Gary J. Ross
Harrison Barnes, the CEO of BCG Search, doesn’t get a lot of love around ATL. He writes these really long blog posts on the legal profession — long enough it makes me wonder how long it takes him to write them — and though he sometimes goes places perhaps he shouldn’t, I always enjoy his columns and find he has a lot of excellent insights.
Political speeches having failed to capture my attention, I was poking around the internet the other day and found an article of his on 10 Reasons to Start or Not Start Your Own Firm. Among the reasons not to start your own firm: “Your Skills Will Generally Rapidly Deteriorate as a Solo Practitioner.”
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Though I disagree with using the word “rapidly,” I can see why Barnes would say this, and I agree it does happen. In SmallLaw, there are a lot of administrative things that clog up your schedule, and any time you spend chasing down clients for money or messing around with your IT system or dealing with personnel or financial matters is time that is taken away from work or study, and will not contribute towards making you a better lawyer.
So why do so many SmallLaw attorneys, such as myself, think we’re better lawyers in SmallLaw than we were in Biglaw? Are we deluding ourselves?
Perhaps. Maybe we’re unwilling to fathom that since we’re a few years older than we were when we were in Biglaw, that we’re not wiser as well. Or maybe it’s possible to take steps to ensure your legal skills do not erode once you leap to SmallLaw. A lot of my SmallLaw peers, whose abilities I greatly respect, have successfully done this. Here are seven ways that, after making the leap, you too can stay sharp in SmallLaw.
Specialize. You can’t make a name for yourself or stay on any cutting edge if you keep your practice general. People likely aren’t going to go around saying, “he’s the best general attorney in Milwaukee.” But, they very well could say, “he’s the best attorney in Milwaukee if you have a registered investment adviser issue.” If you manage to fill your day working on registered investment adviser matters and you earn a reputation as a top person in that field, your skills are going to stay sharp. On the other hand, if you’re constantly yoyoing between investment adviser matters and defending DUI cases, you’re probably not going to be the best investment adviser lawyer in Milwaukee.
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Choose your practice area wisely. There are certain practice areas that are better suited to attorneys in SmallLaw, and thus it can’t be said a SmallLaw attorney’s skills have eroded, or at least not every SmallLaw attorney, since by necessity a few of them are at the top of the field. Fashion law comes to mind. Since large law firms do not have a fashion law practice area in the same way they might have a tax practice area, it’s axiomatic that the leading practitioners in fashion law are going to be in smaller firms. On the other hand, it’s hard to be at the top of your field doing something like high-dollar mergers and acquisitions in SmallLaw, since those require a lot of resources and very few companies will let a small law firm handle.
Develop clients that will keep you sharp. Usually the SmallLaw attorneys who are leaders in their fields have at least a couple of clients who are constantly pushing them, either to stay up-to-date on the law or to do first-rate work. The clients who either don’t notice or are willing to exchange shabby work in exchange for low legal fees will do nothing for your legal skills.
Surround yourself with smart like-minded people. Gravitate towards those who are also trying to be the best they can be. Peer pressure is a great motivator, which is why I still have a scar from that night in college — eh, never mind.
Teach. Ideally, you want to land an adjunct position in a relatively narrow subject (instead of something like “Introduction to Corporate Law,” which is what I teach). If your field is health care law, it would be difficult for someone to claim your skills have eroded if each week you’re teaching students how the latest amendments to HIPAA affect health care providers. If you don’t have time to adjunct, teaching CLEs can work as well, since it will force you to stay current in your particular area, lest you get publicly corrected by one of the CLE participants you’re supposed to be enlightening.
Read. I hear stories about Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos spending hours each day reading, broadening their minds and deepening their knowledge in particular areas. You can’t really do that when you’re a Biglaw associate billing 2500 hours a year. The successful Biglaw partners — certainly the practice area heads — take the time to read, whether it’s daily alerts, bar review articles, or even books. In SmallLaw, you are your own practice area head, so if you want to stay sharp, fit in the time to read. (Tip: consider podcasts.)
Love your work. If you love what you do, you’ll refuse to let your skills erode. You’ll do your very best even for clients who may not be aware of what they’re getting.
I love having my own practice. I highly recommend it. Other than the fact that there’s no one to blame when things go wrong, it’s great. But, it does take special diligence to make sure your skills stay sharp and that you’re continuing to grow as an attorney.
Onward.
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 securities matters for startups, large and small businesses, private equity funds, and investors in each, and also has a number of non-profit clients. You can reach Gary by email at [email protected].