of "I want to network more" how about "I am going to join my local bar association and California Lawyers Association. I am going to attend at least 1 event per month. I am going to introduce myself to one new person at each event."

Instead of "I'm going to get on a board," how about "I am interested in/passionate about X (practice area group, ethnic group, religious group, etc). I am going to find a group that does that and get involved with them actively. I am going to get known and get recognized this year. Next year I am going to run for the board."

Instead of "I want to do better running my solo and small firm" how about "I am going to get up-to-date on the latest information about how to best run my solo and small firm. I am going to do that by taking an MCLE with California Lawyers Association online or attending an in-person Solo and Small Firm Section program."

You can work hard, I know you do!, but if you're not working towards concrete goals, it's easy to lose sight of what you're trying to accomplish. We (yes, me too) can too easily get lost in the time consuming practice of law and forget that, unlike other lawyers, we're so awesome that we also...