Necessities For A Small-Firm Practice

In SmallLaw, you have to figure out what you need, what’s “nice to have,” and what you can safely do without.

In Biglaw, everything is provided for you. Clients. Car service home. Fully stocked pantry right on your floor. Westlaw. Shoe shines. You never had to leave the building. In fact, if one were prone to a certain way of thinking, one would almost think they had planned it that way.

In SmallLaw, you have to figure out what you need, what’s “nice to have,” and what you can safely do without. Do you need clients? Yes. Legal skills? “Nice to have.” A big heart? Meh, probably not. But there are a few things that you absolutely, positively have to have. These are the things I’m going to discuss today.

Coffee Maker. I used to think it was fine having a nearby Starbucks or Blue Spoon Coffee, or whatever overpriced neighborhood coffee shop is trying to convince the masses their coffee is worth an extra buck or two. There’s a 24-hour Dunkin Donuts a quarter of a mile from my office. You’d think that would be close enough. Nope. At 3 a.m. when it’s cold and windy and the only thing I have to wear is the flimsy suit I wore into work at 9 a.m., a quarter-mile seems like so very far away. To power through those all-nighters and early morning meetings — tell me again how I wound up with all morning people as clients? — having a coffee maker is a must. (Btw, just for the record, Keurig > Flavia.)

Never-ending supply of blue pens. Where do all my pens go?? I swear I go through a 10-pen package every month. I’m starting to suspect one of my associates is compensating for his low pay by helping himself to free pens. These pens don’t grow on trees.

Printer. Seriously, I don’t know how any attorney can work without a printer. It looks perfect on my computer screen. Then when I print it out, it’s like geez, why’d I put that comma there and why did I repeat that word and this word would be so much better and maybe this paragraph should be moved down and so on and so on. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I can’t see how any lawyer can consistently deliver high-quality legal work solely working from his or her laptop. At least be able to print out the final final version for a final final look-through. (Another reason it’s hard to take seriously anybody who works out of Starbucks.)

Window. I need a window I can stare out of when yet another client tells me he’s in a bit of a cash crunch and is going to pay me right after he pays his employees, his landlord, his kid’s prep school tuition, his cable bill, his church tithes, gym membership, etc.

Nice comfortable client chair. As long as you’re not giving free consultations, you want your clients to be nice and comfortable. Hey, come in, grab a coffee, sit and tell me what I can do for you. And take your time. I’ve even looked into getting therapist chairs, where the person really could just lay back and tell me their troubles. And if they happen to fall asleep and wake up three hours later, well, I get paid for my time…

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Assuming I don’t come up with a better topic — a safe assumption — next week I’ll discuss the “nice to haves.” (Preview/spoiler alert: website is here, along with having your own office.)


Gary J. Ross opened his own practice, Jackson Ross PLLC, in 2013 after several years in Biglaw and the federal government. Gary handles corporate and compliance matters for investment funds, small businesses, and non-profits, occasionally dabbling in litigation. You can reach Gary by email at Gary.Ross@JacksonRossLaw.com.

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