Boutique Law Firms, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

Be The Lawyer And The Firm Today That You Aspire To Be Tomorrow

Don't ever get comfortable. Keep challenging yourself and your colleagues to act like the lawyers and the practice you are working to be.

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john-balestriereDon’t ever get comfortable. It is important to make sure you keep pushing yourself by challenging yourself and your colleagues to act like the lawyers and the practice you are working to be. 

I started as a solo. It was fantastic, but it wasn’t easy. Many have written more eloquently than I about how hard it can be to do everything, and I mean everything—the client calls, engagement letters, court appearances, ordering the printer paper, then replacing the printer paper, then remembering to buy the printer in the first place, negotiating the lease, keeping the books, and everything in between. I wince when I think of how naive I was and the numerous organizational errors I made, but, with the support of family and friends, the thousands and thousands of hours of work, with a bit of luck, and the grace of God, I was fortunate enough to survive and now work with nearly two dozen lawyers and others at a thankfully still thriving and growing law firm.

One thing that helped me in my earliest days, and absolutely still helps me and my colleagues as our practice grows, is asking what lawyers or law firm we want to be in three or five or ten years and then acting, as much as possible and responsible, like that lawyer or that law firm.

This is not merely daydreaming. By thinking about the law firm you aspire to be and acting like that kind of firm now, you will make different—and better—choices. For example, management choices to consider may include: do you get practice management software that works currently for you, for the firm you hope to be in three years with five staffers, or the firm you hope to be in the years after that with more staffers? What kind of office do you get and what kind of lease?  Do you have the relationships with vendors and staffing agencies to ensure you can handle cases that may just be a bit too big for you now, but which you hope to keep your staff busy and happy in the firm you hope to be in a few years?

The choices you need to make go beyond these prosaic, if very important, technical management decisions, but to heart of the work you do.  When a new case comes in or a new client comes to you, you need to ask yourself, “is this the kind of matter we should be doing now,” or “is this the kind of matter we should handle in three or five years?” This is a tough one.  First, it’s hard for any growing shop or lawyer wanting to develop their practice to turn down business. Second, do you want to limit yourself from taking a good case now because you just might be doing bigger cases a few years from now? I don’t have an easy answer here. I simply want to point out that most legal work takes time, so a case you bring in today may be one you’re working on a year or longer from now. You can project what your practice will look like in the future by the client and matter choices you make now, so keep that in mind when making those choices.

A great way to make poor choices—and not be happy—is to forget about the present and think only about some hoped-for future. The only way you can build the practice and firm you want is at least to be mindful of that future, and what you want it to look like, but to make the wise choices today to help mold the future firm that you are aspiring to build.

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John Balestriere is an entrepreneurial trial lawyer who founded his firm after working as a prosecutor and litigator at a small firm. He is a partner at trial and investigations law firm Balestriere Fariello in New York, where he and his colleagues represent domestic and international clients in litigation, arbitration, appeals, and investigations. You can reach him by email at john.g.balestriere@balestrierefariello.com.

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