Unmotivated at Midsize Firm and Think I want to Go Solo...Thoughts? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I've been at my current midsize firm (25 attorneys) for about a year. I was told that I was going to be doing labor/employment work, but that is probably less than 5% of my practice. I now do almost any type of civil practice and litigation. I posted a while ago about having little to no motivation at work. Posters here gave some good tips and I ended up having a decent summer in terms of billable hours. But...I've plummeted back to just not caring.

I just can't be enthusiastic about boring cases and representing clients that I don't know. I just can't do it anymore.

For example, I drafted an answer and counterclaim in a mineral rights case this morning. I have no idea who the client is and what they're like. I simply can't get emotionally invested in whether they will win or lose this case because after drafting this document, I likely won't see the case again.

To the contrary, if I knew this client and this was my case, hell yes I would care about this case. I would be motivated to fight tooth and nail for them.

I know I should have this same fire and spark right now, but I just can't artificially produce that. I've tried for almost a year now and I simply can't.

All this moping has led me to one conclusion--despite the enormous risk, I think I want to start my own law firm. I am in my hometown and have a decent amount of contacts. I also have a handful of clients that I could bring with me. Nothing huge, but definitely enough that I could keep the lights on for a little while.

My gameplan can be summarized as follows: (1) continue to learn and absorb information at current firm; (2) discuss going solo with attorneys I know and trust, ask for advice/mentorship/guidance; (3) this is admittedly selfish, but stay long enough to have my current firm pay for next reporting period's bar membership dues and CLEs; (4) save money for 3-6 months of living expenses; (5) and go solo by next summer. This is obviously oversimplified, but it is the nuts and bolts of my plan.

So a few questions:

(1) Am I having too much of a "grass is greener" attitude here? What concerns am I missing?

(2) How long should I stick it out at my current firm? I know there's value in the experience/network here, so I know I need to get at least something out of this before moving on.

(3) How much should I have saved up before starting a small firm?

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in this too.

I think that you should stay long enough so that you:

1) Have enough money to start your own firm
2) Have enough experience/knowledge to feel comfortable starting your own firm
3) Have enough connections to successfully start your own firm

I think the secret is to keep your eye on what you truly want. If you truly want to start your own firm, then tailor your experiences at this job to give you as much experience as you can in running your own firm. Once you feel like you've learned all you can, go on to what your dream really is.

[deepseapartners]

OP, what do your lateral options look like?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I'm in a small city (about 100,000 people). Lateraling after less than two years would be pretty unheard of. I also have no interest in lateraling to biglaw.

[DELG]

I don't get how you're not finding out more about your clients given how small the firm is? If that's the lynchpin to engagement, maybe you should just like talk to partners more and stuff

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

A lot of attorneys i know who are solos complain about the amount of client contact they have (clients constantly calling/emailing them, clients who are immoral/dishonest/break the law, clients not paying bills). When you imagine going solo you should not lose sight of the fact that many of your clients may be reprehensible and you might actually be less motivated to represent them then if you knew nothing about them.

[A. Nony Mouse]

What happens if you get a client you don't like?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Having annoying or bothersome clients wouldn't be something new, as I actually handle the "cold calls" at my firm. I've had 4 or 5 clients come on and be completely unreasonable just a few months later. But they are my clients and I do everything I can to take care of them--always answer the phone, always explain my strategy, etc.

Anecdotal example. I represented two random clients in a landlord-tenant dispute. They sent almost a hundred emails over the course of a few months, called almost every other day, etc. But I ended up getting them a pretty good settlement and they were happy with my service.

That is better than yesterday, where a partner completely forgot about an answer and counterclaim and had me start drafting it at 10:30 AM on the day it was due.

I guess my point is that it's not just about knowing clients and having a relationship with them. It's being my own boss. It's having control over client matters. It's not being jammed to file a motion because my partner forgot about it until the last minute. It's being able to work in shorts and a t-shirt when I don't have a court hearing. It's having complete autonomy on my business model and the future of my career and practice.

Those are all intangible benefits, and I'm well aware that the less risky thing to do is to stay at my current firm (fixed income, 401k plan, healthcare, office provided, etc.). But I'm just starting to believe that I can do this on my own and that I would be happier doing so.

[DELG]

IDK you should probably just tough it out until you've actually got enough experience to be the boss.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I definitely plan on staying here for at least another 6-9 months. I've learned a lot at my firm and am hoping to get involved in a few matters that will give me some experience for things I plan to do when solo (probate, DUI, divorce, etc).

[smallfirmassociate]

OP here. Having annoying or bothersome clients wouldn't be something new, as I actually handle the "cold calls" at my firm. I've had 4 or 5 clients come on and be completely unreasonable just a few months later. But they are my clients and I do everything I can to take care of them--always answer the phone, always explain my strategy, etc.

Anecdotal example. I represented two random clients in a landlord-tenant dispute. They sent almost a hundred emails over the course of a few months, called almost every other day, etc. But I ended up getting them a pretty good settlement and they were happy with my service.

That is better than yesterday, where a partner completely forgot about an answer and counterclaim and had me start drafting it at 10:30 AM on the day it was due.

I guess my point is that it's not just about knowing clients and having a relationship with them. It's being my own boss. It's having control over client matters. It's not being jammed to file a motion because my partner forgot about it until the last minute. It's being able to work in shorts and a t-shirt when I don't have a court hearing. It's having complete autonomy on my business model and the future of my career and practice.

Those are all intangible benefits, and I'm well aware that the less risky thing to do is to stay at my current firm (fixed income, 401k plan, healthcare, office provided, etc.). But I'm just starting to believe that I can do this on my own and that I would be happier doing so.

As a person in a similar market who has considered going solo several times (I'm a partner at a small firm), I see some major red flags with your posts in this thread. In order of severity, they are:

After a year, you are very unlikely to have the substantive legal knowledge to successfully practice law, and "on the job training" while solo is reckless, victimizes your clients, and could lead to professional sanctions and civil liability. I would worry far more about your level of expertise than whether you have a few months of cash saved up. The cash will be there if you have the ability, but if you don't have the ability, the savings won't keep your law practice above water for more than a few months.

Your patience with annoying and bothersome clients, frankly, carries no credibility after having been in practice for such a short period of time. I'd say 80% of lawyers deal well with annoying clients after a year in practice, whereas maybe 20% still deal well with them after 3-4 years. Just be careful with what you assume about your future willingness to deal with these types of people. It gets old in a hurry once the novelty wears off.

The t-shirt and shorts comment is odd. If you're running a general practice, you'll want to be available for walk-ins. If you're available for walk-ins, you want to look like a lawyer. In virtually every market, potential clients expect their lawyers to wear, at minimum, dress pants and a button-up shirt. No t-shirt and shorts for you regardless, homie.

Regarding deadlines and stress: if you're a successful solo practitioner, you'll be busy and have deadlines you're constantly managing. You won't have anyone to cover those matters for you. I wouldn't leave a firm thinking that being solo will absolve you of the last-minute scrambling dance / blame game, unless you want to not be busy (and thus not make much money) as a solo. Everyone thinks they will handle deadlines better than their busy partners, until everyone becomes just as busy as that partner.

If you can get some good experience where you feel confident you can represent clients effectively in enough areas to pay your bills, you could consider flying solo. But you also need to take a hard look at whether you're doing this for the right reasons or whether your complaints are just inherent to the practice of law in your type of market and area(s).

[Glasseyes]

Ask yourself if you really want to be practicing law. Not criticizing in the least, but your post sounds like you're cooking up an excuse for why you hate doing what you're doing. Knowing your client won't automatically make your miserable work any less miserable.

[Anonymous User]

I am very similar to OP. I will be starting my own firm by mid-winter. I am selfishly waiting for the firm to renew a bar membership and pay me for my vacation. I love the work, but I hate the politics of a law firm. To the OP's comment about getting something last minute from a minute, I completely understand. If it was my fault that it was last minute (i.e., I forgot the deadline or I was too busy), it would be on me. But I hate my life being subjected to the partner's messes. I hate when I sit at work all day browsing the internet, because despite all of my asking, no one has work for me. Then at 4:30 I get slammed and I'm supposed to stay to work on it. Umm....but I have appointments at night. Why should I always cancel my appointments to stay? If I try to schedule the appointments during the day, those get screwed up too. I AM entitled to a life. By being a solo, I will have my life. I don't need to make a lot of money. I need control. period.