Ann Israel, a biglaw recruitment attorney who writes a column for New York Lawyer typically responds to questions about how to make partner or what’s the best law school to choose. It’s rare that she gets a question like this one from an attorney wondering whether he should go solo after his first year out of school. Ms. Israel is biased against solo practice, so predictably, she advised against the move – but I was surprised to find that I don’t disagree with all of her advice.
Israel first asked the writer if he’d thought about the costs of
malpractice insurance, computer equipment and office space, which she
regards as prohibitive. Maybe so, if you’re replicating biglaw on a
small scale, but these days, it’s not that expensive to set up the
basics of a practice and with technology, new solos can work from home
until they get their practice off the ground.
Where I do agree is Israel’s point about taking a salary for a year or
two and getting training while you’re being paid. Though many people
do start firms right after law school and succeed, to me, the optimal
time to start is after a couple of years of work. By then, you’ve not
just had training but a chance to make contacts and acquire a
reputation in your field, both of which can help generate clients.
Israel suggests erring on the side of a steady law firm job rather than
leaping to solo practice – and that’s where I depart from her way of
thinking. Israel makes mention of many attorneys who she knows who
went solo too early, never got their practice off the ground and could
not return to a law firm after being on their own. Frankly, I don’t
believe that – I have always been convinced that when you go solo,
there’s always a way back to a law firm job or other permanent job
should you choose that route. And what Israel doesn’t mention
are all the attorneys who dreamed of going solo while they were young
but hedged, then found themselves married, supporting a family, saving
for college – in short, in a situation where it was no longer feasible
to go solo. The regrets they have about not doing something are often
the strongest.
Carolyn,
While it is true that working in a firm will give a new lawyer “a chance to make contacts and acquire a reputation in [their] field, both of which can help generate clients,” that is not the only way. Imagine, alternatively, the new lawyer spending his first year of solo practice aggressively soliciting contract work from dozens of different solos and small firms, on hundreds of different matters. Next, consider that in reality, the first-year associate only has face-time with his two or so immediate superiors (esp. at BigLaw), and not much time out of the office to network. Who’s universe is bigger? Who’s making more contacts, and building a bigger reputation across a broader cross-section, during that first year of private practice?