Lawworld19 wrote:Work at a billable firm, clerked for a judge for the last two years of school.
I take the bar next week.
Hate the billable job. Anyone go solo and it work out?
I am not great at the tech aspects of my job, but I bring in more biz than any other associate revenue wise. (Getting referral business from CPA's etc. I am good at knocking down doors).
I want to go solo pretty bad asap, just wondering if anyone has any advice.
Also, I live in an area that is not saturated, the local court has almost unlimted court appointed work (Older firms take it as a courtesy for the court).
I'm thinking I could be the young gun to take all the BS work none of these bigger older firms really want.
Can't fall back asleep on this lovely Sunday morning so here it goes. I practiced at a firm for about three years, went and worked for another solo for three months (complete disaster), and then went solo this April. I'm not an expert by any means, but things are going reasonably well thus far (invoicing about $7-8k a month). Some broad pieces of advice you didn’t ask for but I’m typing anyway:
Business Plan: I spent about 18 months tinkering with my business plan before going out on my own. This is definitely overkill and was more related to wasting time at the office at jobs I didn't like, but if you're seriously thinking about this, then look up solo
law firm business plan templates. You need to think about a direction, potential clients, practice areas, etc.
Most importantly, this allowed me to hit the ground running. You read a lot of BS about not making money for a couple months because you're setting everything up. BS. Get a business plan and know exactly what computer you will buy, where you will order business cards, what business credit card you will use, what bank you will use, where you'd like to office, etc. Hit the ground running. Time is money.
Personal Finances: If you're a solo, you are your business. Your house has to be in order before you start that business. I had about $20k in cash before going solo. Further, my wife and I structured our financial life so that her income largely covers our household expenses. Having personal stuff in order will prevent you from taking bad work that doesn't pay.
If you need to work for someone else for a year or two to save up a good reserve, it's probably worth it. You'll probably get good experience anyway.
Costs: Get a physical office somewhere, but keep your costs as low as possible. This means office share with other solos, no hiring employees for a while, nothing super fancy, spending a couple days building a website on your own (you won't have clients anyway), etc. I currently work in a 9x9 office without windows, which isn't great, but my fixed costs average $650 a month ($400 on rent) and my office comes with phone, fax, scanner, receptionist, two conference rooms, and a great location.
Get Known: Send out letters to everyone you would send a wedding invitation to. You'll be surprised how many people refer work to you. Also, it sounds like you're good networking, but you want to be known by other lawyers so they don't make your life harder. Join the bar association, Inn of Courts, etc.
Speaking of lawyers, you should be meeting a couple lawyers a week just to run stuff by them. There's too much procedure and local rule and substance to know right out the gate. Just buying beers for other lawyers will save your ass.
Revenue Goal: You need targets, both yearly and daily. I hope to make $100k in revenues in a year, which amounts to $400 per day. After about a month or two, I'm consistently able to meet my daily revenue goal. Things can get overwhelming--running Quicken, reconciling accounts, doing your own scheduling, etc.--but a daily goal keeps the legal work first.
Technology: Use G Suite for email, calendar, etc. Wix/Squarespace are easiest for your website. Avoid calling clients on your cell phone.
Work: My workflow basically consists of a handful of civil litigation cases, doing about 3-4 wills a month, appearance work, and public defender work at two of the area courts (misdemeanors only). The appearance work is great--websites like Docketly, Lawgix, and Court Appearance Professionals pay me $100 just to go somewhere and stand in at a hearing. I make about $1,200-1,600 doing this every month. Public defender work adds up quick and can bring in $1,500-2,000 easy. Throw in 5 civil litigation cases, 3-4 wills, a couple small letters here and there, and I invoice a pretty reliable $7-8k a month.
Note, too, that I have also stumbled on 3 pretty good contingency cases in just three months. Those settlements will basically just be a bonus to my steady income, and I may end up doing even better than I anticipated.
References:
Book - How to Start and Build a Law Practice
Book - Solo by Choice
Website - Lawyerist
Website - MyShingle
If I've done this right for a year or so, I'll write up a big long post. But I'm still a relative noob, so take everything I said with a grain of salt. Good luck to you.