The Dreams of a Solo

Solo Attorney With Benefits

When I say benefits I am not talking about health insurance, paid time off, or the less than family rated version found in the adage "friends with benefits."  Instead I am taking about the benefits that I have received from being my own boss and from building relationships with other solo and small firm attorneys, even those practicing in the same or similar practice area.  There are many things that I have come to discover in the nearly 8 months since I started my own law firm, but one of the most meaningful discoveries was that a good group of fellow attorneys who are willing and able to serve as sounding boards / mentors can provide an invaluable benefit to a solo attorney.  While it is true that these fellow attorneys and I are technically competitors in the marketplace, I can honestly say that this fact hasn't been a barrier or a hindrance up to this point.  I have been contacted on a number of occasions by other estate planning attorneys to problem-solve or brainstorm and I have contacted other attorneys a couple of times to do the same.  This is an important element of any solo practice since, as the name indicates, you are the only attorney in a solo practice and while it would be nice to know the answer every time we all know that this isn't always the cause.  So instead of walking down the hall to a partner or fellow associate we fire off an email or a telephone call to someone in our network of trusted colleagues. 

I don't think that I can stress the importance of building a competent and trustworthy group of attorneys enough for solo or small firm practitioners.  Not only will it provide a forum for the problem-solving and brainstorming that I mentioned above, but it will create a relationship that could produce referrals in situations where the other attorney has a conflict or simply has a need to get another attorney involved such as is the case from time to time in probate, trust administration or guardianship type work. 

I would say though that the best benefit of being a solo attorney is that you have an ownership interest in your time and in your future.  As attorneys we can say that we work for ourselves, but the truth is we work for a number of bosses, they just happen to be called clients.  I understand that this is not the same thing as having to report to the senior partners, but I will assume you get where I am going with that.  As a solo you have the power to concentrate in the areas of law that interest you and you can take on the kinds of matters that you want.  To be quite honest, some of my greatest satisfaction has come from the small and seemingly insignificant parts of running a law firm.  Things like filing methods, document presentation choices, billing approaches, letterhead and business card design, etc.  I guess when you are forced to lock up your creative juices while employed, it is no surprise that it feels so good to let them out when the word associate disappears from the beginning of your job title.  I still cannot wait to have my personalized T-shirts printed bearing the Dosch Law Firm, LLC name and logo.  I may very well wear one every single day.  I'll post a picture when I finally get that project taken off.

I am not sure that Solo Is the Loneliest Number

The word solo as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as "a performance in which the performer has no partner or associate: something undertaken or done alone."  We all know this definition, but I am guessing that we each feel a little different about what that means to us in real life.  My feelings of the word solo and the connotations attached to it routinely hit me when I am networking and meeting new people.   The question from someone I am just meeting goes something like this, "Who are you with?"  How do you answer that question?  Do you say I am on my own, I am a solo practitioner or I am independent?  Or do you say I am with My Last Name law firm or I am the owner and managing attorney with "insert law firm name here."  The way you naturally communicate your law firm status says a lot about your feelings of the term solo. 

In preparation for writing this post I came across an older post from The Greatest American Lawyer titled "Solo Means Alone: I am Not Alone."   If I am reading his post correctly I agree with the GAL's point.  Being the lone attorney at my firm does not mean that I am on an island, devoid of any resources or contact with the outside world.  I am not sure why any negative connotation is bestowed upon solo attorneys.  If I had to guess I would start by pointing the finger at the usual suspects:  Law Schools and Big Law.  Although if you trace it back far enough the real culprit is Big Law alone.  After all law schools cater to their largest "clients" and in this case that is the large firms and partners contributing to their alma mater or to area law school, whichever may be the case.  It is old news that law schools do not offer many options focusing on starting a law practice.  In addition law school career services probably does not have resources available to aspiring solos nor do they talk to students about the possibility of starting a law practice.  Law school career services at my law school was a waste of time and I am guessing a good number of you feel the same way.  It was not "career services" at all.  At most it was a "job" placement agency.  Since when is practicing law on your own not a career?

The jury is still out on how one should answer the ever daunting question of "Which firm are you with?", but from my perspective we (solos) have nothing to hang our heads about.  Personally, I say I am an estate planning and tax attorney with Dosch Law Firm.  Am I a solo?  Do I work for the family firm?  It does not matter.  They can ask that question if they want to, but at the end of the day I am what I am and I am damn happy to be this guy.