Solo Practice University

A while back, when I was reading Susan Cartier Liebel's blog "Build a Solo Practice", I found out about an opportunity to win a lifetime scholarship to Solo Practice University (SPU) before it even opened. I applied and, much to my delight, I won a scholarship.

My reason for applying was twofold. First, I felt I wasn't learning enough in law school about the functional aspects of practicing law and running a law firm. So learning from mentors who are current practitioners sounded like an opportunity too good to miss.

Second, I felt that as a non-traditional law student, I was not the big-law associate type. 80-90 hour work weeks did not sound appealing at my age, nor do I want to be relegated to a minion role doing document review and never learn how to practice law.

I waited patiently for months as SPU was being built and tested. Last month, SPU finally opened. Of course, I went on the site right away and logged in. Some of the courses are starting up this week while others are still organizing, and still others are doing the courses in a less structured way. But so far so good.

SPU's courses are broken down into different categories, such as substantive law, marketing/management, technology, and work/life.

SPU's course offerings run the gamut of Criminal Law, Federal District Court Practice, and Consumer Bankruptcy Law to Trial Technology, Client Relations, and Marketing. So far, some of the courses I'm interested in are Virtual Law Practice, Unbundled Legal Services, and Essentials of Family Law.

SPU offers courses to law students and lawyers alike. In addition, it provides an opportunity to create a blog. Since I already have this semi-anonymous one, the blog option hasn't quite piqued my interest, but may in the future.

There are also interactive discussion groups on SPU based on different areas of interest, such as How to Hang a Shingle Right Out of Law School, Non-traditional Students, Elderlaw, or Stay-at-Home Lawyers. They even have groups based on what state you live in.

So far there seems to be quite a lot of interaction in the groups as well as interaction between the instructors and the students. I like the fact that I can ask questions and receive mentor-like answers. And I like knowing that I am not alone in trying to become a competent lawyer.

I'll have to keep you up to date on how it's going, but from the looks of things, I really appreciate this opportunity I have been given.