Biglaw, Job Searches, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

Reinventing The Law Business: Where Is The Legal Profession Heading? (Part 5)

What does the future hold for small law firms and solo practitioners? Managing partner Bruce Stachenfeld offers predictions and advice.

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This is the fifth (and final) article in a five-part series dealing with my predictions for the future of different types of law firms as the legal profession changes. This five-part series covers the following types of firms:

  • Branded Law Firms
  • Super Mega-Big Vereins
  • Pure-Play Law Firms
  • Regional Law Firms
  • Single-City Law Firms
  • Solo Practitioners and Firms with Less Than Ten Lawyers

In the previous four articles, I wrote about Branded Law Firms, Super Mega-Big Vereins, Pure-Play Law Firms, Regional Law Firms, and Single-City Law Firms. In this fifth article, I will discuss Solo Practitioners and Firms With Less Than Ten Lawyers.

This is hardest for me since I am not in this area or overlapping with it that much, so what I have to say largely hearkens back a number of years to the day that we were starting our firm. Here are my thoughts:

As far as predictions go, I would think that these solo and small firms will always be around. There are always niches to be filled in local markets. My guess is that the goings-on of the major law firms clawing for market share will have little, or even nothing, to do with the success or failure of these solo and small firms. The question will be how profitable these small/tiny law practices can become. In that regard, the answer will likely depend on the (logically very small) local market in which they practice. That market could be New York City (with the highest billing rates but the most difficult place to stand out in) or it could be a small town in Indiana (with lower billing rates but maybe there are only two lawyers in town).

I am not saying anything un-obvious here; however, I do have a few suggestions to consider:

First – if you have a choice, don’t start, or join, a small firm or solo practice too soon. It may sound “cool” to hang out your shingle right after law school, but, sadly, you most likely have little or nothing to sell. This is because you aren’t trained. Also, how are you going to find clients since you have likely not yet made contacts at the appropriate level in the industry in which you are practicing? Your young peers and friends are likely not at the level in their organizations where they can direct work to you. So the better part of valor is to “get a job” where you will get two critical things: First, training and hopefully great training. Second, access to industry contacts, who will later be your clients or parties with the ability to refer clients to you.

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Second – I submit that you should do your best to avoid being “just a lawyer” or “just a small firm.” As I have written in prior articles, you have to find a way to STAND OUT and be different, or you are a mere commodity. The way to do this is usually by focusing on a small (even tiny) niche and trying to own that niche.

Third – your obvious thought will be to try to compete with the big firms on price. Your overhead will be dramatically lower; indeed, so low that you almost won’t have any. You could theoretically operate out of a home office and your only cost is phone and plugging into the internet. However, this means your value proposition is at heart really as follows:

  • I am not as good as the big law firms.
  • But I am much cheaper.
  • For things that don’t matter that much you should choose me over the bigger firms.

Ultimately you are saying “not as good but cheaper.” Yes, there is a niche for this, but I would say this is a last resort. How about this:

  • I am the only lawyer in (this small) town in the Bakken Shale area who knows the fracking law issues.
  • I am a true expert in this narrow area.
  • I cost a lot but I am worth it, because I know this better than anyone else.

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I think you would agree that this second value proposition is a lot better than the first. The bottom line may be that you may have no choice but to compete on price; however, I would make that a last choice.

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So those are my thoughts and predictions for the legal profession as a whole.

I certainly hope I did not offend anyone with my thinking or advice here. It was certainly not my intention. I was just doing my best to predict the future.

Also, I think it would be fun to find a way to remember my writings in one, three, five, or ten years and see if I am right in the end or, as often happens when I predict the future, completely wrong.

Earlier: Reinventing The Law Business: Where Is The Legal Profession Heading? (Part 1)
Reinventing The Law Business: Where Is The Legal Profession Heading? (Part 2)
Reinventing The Law Business: Where Is The Legal Profession Heading? (Part 3)
Reinventing The Law Business: Where Is The Legal Profession Heading? (Part 4)

Bruce Stachenfeld is the managing partner of Duval & Stachenfeld LLP, which is an approximately 70-lawyer law firm based in midtown Manhattan. The firm is known as “The Pure Play in Real Estate Law” because all of its practice areas are focused around real estate. With 50 full-time real estate lawyers, the firm is one of the largest real estate law practices in New York City. You can contact Bruce by email at thehedgehoglawyer@gmail.com.

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