In every election, you can always find several solo lawyers on the ballot, either running for positions that require a law degree — like a local district court judge, or attorney general — or competing with non-lawyers for a seat in a legislative body or the executive branch in state or local government.
As I’ve written previously running for office can benefit solos by providing free publicity or a platform to speak to issues that matter to potential clients. And receiving that kind of exposure, win or lose, is a good thing because otherwise solos might never enter the race. Turns out, as with so many other solo activities, whether its seeking attorneys fees for a once-in-a lifetime victory or attempting to serve as role models for other women or receiving fair treatment before a disciplinary body, solos running for office don’t get no respect.
One need only quickly peruse various news publications’ candidate endorsements — which rarely if ever favor solos — except for this oddball case where a solo running for judge received a lengthy feature in the Chicago Sun Times simply because he was the only candidate to pick up the phone and call the columnist). In nearly every other situation, the media minimizes solos’ managerial and substantive experience, and instead lauds the credentials of their biglaw or big government competitors. Consider this recent sampling:
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Todd Fox, 49, is a former Waterford trustee who has practiced law for 23 years, mostly as a solo practitioner concentrating in civil litigation. But MARY MARA, whose 25-year career has been divided roughly evenly between the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Oakland County Corporation Counsel’s office, would bring more relevant experience to the Waterford District Court [going on to focus on her nearly exclusive prosecutorial experience at various government offices].
Daniel Patrick Duffy has quieted many of the critics who said he didn’t have the temperament for the job. He runs an efficient, high-volume courtroom, and attorneys say he is respectful and fair. Before becoming a judge, he had a distinguished career in private practice and served on the state board that reviews disciplinary complaints against attorneys…. William Wojcik comes without that baggage, but his resume is not as strong. He’s a sole practitioner specializing in personal injury and medical negligence cases.
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The Times…finds [David Berger] to be the best of the candidates in this particular race [for judge] [notwithstanding that the County Bar rated him as unqualified].As a deputy district attorney, and as a candidate for Los Angeles city attorney, Berger was never shy about expressing his opinion, including about his rivals. He has a long and successful record as a prosecutor, and his free expression of opinion in that capacity do not make him less fit to serve impartially as a judge….Also running [is] Van Nuys sole practitioner Naser “Nas” Khoury….Berger is the best choice.
[…] we believe Bradford Peterson, 52, is the best candidate in the Group 14 [judicial race]. Peterson has the work ethic and experience that will serve him well on the bench….Of course, a good work ethic alone does not make an attorney a good judge, but Peterson has a strong mix of legal experience. He’s been a prosecutor, a public defender and an attorney for the Guardian ad Litem program in Monroe County. He also appeared before the North Dakota Supreme Court while working as a prosecutor in that state.
[…] the other two candidates in the race are solo practitioners Kim Mollica and Sam Lopez.Mollica, 53, was born in Fort Lauderdale and has practiced law in Florida for 26 years. She handles a variety of cases at her Pompano Beach practice, including what are called Hague Convention cases. They involve children who were kidnapped and taken from one country to another. She said she provides her services in those cases for free. She also serves on Broward County’s Consumer Protection Board. Sam Lopez, 49, also is seeking the seat. Lopez graduated from Florida State University in 1988, where he played cornerback under football Coach Bobby Bowden. He earned his law degree from Nova Southeastern in 1996.
Three candidates are vying for this open seat: Rosy Aponte, 43, a sole practitioner; Carol “Jodie” Breece, 56, the ethics counsel for the Broward County Inspector General’s Office, a former trial attorney and Miami-Dade assistant state attorney and Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts, 53, a former Miami city attorney and Miami-Dade public defender….Ms. Aponte (the solo) is concerned about courtroom bullying allowed by judges who give the appearance of not being impartial. But Ms. Breece gave the best answer: “When people walk into a courtroom, they should be treated with fairness, respect and dignity and that translates into people’s trust in their government.” Because of the depth of her experience and high rating with the Florida Bar, the Herald recommends CAROL “JODIE” BREECE in Group 52.
The second competitive race pits Madden, a career prosecutor, against civil attorney Jonathan Van Ee. Madden has extensive trial experience and has worked on juvenile cases involving sexually exploited youth. As she talks of some of the difficult cases she has confronted, she brings a personal sensitivity that would be a good addition to the bench. In contrast, Van Ee is a sole civil practitioner with no criminal experience who provides long and rambling answers when questioned. He emphasizes the importance of greater use of technology to improve access to the courts, a point with which we agree. But, beyond that, Van Ee doesn’t seem to have a compelling case for his election.
As just shown, these new editors always endorsed a prosecutor or government attorney over the solo. And while granted, in some instances, the solo did not have as much experience as his opponent, in many other cases, the solo’s experience was downplayed or ignored.
I observed this same pattern two years ago in Washington D.C. Back then, the Washington Post endorsed for the position of the District’s first elected Attorney General a Biglaw attorney with strong management skills rather than a solo with criminal and civil trial experience who was responsible for bringing the court challenges that resulted in the election for attorney general to begin with.
For many lesser known or lower level positions, voters rely heavily on media endorsement to choose who to vote for simply because there generally isn’t much information available about each candidate’s specific position. Yet time and again, the media goes with the “establishment” candidate even though many of the skills that make solos successful — resourcefulness, independence, ability to multi-task and work within limited budgets and persistence — would also improve government.
When I cast my ballot at the polls today, wherever possible, I plan to vote solo. You should too.
Carolyn Elefant has been blogging about solo and small firm practice at MyShingle.comsince 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 [email protected]or follow her on Twitter at @carolynelefant.