Law Firm Logos

I have refined my vision, got a better space, outfitted the office, and overall I feel like I am starting anew. With that in mind, I have been thinking about how to brand myself with a name and unique logo; something I can put on a website, letterhead, business cards, stationary, etc.

I will not be the first nor will I be the last lawyer to incorporate a visual logo. After all, how many times have you seen the picture of the scales on attorney advertising? And what about those scales? I too, thought about throwing them into the mix but realize I needed a little more information before putting my name next to this little icon. I knew they were the scales of lady justice and had generally to do with balancing competing interests but that is about it (and I think I knew that only because I went to law school). Does any normal person actually have a concrete understanding of what it represents, where it came from, or the message it is meant to convey? If not, why do lawyers use it? Anyway, as any person of the internet age seeking general information, I consulted Wikipedia. See my findings for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Justice. So, I guess it makes sense for attorneys to dig the scales. I'm all for truth and fairness but I'm not convinced I ought to join the ranks and use this for my business brand.

I need something a little more unique to me and my practice.  There are so many ways to go. I could look to the name of the firm for my logo. After some thought, I am going to continue to practice under my own name - "The Law Office of Nathaniel A. Tripp" and "Nathaniel A. Tripp, Attorney at Law" (versus a DBA-Doing Business As "Guitar Picker Law" or forming an entity like the "Local Law Group, P.C."). From the name, I thought perhaps doing something with the letters NTL (Nathaniel Tripp Law) could work- maybe overlapping them a bit, kind of like the NY teams do for baseball. On the other hand, we live in a great area of MA in the Pioneer Valley. Maybe it could be something connected to the region like mountains and/or a river, or, something else. Perhaps I could use an arbitrary symbol - an abstract masterpiece done by my 16 month old, for example. If I went either of these routes, I could bring the symbol along to a new entity if I ever wanted to change my business name/form in the future and transfer some (hopefully) positive brand recognition. So many decisions; who knows what would be best?

So, not sure what to do here, or whether to do anything at all as far as a logo. I am open to thoughts, comments, insights, and suggestions from my many awesome friends who covertly read this blog. Also, if you happen to be one of those artistic/crafty/creative types looking for a project and want to take a stab at designing a professional's logo - well, give me a call and maybe we can try and work something out. 

Until next time, be well. 

Business Reset

So, I showed off the new office space in my last post. I really feel like this new space is a sort of "reset" for my business - a chance to start fresh, reboot, and do things better than I did the first go around.

Most importantly, I have a better vision for my practice. When I first began a few days a week last fall, I called myself a general practitioner. The thought of turning away clients seemed ridiculous and stupid. As I soon discovered, however, the law is just too complicated to accept whatever walks through the door. The amount of time it takes to study and learn the basics of a new area of law, not to mention subtle nuances and potential traps, can be exorbitant. If something is missed, one could open himself up to liability. Consequently, I have decided to develop my practice in landlord/tenant law and estate planning, and hopefully get into some real estate transactions also. Making this conscious decision is actually a big deal for me because I have always been a little too willing to be happy with whatever comes my way. Although being easygoing is not necessarily a bad trait, it has kept me from developing my goals for what I want this business to be and how I am going to make it grow to that point. Simply put, because I never made a narrow enough goal for where I wanted to go, it has been difficult for me to take real steps down a path toward success.

I will also have a little bit more time the next two and a half months. During the school year, I have continued to care for my son one day a week while my wife teaches. I love this time with my son and hope to be able to continue this in the fall. However, to have a couple of months with the additional day/week, and not have the stresses of getting everyone out the door and to daycare every morning will be a nice change of pace. With my wife happily home with our son for the summer, it will free me up to hopefully begin to create the building blocks for real success. I will have more time to further study these areas of law, establish better systems and procedures for my office, and network. Time will tell if the summer will work out as I am hoping it will. If you look back at previous posts, you will see that this blog has been and continues to be a place where I discuss my ideas for how to make my life better, as an attorney, husband, and father. Some things have worked; some things have not. Thoughts, prayers, good vibes, for success and further clarity and focus gladly accepted and appreciated.

New Office

Talk about a neglected blog. I notice I have not posted anything in quite awhile and my last post was on trying to incorporate exercise into my daily routine. That has failed but is something I still aspire to. We actually recently joined the local Y and so I am hoping the fact that we are actually paying money and I am cheap will be motivation for me. But that is is not what this post is about.

I wanted share that I have just changed office locations, with yesterday being my first official day in the new space. My previous space was off the main drag that was hard to find, located on a private way (so parking was not on the same street as the office address). It was above this amazing burrito bar in an isolated corridor with 3 other offices (2 social workers, 1 attorney). It was a great place to get my feet wet and start to feel things out as far as operating a business. It was cheap but, man was it lonely. I didn't think that being isolated would bother me. I was wrong. Instead, it made it tough to get out the door, knowing I would not likely converse with, let alone see anyone else throughout the entire day.

The old office itself was nice. It had good light through the window, nice, real wood paneling. It also had this unique painting on tile of a mountains, lake, and eagle (which grew on me). The price was right at the time but to me, it never had exactly the right feel/energy/aura, you get the idea, for an attorney's office. Better for a therapist or masseuse. My wife jokes that I am acting like a "serious lawyer" when she thinks I need to lighten up (and she is often right) but, all jokes aside, people entrust important issues to me that affect their life, income, and property and so it is only right that I have a space which reflects that. I want people to feel at peace knowing that I am the professional that will get the job done for them; not feel at peace because I have an eagle flying on my wall. (Why is that peaceful anyway? Eagles are ferocious predators!)

Check out these pics of the old office.

Isn't this peaceful?

The new office is in a building on main street, across from the courthouse (and law library), post office, and my bank. It is in a building full of accountants, lawyers, and financial planners. I am in a suite with 2 other lawyers, and adjacent to two other suites of 3-4 lawyers and an accountant. It's got the right feel. I also have a conference room to use. This means that if someone comes in, I can meet them in my office or in the conference room which overlooks main street. I am narrowing my practice to Landlord and Tenant law, at least for now, and hoping that I can get some referrals because not many other people practice this in town. The cost for the new office is a little bit more but I am optimistic that the slight increase in rent will be well worth the benefits gained from being in a better location surrounded by other professionals. Check out the pics below and let me  know what you think!

Main Street

Main Entrance

Waiting area

Conference Room

View from Conference Room

Office with new (used) desk

Closet with storage

New bookshelf and desk

Window View

Brought my guitar to distract me from work.

Somebody is a little too anxious to join the practice. I told him let's work on T-ball first.

So, with this new change I am excited, nervous, and cautiously optimistic that this is a good step toward really beginning to grow my practice. Please say a prayer, cross your fingers and toes, send good vibes, and/or do whatever you are inclined to do, that I am right.