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A recent report has found that Philadelphia law firms are the biggest spenders in the United States. Unfortunately, some law firms are spending more money than they are bringing in. That is a troublesome ratio. Law firm expenses are going to need a makeover to improve the odds.

We are seeing higher expenses this quarter according to a report by Citi Private Bank. The study looks at 166 law firms across the nation, and compared how much law firms are spending. In Philly, law firms are spending twice the national average and revenues are not increasing as much. The national average increase in revenue is only increasing at 0.2 percent.

Regardless where your firm is located, have you considered if your firm might be spending itself out of existence?

Winning a personal injury claim is a fun part of practice. Gathering evidence, taking depositions, making arguments: those are the aspects of your job that you enjoy.

But your work isn’t finished when you win on the merits. Your client still has to deal with lien claims. Some attorneys may be satisfied with disbursing settlement funds to a client and instructing the client to pay the liens and debts from his personal injury case. That’s often not the best idea because attorneys have ethical and fiduciary obligations to repay a lien claimant.

There comes a time in the growth of every solo or small firm when you have to consider hiring a paralegal.

It's certainly not a necessity at the beginning, and you may be at a point where one might be helpful but there isn't really a way to justify the cost. But when you decide you need some extra help, you'll have to choose between a full-time employee and just sending out contract work.

Both routes have benefits, and what you choose will depend on your particular needs. To help with that process, here are some things you should consider when making your choice:

There's a lot of information out there on how important mentors are for solo attorneys and how to find the right mentor as a new attorney. But what about being a good mentor for other lawyers?

Most attorneys have benefitted from a mentor at some point in their careers, so it seems only fair that you give back when you have the time and knowledge to help out someone who's new. But being an experienced attorney isn't the same as being a good mentor.

Mentoring doesn't have to take up a lot of your time, but it does require some skill. When it comes time to pay your karmic dues, here are five tips to make sure your mentoring skills are up to snuff:

If you're looking for one of the best legal research tools on the Internet, look no further. You found one.

Results are in for the New York Law Journal's 2012 Reader Rankings and FindLaw comes in at No. 2 in the Best Small Firm Legal Research Tool category, right behind WestlawNext.

WestlawNext is a well-loved legal research tool, and our sister company. But as so many small law firms around the country know, FindLaw has one distinct advantage: the price.

As the highest ranked free legal research service we have a lot to live up to, but we also have a lot to offer.

Unless you live in a very small town, you're going to need to find your niche to develop a successful law practice. So why not become a marijuana lawyer?

As you may know, more and more states are legalizing marijuana for certain medicinal purposes. However, the laws are very new and potential users and growers need legal guidance.

Sure, if you practice in this area you'd have to tell people you specialize in marijuana law. And that's probably the major drawback to becoming a marijuana lawyer. But if you keep an open mind, there may be a wealth of opportunities for you.

Class action mistakes are not unheard of, especially for rookie class counsel. There are different rules to play by, and the fate of an entire class of plaintiffs rides on your shoulders.

But even experienced class counsel make mistakes that sometimes result in harsh consequences, like sanctions, the denial of attorney's fees, or the rejection of a class settlement.

With those consequences in mind, check out these five rookie mistakes other class lawyers have made, so you don't end up following in their footsteps:

At some point in your career, you may come up against hostile witnesses.

A hostile witness is a witness that you call who ends up becoming "hostile" to your cause. If this is the case, a court may deem the witness hostile and you will have to update your strategy on how to handle the witness. Otherwise, your questioning could lead to unwanted answers that seriously damage your case.

Here are three strategies to handle a hostile witness, as reported by The Street.

Winning a lawsuit is often just the beginning of the battle to get paid. Evasive losing parties can try to claim insolvency or even go into hiding, making it difficult for lawyers launch an asset investigation.

Difficult, but not impossible.

There are some strategies that can help attorneys and asset investigators uncover an opposing party's hidden bounty.

Here are five suggestions:

When a current or potential client needs legal advice, but not in your area of expertise, who you gonna call?

Chances are, you'll probably want to direct the client to a more experienced attorney. After all, ethics rules require an attorney to be competent, with the "legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation."

But in some cases, you may feel up to a challenge. How can you make sure you're sufficiently knowledgeable about an unfamiliar subject, and not in over your head?