When
I
first
started
my
own
law
firm
almost
six
years
ago,
I
was
not
that
busy
with
work.
It
took
almost
three
weeks
to
secure
my
first
client,
and
to
be
honest,
I
kind
of
liked
the
free
time.
Eventually
I
fell
into
a
groove
with
keeping
myself
busy,
but
throughout
my
practice,
there
have
been
times
when
I
was
slow
with
work,
and
times
when
I
could
barely
keep
up
with
client
responsibilities.
Some
lawyers
at
small
firms
may
fear
being
slow
with
work,
but
lawyers
can
do
several
things
in
such
instances
to
productively
use
the
time.
Marketing
One
of
the
best
things
lawyers
at
small
firms
can
do
with
any
free
time
from
a
work
slowdown
is
to
focus
on
marketing
and
business
development.
Marketing
can
come
in
a
variety
of
different
forms,
including
social
media
posts
and
blogging
on
a
law
firm
website.
When
I
was
getting
my
firm
off
the
ground,
I
invested
considerable
time
on
blogging.
In
the
beginning,
I
blogged
on
a
pretty
consistent
basis,
but
as
I
got
busier
with
client
work,
I
would
only
devote
time
to
it
when
there
was
a
slowdown
with
work.
This
helped
me
fill
time
and
be
productive,
and
I
can
trace
a
decent
amount
of
business
I
originated
as
a
result
of
these
efforts.
Lawyers
at
small
firms
do
not
need
to
blog
like
I
did
when
filling
time
with
useful
tasks,
but
keeping
busy
with
activities
that
can
benefit
a
law
firm
is
a
good
use
of
slowdowns.
Networking
Lawyers
should
always
be
networking,
and
I
have
witnessed
some
lawyers
allow
their
contacts
to
grow
cold
since
they
did
not
invest
too
much
time
in
networking
during
busy
periods.
However,
networking
can
definitely
become
a
focus
of
lawyer
time
during
slow
periods
since
such
activity
can
lead
to
referrals
as
well
as
just
being
plain
fun.
When
I
am
slower
with
work,
I
am
much
more
likely
to
accept
invitations
to
network,
and
I
am
hungrier
for
new
business
development
leads.
Lawyers
typically
have
a
number
network
outlets.
Attorneys
can
network
with
alumni
communities
associated
with
their
college
and
law
school.
I
spend
the
vast
majority
of
my
networking
energy
in
that
way.
This
works
best
if
you
have
an
existing
contact
with
someone
at
a
networking
event
rather
than
going
to
an
event
cold,
but
it
is
also
possible
to
create
new
connections
at
such
events.
I
have
also
networked
with
bar
associations,
but
I
find
that
such
events
are
not
as
good
at
making
business
development
contacts
since
it
seems
that
everyone
there
is
also
chasing
leads
to
generate
new
work.
Regardless
of
the
events
you
choose,
networking
can
be
an
extremely
beneficial
use
of
your
time
during
a
slowdown.
Administrative
Tasks
Many
attorneys
have
a
difficult
time
completing
administrative
tasks
when
they
are
busy
with
client
work
since
they
feel
that
their
energy
should
be
primarily
spent
on
generating
revenue.
Lawyers
may
even
put
off
critical
tasks
until
a
slowdown
that
permits
them
enough
time
to
focus
energy
on
administrative
activities.
A
slowdown
is
a
great
opportunity
to
clear
a
lawyer’s
desk
of
administrative
tasks.
At
the
beginning
of
every
new
year,
I
generally
wait
for
a
slowdown
before
completing
all
of
the
tax
activities
required
for
the
previous
year
so
that
I
complete
these
tasks
when
it
might
not
take
me
away
from
client
work.
This
requires
a
little
foresight,
but
slowdowns
can
be
helpful
to
lawyers
when
completing
administrative
tasks.
In
the
end,
pretty
much
every
lawyer
experiences
a
slowdown
in
their
practice,
and
extended
slowdowns
might
be
harmful.
However,
there
are
activities
lawyers
can
complete
during
brief
slowdowns
to
ensure
that
their
time
is
being
spent
productively.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of
The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of
Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at
[email protected].