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Hey everyone,

I'd like to start some talk about private practice- the pors and cons, why someone would want start a private practice and so on. I've been looking into a career in private practice as a family attorny, contracts or something relation. I should also note that I've heard of a good book on this tittled "Flying Solo..".

Are you thinking about going solo immediately, or later in your career? This is a topic that comes up fairly frequently on this site. Here are some links to previous discussions:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &p=4513791
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &p=4506964
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=156007
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5&t=152966

Aftersome experience and/ or working under a mentor is what I would plan on. I haven't seen these posts, I'll take a look.

PJG70 wrote:Aftersome experience and/ or working under a mentor is what I would plan on.

Most of those links are about going into solo practice straight away.

Going solo after a few years is definitely something that I am considering. If I want to go that path, it makes sense to have as little debt as possible. However, ITE I am nervous about giving up the relative security that a T14 degree brings. As a 0L, the ranking vs cost balance is something that I debate in my mind on a daily basis.

Well beyond what has already been said here, in general, starting your own business takes a lot different mindset and skill set than just being a worker. Being an experienced, knowledgeable, and hardworking attorney is not enough to start your own firm (but are usually necessary which is why people say no to doing it right out of school). I think the biggest thing you will have to consider when deciding to open your own firm would be your personal ability to find and retain clients.

"Private practice" does not mean solo, btw.

AreJay711 wrote:Well beyond what has already been said here, in general, starting your own business takes a lot different mindset and skill set than just being a worker. Being an experienced, knowledgeable, and hardworking attorney is not enough to start your own firm (but are usually necessary which is why people say no to doing it right out of school). I think the biggest thing you will have to consider when deciding to open your own firm would be your personal ability to find and retain clients.

+1

ITE it may be tempting for out of work law school grads to hang out their own shingle. However, law school does not teach one to be a business owner. The income disparities between self-employed attorneys is huge. There are some that become millionaires, but there are many more that fail miserably. When considering to open one's own practice, one should make sure that he has sufficient skill sets to 1. be a good attorney and 2. be a good entrepreneur.

AreJay711 wrote:I think the biggest thing you will have to consider when deciding to open your own firm would be your personal ability to find and retain clients.

I would agree here. An advantage that I would say I have is that I have a lot of experience working in a private business where meeting new clients while retaining old ones is critical.

On another note, there are a lot of other things to consider, too. IE whether or not to have a partner.