Thursday, Above the Law held a one-hour Twitter-chat, “Starting and Growing Your Own Firm,”  #atlapp for small firm practitioners (and to hype ATL’s upcoming inaugural Academy for Private Practice day-long conference on Friday Oct. 2 at the Westin Times Square in New York City).

DavidLat (@DavidLat), the founder and managing editor of ATL, moderated the discussion, while sitting on a lounge at Harvard Law (ain’t mobile great!) The questions covered a wide range of issues relevant to small firm practitioners, kicking off with “How did you land your very 1st case,” and Jeff Bennion (@jbennionlaw), a San Diego civil litigation trial attorney, cracked up everyone with his quick response, “My first client was my mom.”

Of course, Hsiaolei Miller,  Breaking Media’s vice president of business development, (@hsiaoleim) jumped right in with “Did she pay?”

(The answer: “She took me out to lunch,” Bennion confessed.)

San Francisco-based Jeena Cho (@Jeena_Cho) writes “The Anxious Lawyer” blog—and a book with the same name with co-author Karen Gifford. Cho’s first client was “from my blog,” she posted. “He came in and said ‘I’ve read everything you’ve written and I know you’re my attorney.’ ”

Cho is a partner at JC LawGroup, a bankruptcy law firm in San Francisco. She practices with her husband, Jeff Curl, they work with individuals and small businesses.

Joshua Lenon (@JoshuaLenon), a “lawyer in residence at Clio,” got his first client via a “referral from a lawyer I met on Twitter.” Lenon also addressed the angst about what to charge as a new small firm lawyer. “Studies have shown that 1st year attorneys consistently undercharge,” said Lenon.

“One of the hardest things I had to learn to do early was to convince myself that I was worth hundreds an hour,” said Bennion.

Several participants suggested that lawyers should limit hourly billing in favor of alternative fee arrangements.

But Stockton, Calif.-based Nick Rishwain (@expertsdotcomvp), vice president of client relations and development at Experts.com, had the most snarky retort:  “Would a less popular answer be: charge based on your like/dislike of a client”

Worst Clients Ever

• “Not me. But my fave is from a fam mbr. Client wore bikini under fish net skirt to testify in divorce.” Rishwain.

• “The one who peed all over the documents he brought to court to give me.” (Full story here.) Nicole Black. (@nikiblack), an attorney and legal technology evangelist at MyCase, an AppFolio company (and a CodeXista: See prior post, IgniteLaw Las Vegas.”)

Avoiding Horrible Clients & Malpractice

• Remember they may be scared humans who have never been involved in litigation before. Treat them as such.” said Sara Kubik (@SaraKubik), assistant professor in journalism at Central Michigan University, a mediator, and law student.

• “Don’t accept clients that ask for a discount. They always make bad clients,” posted Cho.

• ABA Legal Malpractice Confercence  panel sez 2 be very careful about potential conflicts, esp with husbands and wives, re:  trusts and estates,” posted Bay.

• “When the case was outside my practice areas I’d refer it to someone more qualified,” said Black. “That can also help your firm—because they are likely to reciprocate when they get a case they give to you,” replied Bay.

• “Listen & try to solve their problems(s) not just address the legal issue. People are more than just a legal case,” suggested Black.

• The best advice of the day came farom Bennion: “Don’t treat your clients like an ATM.”

P.S. You can download a free copy of the “ATL Academy for Private Practice Volume 1-Getting Started” book, which ATL describes as offering “a mix of deeply informed, sometimes contrarian but always thoughtful insight into meeting the challenges of starting and optimizing your own practice.”