Solo Practice Question Forum

[A'nold]

Soooooo, I get on these kicks and can't get stuff out of my mind until I get bored of them. Since I am not yet bored, I'd like peeps with solo knowledge to take a stab at this one:

If you want to be a solo personal injury lawyer, how do you make ends meet for the first at least 6 months or so when no cases are being settled or won at trial. The money is good, but it seems like it takes awhile for contingency fee lawyers to get paid, which would be o.k. if you already had cash to hold you over.

Do you do some other "by-the-hour" stuff to get you by for the first year or so? If so, what? Get some kind of part-time job or something?

[270910]

Loans. Family money. Savings.

Keep in mind that many (most? all?) successful solo practitioners likely started as successful non-solo-practitioners.

[A'nold]

Loans. Family money. Savings.

Keep in mind that many (most? all?) successful solo practitioners likely started as successful non-solo-practitioners.

I don't know though....at least at my ttt a crap ton of graduates open up shop at graduation every year. The living may not be glamorous, but they make a living.

[Always Credited]

Loans. Family money. Savings.

Keep in mind that many (most? all?) successful solo practitioners likely started as successful non-solo-practitioners.

I don't know though....at least at my ttt a crap ton of graduates open up shop at graduation every year. The living may not be glamorous, but they make a living.

I feel like that would be dangerous...malpractice and such.

[ggocat]

Loans. Family money. Savings.

Keep in mind that many (most? all?) successful solo practitioners likely started as successful non-solo-practitioners.

I don't know though....at least at my ttt a crap ton of graduates open up shop at graduation every year. The living may not be glamorous, but they make a living.

I feel like that would be dangerous...malpractice and such.

Insurance is cheap for new grads.

[ggocat]

If you want to be a solo personal injury lawyer, how do you make ends meet for the first at least 6 months or so when no cases are being settled or won at trial. The money is good, but it seems like it takes awhile for contingency fee lawyers to get paid, which would be o.k. if you already had cash to hold you over.

As disco said, savings/loans. I've heard you should try to have a year of expenses saved. Profits will be low the first couple of years.

As for non-PI business, you can do contract work for other small firms (handle particular issues/cases). In the right situation, you may have other attorneys refer you pittance work (small fee cases). Some states allow you to get on the appointment list for indigent criminal defense. I know some PI firms have significant workers comp practices, but I'm not sure what the fee turnaround is on workers comp cases is (other than generally quicker than straight PI).

Also, you may get a more knowledgeable response if you post on JDU or some other lawyer message board / listserv (like solosez).

[prezidentv8]

Loans. Family money. Savings.

Keep in mind that many (most? all?) successful solo practitioners likely started as successful non-solo-practitioners.

I don't know though....at least at my ttt a crap ton of graduates open up shop at graduation every year. The living may not be glamorous, but they make a living.

Met a judge the other day who did this straight out of law school, ended up doing it for 20 years then became a judge.

[A'nold]

Prez- so have I. One actually came from an unacreditted U. and does judge work on the side of his very successful practice.

Thanks to all the posters on this thread. It is a pet project I have going on right now.

[270910]

Prez- so have I. One actually came from an unacreditted U. and does judge work on the side of his very successful practice.

Thanks to all the posters on this thread. It is a pet project I have going on right now.

There's like a bazillion page tome about this put out by one of those nancy legal groups or bar associations or whatever, have you looked into it?

[ggocat]

Prez- so have I. One actually came from an unacreditted U. and does judge work on the side of his very successful practice.

Thanks to all the posters on this thread. It is a pet project I have going on right now.

There's like a bazillion page tome about this put out by one of those nancy legal groups or bar associations or whatever, have you looked into it?

A lot of state bars have start-up books/packets, as well.

[AJRESQ]

Soooooo, I get on these kicks and can't get stuff out of my mind until I get bored of them. Since I am not yet bored, I'd like peeps with solo knowledge to take a stab at this one:

If you want to be a solo personal injury lawyer, how do you make ends meet for the first at least 6 months or so when no cases are being settled or won at trial. The money is good, but it seems like it takes awhile for contingency fee lawyers to get paid, which would be o.k. if you already had cash to hold you over.

Do you do some other "by-the-hour" stuff to get you by for the first year or so? If so, what? Get some kind of part-time job or something?

I started out doing really high end PI (not public interest, it means "personal injury" in the real world). You do not want to be a PI solo right out of law school. Here are the facts, jack:

1. It's very easy to commit malpractice in PI. Not only are there statute of limitation pitfalls, but there are often things like a tort claims notice act and other short notice statutes that only apply to government entities. Assuming of course, you actually know what you're dealing with is in fact a government entity, as it might be a private agency in which the government owns 100% of it's stock or something. (like AMTRAK). Do you know how to work out liens with the carrier? (say a health care carrier pays your client's medical bills, do you know how that works?) Did you sue the correct entity? Did you think to get a property report? Did you retain an expert before the alleged defect was fixed? Did you ask the right questions in the deposition? Also, if cash flow is an issue, it's hard to litigate these things properly. At the very least, you have to have a solid line of credit.

2. PI requires having huge cash reserves. Just thinking off the top of my head on a small PI case: filing fee: $500. expert witness report: $2500 - $5000. Court reporter: $750 for depo with transcript x 3. Cost of filing a discovery motion in some JDX's: $50. Travel time, parking garage, demonstrative evidence, court fees, etc. You might sink $10k into a small slip and fall EASILY. Now consider the fact that you aren't getting paid. How do you pay your mortgage, put gas in the car, and eat? Now, what if you LOSE? You're out all that money. Plus, insurance carriers are less and less apt to settle, so there is a good chance you're going to be forced to try the case.

I wouldn't solo right out of law school (many have done it). I know all the pitfalls I walked into my first year of practice. Even with a good firm I made mistakes... some of them could have been catastrophic to my career but/for good mentors. However, if you just MUST go solo right out of law school, build up your cash reserves and experience first, then begin to dabble in PI. Right now, you're better off referring your PI cases out to older more experienced lawyers who will give you a cut. You might even be able to work out a deal with them for a higher cut if you do some of the work and get to watch them. It's the best of both worlds.

Also, big picture, for whatever it's worth, PI isn't worth it for most. That battle has been lost. Juries are less apt to side with PI lawyers and tort reform has made it a real bitch. I'd focus on something different, honestly.

You can do a solo practice on under $10k from what I'm told. I believe it. You just have to understand you won't make money for a few years.

[CanadianWolf]

Not in Alabama (re: the death of personal injury as a lucrative practice area due to tort reform & juries reluctant to side with plaintiffs' attorneys).