Starting your own solo practice after law school

[touro1979]

I have been thinkin about this a lot and someone mentioned it on another thread. I Felt it deserved its own thread. My thoughts on this. I think it is possible to start your own practice right out of law school. Many people say wait until you practice for a couple of years but I have friends who are in large firms and corp in house counsel that do all *&^% work and are learning nothing. I think it is just as possible to go solo right out of law school as it is after 2 years in a large firm. the only problem is getting clients but every solo has that problem to start with. The easiest way to get experience is get on the 18-b panel for family law and crim law. If you bill out at 100 bucks an hour (which is really cheap) and you bill out 15 hours a week and you supplement with 18-b work at 60 an hour I think you def could make a go of it especially if you worked out of your home for the first couple of months until you build a small client base.I am interested in others peoples thoughts on this matter. please add to the discussion

[lipper]

Yes, however do you feel you will be competant(sp?) enough to actually know the ins and outs of being a lawyer. We just had a seminar at my school about this, and how its not only tough because of what you said (getting clients), but because we don't have experience, its very easy to make mistakes, leading to malpractice. 

[dft]

I'm interested in starting my own practice, but probably not right out of law school. If and when I do though, I'll have a great start because my dad is a solo CPA with a large practice. He works closely with a lawyer in the office and does a lot of legal type work (e.g. real estate closings), and he said he would throw me some clients if I ever work with him later on. It's a pretty good back up plan to say the least, and it's actually a pretty good plan period.

[VirtualJD]

The problem is that law school does not teach the practice of law; it teaches the fundamental, which give you an admission ticket to an apprenticeship.  If you start a solo practice (not impossible) right out of school it’s an uphill struggle to learn to practice law, entrepreneurial skills, and marketing yourself.

[Todd]

It's possible, but I'd do simply work like wills or traffic. Also, a decent way to get exposure is to be a public defender while getting your practice started.  The biggest problem is $$$$$, you won't make anything the first few years (ok maybe $20-30k).

[eray01]

I have a friend who went solo after 6 months at a firm. Honestly, I question his competence. I'd bet those people slaving away at those big firms and corp. in-house counsel offices are learning more than you'd think. Those "slaves" have the luxury of someone to continue teaching them after law school. They're being groomed to move up in the organization, and its a process that takes time. Theoretically, if all goes well, they'll end up in the position of the partner teaching them the practice. There are attorneys, and then there are good attorneys.

Incompetence aside, my friend makes ends meet by taking public defender cases on contract. That jurisdiction doesn't have an established P.D. office.  His practice is slowly growing, but its been tough for him. The hours are pretty good most of the time, and he is his own boss. That counts for alot. Other solo attorneys I know got their start in the prosecutor's office. They did that for a couple of years and then went solo. They made alot of connections that way.

[mudcat]

the only problem is getting clients but every solo has that problem to start with.

this might be an especially big problem as an alumni from the 10th best school in the region (assuming moniker accuracy)

[lipper]

the only problem is getting clients but every solo has that problem to start with.

this might be an especially big problem as an alumni from the 10th best school in the region (assuming moniker accuracy)

mudcat - try being less of a d i c k h e a d

[mudcat]

yeah, sorry.  I cant be * & ^ % t y to anyone at school, so this is my only outlet...and im only at -2, so im not the a s s h o l e you are...and besides, isnt it the whole idea of an anonymous message board is that you DONT have to worry about other peoples feelings, so that people can be exposed to ideas they might not like? 

Honestly, his friends arent going to call him out on the school he goes to and how that will affect how people respect him when he begins practicing.  Especially since his friends probably go to the same school and dont want to think about this themselves.  He should be aware of how his decision to pursue a legal education at a tier four school might affect his options.  He simply doesnt attend a prestigous school, and any potential client who is cognizant of the range of educational quality among law schools will take this into account.  No experience, 4th tier school... i mean, going solo is hard coming from hys.  If you dont have some skill or experience that makes you a logical choice to go solo, you should think twice about it.

additionally, he IS asking career advice of an internet message board.  Why just feed him what he wants to hear?  if he wanted to hear "of course honey you can do anything you set your mind to" he could have just called his mother.  And then drop out of law school to become an astronaut.

[touro1979]

yeah, sorry.  I cant be * & ^ % t y to anyone at school, so this is my only outlet...and im only at -2, so im not the a s s h o l e you are...and besides, isnt it the whole idea of an anonymous message board is that you DONT have to worry about other peoples feelings, so that people can be exposed to ideas they might not like? 

Honestly, his friends arent going to call him out on the school he goes to and how that will affect how people respect him when he begins practicing.  Especially since his friends probably go to the same school and dont want to think about this themselves.  He should be aware of how his decision to pursue a legal education at a tier four school might affect his options.  He simply doesnt attend a prestigous school, and any potential client who is cognizant of the range of educational quality among law schools will take this into account.  No experience, 4th tier school... i mean, going solo is hard coming from hys.  If you dont have some skill or experience that makes you a logical choice to go solo, you should think twice about it.

additionally, he IS asking career advice of an internet message board.  Why just feed him what he wants to hear?  if he wanted to hear "of course honey you can do anything you set your mind to" he could have just called his mother.  And then drop out of law school to become an astronaut.

I just thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss.  I actually want to become an A.D.A. in the NY metro area/hopefully Brooklyn since this is where I currenly intern.  Touro's reputation nationwide is not great but in the NY area they are respected especially in public interest/ public service and smaller firm environments.