Law firm layoffs, bailouts and bank closings are in the news. It is sometimes hard not to dwell on so many negative events. So I've been doing a lot of thinking about law practice in this economy, as have a lot of others. I've just finished a two part series in the Oklahoma Bar Journal on this topic. Practicing Law in Tough Economic Times is an overview of some of the most interesting things I have read on the topic. More Thoughts on Practicing Law in Tough Economic Times is a collection of (mostly) my ideas that are applicable to most all law firms, but with an emphasis of small to medium-size law firms.

Thomas C. Grella, Asheville, NC lawyer and former chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section, recently drew my attention to We are Optimists – We See the Cup at Least Half Full from the consulting firm Smock Sterling. This is a thoughtful approach to our new reality, a bit more focused on larger law firms. I particularly appreciated the Do's and Don'ts near the end.

Ross Kodner wrote SmallLaw: The Rise of BigSolo: Large Firm Refugees Who Start Their Own Law Firms for the Technolawyer Blog. This essay which contains more interesting tibits of information. Can you imagine the difference in monthly overhead for some of those lawyers?