General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm Division
Solo
Spring 2003 vol. 9 Number 3
From the Editor-in-Chief: The Advantages of Sharing
By Robin Page West
Our four-lawyer firm handles litigation, estates and trusts,
and corporate matters. We also have a niche concentration in
federal government fraud qui tam whistleblower cases. We
participate in two Web sites. One is a template-based site that
highlights all of our practice areas.
The other Web site includes five law firms around the country,
including ours, and describes only the federal qui tam
whistleblower part of each of our respective practices. All five
firms share the work of writing the Web-site copy, our knowledge
regarding how to comply with ethical and professionalism
guidelines and requirements, and the expense of hiring a Web
designer and host.
The synergy generated when a small group of attorneys focuses on
a single practice area can result in a very sophisticated Web
site that can be extremely effective in educating potential
clients and other lawyers. No mere billboard, the shared site
presents detailed information about the statute and the attendant
legal process.
Even though we share the expenses of, and space on, the Web site,
we are scrupulous in our efforts not to create the impression
that we are in the same law firm. Moreover, we do not share fees.
To this end, we have disclosures and disclaimer language, as well
as a page on the site that describes each of us and each of our
separate law firms, so visitors understand that our practices are
separate. On occasion, we may co-counsel with each other on a
particular matter, and if we do, the engagement is set out in a
written, signed fee agreement with the client that complies with
all applicable requirements and guidelines for sharing of fees by
lawyers not in the same firm.
Our site does not discuss fees or make any claims such as "no
recovery, no fee." If a Web-site visitor decides to contact one
of the attorneys, that attorney will explain his or her fees,
which will be in accordance with the applicable ethical and
professionalism requirements and guidelines for that
jurisdiction.
We list our domain name in materials we disseminate when we give
speeches or presentations on this topic. So, for example, when
our Hawaii member gives a speech to a national association of
lawyers and hands out materials containing our domain name, the
rest of us indirectly benefit by gaining potential exposure to
other lawyers who might eventually refer business or become
co-counsel.
Developing a Web site this way can be professionally and
personally rewarding, not to mention, fun!
Robin Page West is a shareholder in Cohan & West, P. C. in
Baltimore, Maryland, and editor-in-chief of SOLO. Her shared Web
site is at www.quitamonline.com, and she can be reached at
rpw@cohanwest.com.
