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Now that biglaw is apparently out of sight, I'm interested in actually learning to practice law, so that perhaps one day I can make money as a sole practitioner. It seems to me that the best way to do this would be to work for a successful small firm that has a reputation for good ethics and thorough research. The problem is that there isn't any data readily available on who/where these firms are, or whether they're looking for new attorneys. Anybody know where to find them, and where to find out about their reputation?

Try a martindale search for smaller firms in the cities that you're targeting (firm range of 25-49, for example). Read the little profile and then visit the firm's website for more information. It will take more work, but it may be rewarding.

Are you interested in general practice or a particular specialty?

Martindale's will find you the firms. The hard thing is getting hired into a firm fresh out of law school with 25-49 attorney (or something like that) because most of those firms 1) don't have any formal summer program, 2) don't want to hire attorney's without prior experience (because they can't afford the cost and risk), 3) really aren't doing well enough to take on anyone new ITE (i.e. they are in a worse position to be hiring then biglaw).

You may have better luck with midsize firms though between 100-200 attorneys, many of which are non-NALP firms. Some of those have formal summer programs as well. This also depends on the market because in some markets the biggest firms are around 100-200 attorneys and everyone in that state going to law school wants to work there (e.g. Wisconsin).

Good luck.

Ask your profs if you're staying local. They probably know all the best local attorneys. Some profs more than other are active in the local market. Ask the attorneys you worked with during 1L summer.

linquest wrote:Are you interested in general practice or a particular specialty?

Pretty sure that almost all good solos specialize (even if they handle some cases outside their specialty).

I was asking if the OP was interested in GP or specializing.

linquest wrote:I was asking if the OP was interested in GP or specializing.

Ah, I guess I assumed that OP is not interested in GP because of the title of the thread (seeking "plaintiff" solos and small firms, to me, means personal injury--but maybe I'm wrong).

But even if OP is interested in (that is, forced into) being a GP by going solo right out of school, specializing is usually inevitable from what I understand.