You have to get good grades your first year of law school so that you can get an on-campus interview with a big downtown firm your second year who will hire you before you begin your third year so that you can practice there after you graduate and get licensed. Or so I thought.
See, that used to be the way law school worked. Study hard, clerk somewhere, get hired. Bing, bang, boom. By the time graduation rolled around most students had a legal job somewhere. There were, of course, always those who couldn’t find gainful employment for one reason or another but by and large, the schools churned out new lawyers and firms kept hiring them.
Fast forward to the present and it turns out that those on-campus interview slots aren’t as plentiful as they once were. Even if you’re lucky enough to land a job as a law clerk or intern with a firm, you may be (as I was) one of six or seven clerks competing for two or three open associate positions. In all likelihood, it will be some time before we begin to see a majority of law schools cater to solo and small firm practitioners, or even acknowledge its viability as a career path.
One thing, though, is clear: the traditional law school model is dead. The good news is that there’s no reason to cry at its funeral.
Technology and the Internet have given law students and graduates innumerable resources to succeed after graduation by the pure strength of their own bootstraps. By leveraging the available technology new graduates can open or join a practice and reduce overhead, reduce fees, all while increasing both profit and value to potential clients. Web-based practice management software makes big firm services available to solo and small firm practitioners. Online blogs and new books have brought the practice management advice niche into the 21st century. New attorneys can even create their own brand and market themselves at a fraction of what it cost ten years ago. These new resources can fill in the gaps for new and soon-to-be graduates, succeeding where law schools have failed them.
I’ve argued before that getting a “job” shouldn’t be the focus for new graduates. Opening a solo or small practice is more practical than ever, if you understand how to leverage your time by using these new technologies. Especially for consumer-focused practice areas, the demand for legal services doesn’t appear to have decreased. The work is out there to grab if solo and small practices can get leaner. Technology makes that possible.
There is a wealth of information available for those who have or who are anticipating opening a solo or small practice. For example, the blog How to Start a Law Firm is an incredible resource to anybody looking to open a law practice. The author is a practicing DUI defense attorney in Seattle, WA, and he regularly writes about some of the more nitty-gritty aspects of running a solo law practice. He has blogged about his earnings his first year, how he markets over the internet and even gives fashion advice.
I’m sure I don’t need to mention this to anybody, but fellow Small Firm Innovation contributor Carolyn Elefant’s book Solo by Choice has, in my mind, replaced Jay Foonberg’s How to Start and Build a Law Practice as the first book anybody contemplating opening a practice should read. Foonberg, though, comes in at a close second. Make sure to at least check out Elefant’s website and blog over at My Shingle.
Solo Practice University, started by Susan Carter Liebel, is another great resource for new attorneys. I haven’t signed up for a paid membership, yet, but the (free) blog does offer good advice. The Legal Productivity blog and Clio blog regularly offer fantastic advice to new and established lawyers, especially relevant to those who make use of their web-based practice management software. Also, the website Lawyerist has continuously given me valuable practical information during my research into opening a solo practice. For instance, one of the latest posts is about Call Ruby, a virtual receptionist service based out of Oregon.
While many law schools have dropped the ball when it comes to preparing graduates for this economic climate and the wonderful potential for soloing directly out of law school, some are beginning to come around. Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, my alma mater, has since developed a Solo and Small Firm Task Force (disclaimer: I am a member of the task force committee) to aid both recent grads, solos and small firm practitioners through programs meant to help grow their businesses. The task force is sponsoring an upcoming presentation as part of its Legal Entrepreneurship Series featuring local Cleveland attorney Tim Misny.
Reach out to your local bar associations as well. As I mentioned, almost half of all practicing attorneys are solo or small firm practitioners so there will be special sections, committees and programs available to you. Importantly, it will be a wonderful way to network and build a referral base. It’s an even better idea to join while enrolled in law school because many bar associations offer discounted rates to students that can continue for a specified time period after getting licensed.
Last, but not least, be sure to follow everybody here at SFI. The contributors here are an incredibly knowledgeable group of professionals and have certainly given advice that has helped me in my pursuits. Questions? Comments? Let’s keep the discussion going below.