Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

Why Not Start Your Own Law Firm?

Our newest columnist covering the world of small law firms, Carolyn Elefant, poses this question: Is the horror or shame of starting a law firm worse than being unemployed or junking your JD?

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Ed. note: Please join us in welcoming our newest columnist covering the world of small law firms, Carolyn Elefant of MyShingle.

Let me start my inaugural column here at Above the Law with a question: Why not start your own law firm?

To be clear, I’m not directing this question at those of you who are gainfully employed in a legal job, however tenuous or intolerable. Over the course of this column, I’ll discuss whether and in what circumstances it makes sense to jump ship — but for now, I’ll assume that your risk aversion is reasonable.

Likewise, my question isn’t targeted at those of you who have no choice but to work at menial jobs just to survive and simply don’t have the time or energy to get a firm off the ground. Again, there are ways that you can make starting a firm work, but it may take a lot more effort than you have to give.

No — for now, I’m just asking those of you who really have no choice. For example, if you graduated from law school more than a year ago and you’ve been sending out résumés constantly and haven’t had a nibble. Or those of you who have had a doc review job here and there, but nothing steady — but at the same time, you’re fortunate enough to have a spouse or partner or family who can at least cover your living expenses while you get a firm off the ground. Or maybe you’re more experienced — perhaps your law firm pushed you out as you were nearing 65 and you’re not ready or can’t afford to stop working yet, but nothing else has presented itself.

In these kinds of back-against-the-wall, nowhere-to-go-but-leave-the-law-entirely cases, is the horror or shame of starting a law firm worse than being unemployed or junking your JD?

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What stops you from just setting up an online profile and printing a few business cards just to test the waters and let people know you’re out there? Heck, you don’t even have to buy malpractice insurance until you find a client. What’s so intimidating about that?

I realize that if you’ve been unlucky in law once, then it’s kind of hard to give it go. And I’d love to tell you that starting a firm offers some kind of nirvana, but I’d be lying. It may surprise you to learn that for all the time I’ve spent practicing at my own firm, and then blogging about the joys of hanging a shingle, I don’t love what I do every day; not by a long shot. Constantly hustling for cases, staying on top of changes in my practice area, and then actually having to do the work don’t always thrill me. Some days, yes, even running your own law firm is just a job.

But every so often, you have those days when a client thanks you. When a judge rules resoundingly in your favor, or picks up and incorporates the exact language from your brief. When you finally figure out how to phrase a contract clause so that your client can seal a deal. Or when you look back over your accounts from the past few months, and realize that someone’s actually been paying you to do this stuff. Those days so substantially outweigh the mediocre and the bad — and they’re what you miss out on if you don’t start a firm.

So that’s it for my grand opening. No rousing speech about the glories of starting a firm; just a question to get some conversation or comments going here. (Yes, I do read ATL, so I know what I’m asking for!)

In the weeks to come, I can’t wait to blog about dozens of hot button issues — like whether it’s easier to accommodate a family when you run your own firm, or why there aren’t more women solos, or how to deal with professional bias against solos and smalls (if it does indeed exist), or whether the legal futurists who my predecessor (and friend) Brian Tannebaum so greatly reveres reviles actually care whether solo and small-firm practice survives another generation.

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What I’d rather not do is spend each week discussing the nuts and bolts of starting a practice, the endless minutiae of decisions that solos and smalls make each day. If you’re really interested in all that, you can start by checking out my free online presentation here or all of the free resources that I have over at my home blog, MyShingle. There are also more blogs than you could possibly imagine on client relations and marketing — I’ll tackle those issues as well, won’t cover ground well-trod at other sites, or restate the obvious (like attend networking events, send thank you’s, don’t attend a business function in sweats or toting a toddler). Of course, if you have specific questions about a particular type of practice or decision, I’m happy to cover them here, but otherwise don’t expect me to initiate snooze-inducing columns.

In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for your response to my opening question. And looking forward to seeing you here next week.

Carolyn Elefant has been blogging about solo and small firm practice at MyShingle.com since 2002 and operated her firm, the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant PLLC, even longer than that. She’s also authored a bunch of books on topics like starting a law practice, social media, and 21st century lawyer representation agreements (affiliate links). If you’re really that interested in learning more about Carolyn, just Google her. The Internet never lies, right? You can contact Carolyn by email at elefant@myshingle.com or follow her on Twitter at @carolynelefant.

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