This manual offers guidance on building and managing a personal injury practice. It highlights the tactics, technology and practical tools necessary for a profitable practice, including how to write a sound business plan, develop an accurate financial forecast, and minimize costs.

What if you had total control overyour hours and weekends? What if you didn't have toanswer to anyone? What if you took control over your future? When you work for someone else, you don't control your future. Your boss decides how much money you make and how many hours you work. For many, the law is just a job that you do to make ends meet and pay the bills. It's time to change that It's not just about work and money. It's about loving what you do and looking forward to coming to work. It's about spending time with your family and living a fun life. It's time you make the rules For the first time, you have in your hands the technical, managerial and entrepreneurial secrets to running a multi-million dollar law firm. Tried and true methods for managing and growing the injury law firm of your dreams is now in your hands--precise methods that, when applied, will slowly but surely grow your law firm into an asset that serves your ideal lifestyle. Who said you have to be a slave to your law practice? IT'S TIME TO BREAK ALL OF THE RULES so you have the one thing that all lawyers should seek: autonomy to live life on your terms. THE POWER OF A SYSTEM Torts, contracts, constitutional law...you got your fill in law school of theoretical concepts that you need to pass the bar exam. But then a funny thing happened, you got out of law school, opened your new law firm and you realized something--no one ever taught you how to run your own law firm in law school. Suddenly, you're on your own with fancy new letterhead, a few clients and not much else. Your dusty law school books aren't much help. It's great to have your book smarts and fancy law degree but how do you pay the bills every Friday when your staff wants their paycheck? You pull your hair out wondering how you got yourself into this mess. This book was written for you. You are not alone. Yes, others have done the same thing before you and believe it or not, there are tried and proven recipes for success. Instead of fumbling around like the other lawyers in your town and just waiting for your phone to ring with your next case, you study the recipe and principles for a big-time injury law firm and little by little you begin implementing systems into your new law firm. You have in your hands tried and proven systems for the injury law firm of your dreams. It's not just the technical aspects of running your own law firm, but the managerial and entrepreneurial principles that you must have to keep a constant stream of new cases and clients coming down the pipe. And no, these are not law school theoretical concepts but the technical, managerial and entrepreneurial "how to" steps that have been tried and tested over years of trial and error. You won't find a book like this in your law school library...or anywhere else. Law school's out--no more time for theoretical concepts--it's time to get bills paid, move cases to trial, start making money and begin living life on your terms. All royalties from the sale of this book are donated to Doc to Dock, Inc., an amazing nonprofit organization based in New York that collects unused and unwanted medical supplies from around the country and ships them to hospitals and clinics in impoverished Third World nations in Africa and Haiti. Every day tons of unused medical supplies and equipment are incinerated or tossed into landfills in the U.S. Rather than letting the unused medical supplies go to waste, Doc to Dock, Inc. collects the donated medical supplies consisting of basic medical devices such as catheters and ultrasound machines, and transports them to developing countries where they are needed the most. Doc to Dock, Inc. has provided shipments to 18 different countries in the poorest regions of sub-Saharan Africa and has made a huge difference in preventing very curable and basic illnesses that are often life-threatening in Africa due to their lack of medical supplies.

Risks, Reputations, and Rewards looks at a variety of interrelated questions about contingency fee legal practice: What is the nature of the contingency fees that lawyers charge? How do lawyers get and screen potential cases? How do contingency fee lawyers interact with their clients and opponents? What is involved in settling these cases? What types of returns do contingency fee cases produce? And what role does reputation play in contingency fee practice? The author argues that to be successful, contingency fee lawyers must generate a portfolio of cases, similar to an investment portfolio with its associated risk. This has a significant impact on how contingency fee lawyers obtain and select cases, manage their work, and deal with the pressures that arise in settling cases. More important, understanding the work of contingency fee lawyers in terms of an ongoing practice rather than in terms of individual cases mitigates some of the significant conflicts that may exist between lawyers and clients.

Kenneth Vercammen is an Edison, Middlesex County, NJ trial attorney where he handles Criminal, Municipal Court, Probate, Civil Litigation and Estate Administration matters. Ken is author of the American Bar Association's new book "Criminal Law Forms" and often lectures to trial lawyers of the American Bar Association, NJ State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. As the Past Chair of the Municipal Court Section he has served on its board for 10 years. Awarded the Municipal Court Attorney of the Year by both the NJSBA and Middlesex County Bar Association, he also received the NJSBA- YLD Service to the Bar Award and the General Practitioner Attorney of the Year, now Solo Attorney of the Year. Ken Vercammen is a highly regarded lecturer on both Municipal Court/ DWI and Estate/ Probate Law issues for the NJICLE- New Jersey State Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published by NJ Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, YLD Dictum, GP Gazette and New Jersey Lawyer magazine. He was a speaker at the 2013 ABA Annual meeting program "Handling the Criminal Misdemeanor and Traffic Case" and serves as is the Editor in Chief of the NJ Municipal Court Law Review. For nine years he served as the Cranbury Township Prosecutor and also was a Special Acting Prosecutor in nine different towns. Ken has successfully handled over one thousand Municipal Court and Superior Court matters in the past 27 years. His private practice has devoted a substantial portion of professional time to the preparation and trial of litigated matters. Appearing in Courts throughout New Jersey several times each week on Criminal and Municipal Court trials, civil and contested Probate hearings. Ken also serves as the Editor of the popular legal website and mobile phone app www.njlaws.com and related blogs. In Law School he was a member of the Law Review, winner of the ATLA trial competition and top ten in class. Throughout his career he has served the NJSBA in many leadership and volunteer positions. Ken has testified for the NJSBA before the Senate Judiciary Committee to support changes in the DWI law to permit restricted use driver license and interlock legislation. Ken also testified before the Assembly Judiciary Committee in favor of the first-time criminal offender "Conditional Dismissal" legislation which permits dismissal of some criminal charges. He is the voice of the Solo and Small firm attorneys who juggle active court practice with bar and community activities. Recently, the ABA Solo Division has selected Ken to write its new book on "Marketing for the New and Small Firm Attorney". In his private life he has been a member of the NJ State champion Raritan Valley Road Runners master's team and is a 4th degree black belt.