When Should You Unmask Yourself?

Smalls and solos shouldn't pretend they're something they're not.

onOctober 31, 2017 at 3:30 PMOctober 31, 2017 at 2:59 PM

Since today is October 31, a Halloween-themed post seems appropriate. And while it would be all too easy to write about the horrors of Biglaw, ghoulish partners, or the walking zombies that are the associates that serve them, instead I’ll focus on costumes — specifically, the masks that many solo and small firm lawyers wear and when it’s appropriate to take them off.

Solo and small firm lawyers put on costumes all the time. Sometimes, solos masquerade as firms that are larger than themselves — referring to the folks at FedEx/Kinko’s as our “admin staff” or giving their firm a trade name like Prime Legal or Grand Central Law Firm to suggest a larger entity than just one person. Other times, solos brag about working on a merger (translation: doing a week long doc review assignment) or the month of depositions coming up (without mentioning that it’s a four-figure contingency matter that won’t go away).

So should solos who dress up their workload or credentials ever expose the truth? Sure, ethics rules counsel against any deception — but on the other hand, if solos aren’t permitted to fake it ’till they make it, many wouldn’t even bother getting out of bed in the morning. Of course, sometimes a cover up can have the opposite effect — for example, a colleague may not send referrals fearing that the solo won’t have the time to handle the new work. Moreover, there are too many tragic stories in the news of solos pilfering from trust accounts or taking their lives — to the shock of colleagues who envied their success.

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Remember as a kid when you created a fantastic, elaborate Halloween costume — usually something that involved a large box or many layers of clothing? You looked fantastic and maybe even won a prize. But man, was that outfit ever uncomfortable and so you had to stop trick-or-treating early and lost out on candy and time with friends. When you costume yourself as a prospering solo — in a $1500 suit and a designer attache or handbag or hire staff you can’t afford to show off your success, you can never relax and like the kid in the big box costume, you erect a wall between yourself and other lawyers in your same modest shoes with whom you could commiserate if you’d just take the costume off.

Tomorrow is November 1 and Halloween will be over. Isn’t it time for you to unmask yourself 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 elefant@myshingle.comor follow her on Twitter at @carolynelefant.