'Don’t Needs' For A Small-Firm Practice

When starting your own practice, here are some things to avoid.

Now that we’ve reviewed the Necessities and Nice to Haves for a SmallLaw practice, it’s time to talk about the things you do not need for your practice to be successful. So, without further ado…

Actually, some ado. Obviously each practice is different. These are merely my don’t-needs. If I were a DUI or personal injury lawyer, I’m sure my don’t-needs would look different. But as a corporate lawyer who leaped from Biglaw a couple of years ago, these are things that I’ve found completely unhelpful, or even damaging, to my practice.

Backup Plan. Do not have a backup plan. On an ATL podcast recorded a couple of weeks ago, I talked about an NFL player who got a tattoo on his face just before preseason. He said he knew it would him work harder, because now he had to make it. Similarly — and much less interestingly — for a time when I had to do a long run at night I would bring a credit card and a $20 bill in case I sprained an ankle or something, except about half the time I wound up stopping and taking a cab back, whereas in hundreds of other long runs not once have I done that. Needless to say, after the third or fourth time I stopped carrying cab money.

There are times when having your own practice is very hard. Remove the temptation to fail. Banish your backup plans.

Internet Addiction. Once you no longer have any fear of anyone looking over your shoulder, you can spend your entire day refreshing Deadspin. Being your own boss takes an incredible amount of discipline (light bulb: future column!). Being able to save personal internet surfing, along with errands, the gym, Tinder, and whatever else sucks up your time to certain pre-defined points of the day is a challenge. You probably don’t need to spend large portions of your day researching the veracity of your Facebook friends’ latest meme shares.

Work Addiction. Um, no, this one actually helps.

Brand-new computer. That is, when you first start your practice. I fell for this one. Hey, you’re starting a practice, get a top-of-the-line computer for the launch, right? Eh, not so much. Better to wait until you know more about your needs. Maybe you’ll somehow attract a huge client right out of the gate and you’ll need lots of associates, so networking capabilities will be the biggest factor. Maybe YouTube videos will be your preferred means of marketing, so video editing will be important. More likely you’ll have the situation I had. I got a brand-new iMac and MacBook, only to find out the document managing service that’s ideal for my firm works better with a PC (a fact they don’t tell you until you make the purchase). Looking back, I don’t know what the rush was.

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Detailed Business Plan. In No Easy Day, the Navy SEAL author said they just needed a plan, that the quality of the plan really didn’t matter since it was going to change no matter what. So they just needed a plan, and any plan would do. (Sure enough, one of the helicopters crashed into the yard — which surely wasn’t part of anyone’s plan — yet the mission was successful.) It’s great to have an idea of where you’re going. But success often requires flexibility, and having a lengthy detailed business plan when the next phone call could change your practice forever seems like a waste of resources. Better to just make it a point to stop every now and then and take stock of where you and your practice are and map out some next steps, rather than overdoing it with something that looks like it came from McKinsey.

20-year cash reserve. Or a 10-year reserve. Or even a year. See back-up plan above. Whatever runway you give yourself is probably how long it’s going to take to get your practice rolling, because you won’t be desperate until the end. And once you’re desperate, things will start happening.

Hubris. Just making sure you’re still paying attention. Trump-sized self-confidence helps.

Too much advice. You only need a couple of mentors. No need to spend your days endlessly soliciting advice. Pretty soon advice is going to start conflicting, and then you’ll have to find tie-breakers, and it’ll be a vicious cycle. So hear from a couple of people, and then concentrate on the doing. And whatever you do, don’t take advice from random people who write columns on legal websites.

Having your own practice is rewarding but often precarious. Resources are typically tight. If a particular something is not yielding an adequate return, it’s probably best to take a hard look at whether it’s a good use of your time and money.

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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.