How I Started a SOLO LAW PRACTICE: Attorney Starting a Small Law Firm Tips Legal Career Job Advice
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- Thinking of starting your own solo law practice? In this video, I give tips and share my own experiences in starting a solo law practice in North Carolina, 6 years after graduating from law school, namely Georgetown University Law Center, and after working for other small law firms. I have had my own practice for over 14 years and am still in business, enjoying it for the most part.
This video focuses on budgeting, office space considerations, getting advice from different sources, and saving money on office supplies.
Learn how to get clients & how I grew my law practice here:
• Video
Should you go solo or be self-employed? Watch this recorded livestream discussion:
• Should You Go Solo or ...
If you have any questions or ideas for future episodes, please leave a comment. Thanks for liking this video and subscribing to this channel for more legal-themed content!
-Judy the TH-cam Lawyer
#sololawpractice #startinglawpractice #lawyer #lawfirm #lawoffice #northcarolinalaw #afterlawschool #georgetownlaw #lawschool #lawstudentadvice #youngattorney #sololawyers #soleproprietorship #startingalawfirm #legalcareer - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Anyone else out there have tips on starting your own business? Please share!
Same
I plan to make another video with more tips!
I'll definitely watch. I plan to make a video about how I grew my practice and got paying clients, but there is a lot of planning involved with so much to say. No use creating a law practice if you can't get clients. Thank you for watching this!
@@aalegalfocus
Oh here you are . Nice to see your video.
@@aalegalfocus
Can you do this part time. ?
hi there just started my law firm this year after working in a very big law firm. in Kenya am in my 11th months and its a great experience. the first thing i discovered with many law firms failing was finances and decided to start small so as to save on overheads.
Glad it's going well for you. Congratulations 👏!
@@aalegalfocus
Can you have your own law firm , just on the side. Like officially on the record you run your own firm. , but you work in another industry full time / building businesses/ company in other industry , and thats what you do every day.
Never thought new lawyers needed 2 years living expenses. I can see why you were successful. Preparation, overhead management and business presentation.
I'd be happy to give you a turn if I needed a lawyer.
Someone said it was unrealistic to expect someone to have 2 years of expenses saved up before starting a practice. It's certainly not a requirement, but just my honest opinion -- unless one starts off with lots of paying clients, has a spouse or parent who will support the person financially, or maintains a side job to pay the bills. Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to watch this!
@@aalegalfocus For some (maybe many as you had a good Law School in Georgetown which supplies a good share of federal government lawyers) the second job is often teaching law & government to high schoolers before or after work. I know a US woman in mid 1980s who did night law school while teaching elementary by day. I wonder how many could face the humiliation of having to go back to teaching after 3 hard years of law study and huge college loans.
You mention that law schools all round USA keep pumping out lawyers though jobs are scarce. This reminds me of engineering schools in Europe. Keep salaries down through oversupply. But in Europe the legal, medical and accounting professions regulate salaries via supply control. Either by limiting entry numbers to schools or by stiffening final professional exams.
Hey, new friend and fellow attorney here. I find it’s usually easier to get and maintain a clientele when you’ve already been working in a certain court, because you gain referrals from a lot of the court staff. One of my colleagues started after clerking and he did exactly what you suggested- saved, saved, saved before going solo. Very informative video. You were spot on!
Thank you for watching this! Where do you practice?
@@aalegalfocus Anytime and I’m a criminal defense attorney for the state of New Jersey.
I subscribed to your channel. Best wishes with your law practice too!
I found that other lawyers are a great source of clients. Hit up your colleagues who have other specialties. Now that we're getting back to normal, get out for lunches with them. They'll send you the work that you want to do. Also, doing CLE lectures in your topic helps with getting your name out in front with lawyers.
@@jeffmarionpersonalinjuryla2966 I agree. I'm looking forward to an outdoor lunch with some attorney friends later this week. Hope you all are doing well!
Do you have a wonderful story. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey! thanks for the video, can't wait to watch
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for tuning in!
Insightful! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for watching!
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
My pleasure!
Wow this is really great advice, thank you for the video and all the useful information.
Thanks for watching!
Succes and full power woman 👍👍👍👍👍
Nice one👍👍
Thank you for sharing. I am a solo in Buffalo, NY. My experiences are similar.
Hope your practice is going well. Thank you for watching!
Always so informative
Thanks for watching this! One of the firms I worked for was founded by 2 guys who first worked for a number of years as public defenders in NC. Once you learn how to handle cases, opening up your own practice (and possibly making more) can be a reality.
Very informative! 😀
Thanks! I guess these tips can be helpful for anyone thinking of starting a business. :)
This is really very helpful
Thank you!
This is very useful and practical
Thanks for watching!
Excellent strategical approach in life.
Good video👏
worth watching
I'm following you from Egypt🌹
Thanks for watching!
I have been there before and again going to start from zero in Australia. Very excited!
Good luck to you!
What experiences and hardships do you have? Are they the same as American lawyers?
Very Nice my friend！
Good day my friend！
Subscribed to your Channel because you have great videos and because of your great advice, thank you.
Thank you! Are you in college now? Definitely work or intern with a firm or legal agency so you have an idea of what it's like to practice law. The legal job market is bad so I do not recommend taking out loans to attend unless you get into a top 6 law school.
@@aalegalfocus Understood. Thank you VERY much! Yes that is correct; double major, foreign language and sociology.
Which firms, off the top, would you say is #1 out of the 6 firms, in the US?
Oh, I meant top 6 in terms of law schools, not firms. The rankings are on the US News website.
@@aalegalfocus Can I disagree to the extent that, if you get into a "Top 25" law school, it is worth the investment?
One of my childhood dream to become a lawyer ☺
It's definitely not as glamorous as it's made out to be in TV shows and movies. Thank you for watching this!
Go for it. If you are willing to dedicate yourself to your clients, you'll do great!
Thank you
Are you an attorney? Thank you for watching! :)
I am listening your lecture and tips to have solo Law Practice
Are you an attorney? Thank you for watching!
How is it going for you?
We need a video about the day to day programs or softwares you use to organize, track and maintain all your cases and customers.
Amicus or Clio are good. Other people use MyCase.
@@aalegalfocus thank you very much!!!
Having a working spouse is the key.
Hard to beat!
Definitely. It is risky to start any sort of business, so having a spouse/partner who has a regular job with benefits really helps.
Nice video 😊
Thanks!
So grateful for your page
Thanks- are you thinking of starting your own practice?
@@aalegalfocus about to enter law school soon and want to work solo . Your advice is appreciated thank you ♥️♥️
Good luck with everything! I really enjoy practicing as a solo, compared to working for law firms. It's really tough at first, so it's recommended that you work for an employer for at least a few years & save up money, before you try to start your own practice.
@@aalegalfocus thank you so very much ! I’ll do exactly that maybe for 5 years I’m thinking. You’re amazing! Thank you again!
Hi new friend, nice vidio, thanks for sharing
Thank you for sharing your story. OMG. Is it really tough in North Carolina?
Have you thought about going somewhere else? I have no idea about laws. LOL!
Yes, the job market is terrible here in North Carolina. But I can't leave now. I already gave up my Virginia bar license and have an established practice here, plus I have a family and home here now. So I guess things didn't all turn out bad for me, despite going to law school. :)
@@aalegalfocus Does North carolina not require a bar license to practice there? considering you mentioned that you gave up your virginian bar license, hence it gave me an impression that bar license there is used for a one particular state only, and for everywhere right?
North Carolina does require an active bar license to practice here. I do have a license in NC. I only gave up my Virginia bar license since I moved away from there many years ago, & it wasn't worth the additional costs and continuing legal ed hassle to maintain. Unless an attorney is only practicing federal law (such as immigration law), in which case having any state license is ok, s/he has to have an active license in the state in which s/he is practicing law. Sorry I didn't see your comment until now.
New friend here sending love and support!🙂
Nice
Thanks!
Hello my friend, I enjoyed your video. Keep a good meeting 🥂🤝😍👍147
Thank you!
Hmm? Great saving tips but how about tips on growing clients!
That's in another video called Broke Ass Lawyer to Trial winning Baller.
just subscribed to your channel
Appreciate it!
Thank you. This is what I wish to do after lawschool.
Good luck with everything!
Thank you for the wishes!
It's tough to go solo out of law school but try talking to solos in the city where you plan to practice, as well as from neighboring areas. Maybe they would co-counsel with you and refer cases to you too.
@@aalegalfocus Thank you so much. Does the job look matter depending on the institution you attend? For instance Syracuse vs. UCI lawschool?
Both schools' graduates would be competing with a lot of other law school grads for jobs. It depends on where you want to settle down and practice. If you want to be in California, it makes sense to go to UCI instead.
I had to comment again! Roaches on your visit??😱 Not great marketing on their part 😂
I also can’t believe how cheap rent is. Everything is so expensive in the U.K. Healthcare is free so everything’s a trade off and on the continent student loans don’t exist. Really enjoyed this even though my life has nothing to do with being a lawyer🤗
I'm so glad I didn't buy that office condo! Thanks for watching this. Hope to watch more of your videos this weekend!
My rent has also been cheap because I never rented an entire office or office suite by myself. I know some solo attorneys in my area who spend $2k-3k a month on their office rent. Sharing space with other attorneys/professionals is key to saving on rent. Thanks for watching this. :)
Hello my friend
Looking at those Yellow Pages photos of lawyers in their offices, it seems like the single biggest overhead for a lawyer (excepting the huge cost of their training) is the big set of law books in a shelf behind them.
These can't come cheap. And they have to be fairly up to date so going to Ebay isn't on.
About how much would a set of law books cost, Judy ?
Kinda funny about pricing in the cost of pets . . . 🤣
Oh, you Asia girls !
Excellent Presentation
Big Thumbs up 156 👍👍👍Full Watch
Greeting & sending a Big Hug From RcRtv 😍😍💟💟💟❤️❤️
Nice video ji like 77👍👋🤝
Thanks for visiting.
How do you learn to help client? I mean actually practicing law write contracts and etc.
Usually you'd learn on the job working with more experienced attorneys. During your 3L year, many law schools offer clinics where students help real clients under the supervision of a clinical professor.
Judy what's your take on blogging to get clients?
Not worth the time. When people are looking for an attorney, they usually ask people they know & look online for someone good near them. Writing blog articles would take up too much time. Just my humble opinion.
Are you still in civil litigation? I’m really interested in the different areas of focus in law, did you choose it or just sort of fall into it?
It was always the type of law practiced at all the other places I worked at before I started my own practice. Civil litigation is a pretty general term though. I have a couple of videos about my experiences practicing personal injury, workers comp, and social security disability appeals, none of which I handle anymore because I wasn't getting any good cases as a solo. I gradually the increased my focus on family law, because that's what people often came to me for. I also handle employment discrimination cases, which is more of a niche area. Thanks for watching my videos, and I look forward to watching more of your channel too!!
Try a bunch of different things, and be open to new areas of law. I went from criminal defense, to matrimonial, to social security, to personal injury, and into municipal law for a while. I always gravitated back to personal injury.
Hi Dear Thanks for the comment
Hey Judy,
When you say doing very well now.. what dollar amount does that equate to? It seems that solo practitioners can earn great money but I’m debating this vs Nurse Anesthesia w a guarantee of about 200k a year right out of school. They have some travel CRNA jobs that pay over 300k a year. I want to make a lot of money and am money driven. There is a earnings ceiling for this profession and no ceiling in yours. I am good at math and science, but am more philosophical and conceptual person. I get along better with lawyer crowd and prefer the deeper critical thinking vs the memorization that predominates the medical field. I have always seen myself as an attorney. I just don’t know what to do. I’d love to be in your shoes owning my own place downtown and being my own boss. Would love your thoughts on this issue.
My wife is a civil litigation attorney and doesn’t know which way to advise me.
Hi Justin- go for your nurse anesthesia degree. That is my first reaction; of course, it also depends on whether you would be happy doing that type of job. I have never made anywhere close to $300k. Plus I do not know of any unemployed nurse anesthetists, but I know of plenty of underemployed/unemployed people with J.D.s, some of whom have had to turn to substitute teaching, being a clown at parties, doc review, & even working at a grocery store to make extra income. Your chances of making over $300k or making millions as a partner at the largest law firms in NYC/LA/SF/DC are very slim even if you get a Harvard/Yale law degree. If you cannot get into a top 14 law school, then I would wager the chances of that happening is zero. There is also the risk that you could graduate from law school after 3 years of tuition, lost wages and debt only to have no real attorney job or a job that starts at less than $65k. I know people who went to top law schools making less than $100k/year working for state gov't positions. Please feel free to join in tonight's live stream show with my college friend who is now a prosecutor after graduating from Hastings College of the Law.
It depends a lot on what your career goals are, whether you can afford going to law school, whether you can get into a T14 or the very best public law school in your state, how you and your wife plan to share any family responsibilities, etc. Is she happy in her job, and what happened to her law school classmates?
@@aalegalfocus wow thank you for the thorough reply! I will definitely tune in tonight to watch the discussion! I am going to reread what you sent like 20 times and think things over.
Just to add more, since I come from an extended family of doctors, nurses & dentists-- if you're smart enough in science & can do the work, choose the medical profession over law school. JDs have become a dime a dozen, with close to no real barriers to admission at many law schools & anyone who "likes to argue" wanting to go. Feel free to ask my attorney friend & me your questions in the chat box. Tonight's live show starts at 8:30pm EST. Thanks for watching! Best wishes.
So the Job Market is Hard even for a Georgetown Law Grade. What edge does Georgetown provide? I am asking honestly and kindly even though it may sound sarcastic.
It's more prestigious than most of the other schools & the elite employers recruit from there.
I try to reach out to attorneys sometimes and it bugs the hell out of me when I see attorneys with websites and no photos of themselves and no blog either. Why do they do this? Is there so much work out there that they don't need to put a pic up or have very little to no info on their site?
They are probably older attorneys who already get a steady source of referrals and don't rely on the internet to get clients.
@@aalegalfocus Thanks for the quick reply. Do you think though that, for attorneys, it's just a matter of time before one gets a book of business and doesn't have to rely on internet traffic or walk-ins? Is it a matter of just building a practice over time or do you need sales/marketing skills to be successful as a solo?
@@Essays4College definitely the latter. You have to be active in different bar associations, go to events, and get to know other attorneys, who hopefully will later refer clients your way.
Agree with you. A lot of attorneys that have been around a while and have relied on traditional media still do so. Where I live, it seems like all the usual big firms that advertise have doubled down on billboards and tv ads. There's a great opportunity if you can figure out how to target the clients you want on Facebook or TH-cam for that matter.
What is the practicality of starting your law business online, say via Zoom and email?
I think it is difficult since many people still expect a lawyer to have a real brick and mortar office, but it also depends on the type of law you practice and the clientele. I know of a workers comp attorney who focuses on Spanish-speaking clients, and he doesn't have a real office. At the very least, it is helpful to have a conference room-sharing arrangement where you can meet people when necessary. Best wishes!
So would you say its still a tough market for lawyers?
Yes, but it also depends on what the market or demand is like in a particular practice area in a certain city or county. Are you an attorney?
like👍
Thank you!
After a semi friendly divorce years ago, if I was a women attorney, I would be a be a divorce attorney representing men only. Write a lot of blogs on the internet as well as google ads, stressing men’s rightsYou appear a very kind, understanding lady, probably could rack up a lot of billing hours as a psychologist more than an attorney.as the divorcing men need to cry on your shoulder.
There's already a firm near me that markets to men. I prefer not to limit my potential clients to men since there are people who need help in general. Thank you for watching!
I see people (mainly women) marketing to one gender all the time. I think that’s a big mistake because you cut off 50% of the population as clients right off the bat!
👏👏😘👍👏👏😘😘
I have a question. If 15 and I’m really interested in law (criminal defense in particular) and I always wondered if it was better working in a law firm or go solo or work with a group of people from law school or something. I really want to make it big and I feel like going solo or working with a group of people would be much better for future purposes but I’m not sure. Can you please tell me the best options to make my self as prominent as possible. People tell me to just settle at a law firm but I want to create a brand for myself.
Going solo straight out of law school is almost always a bad idea-- too risky. I would highly recommend working for a district attorney or public defender's office to get lots of courtroom experience, or work for a smaller firm that specializes in criminal law. Once you get money saved up (pay down your law school debt, if any) and get more experience, then you can start your own practice or go into business with other attorneys. Good luck!!
@@aalegalfocus tysm. Oh and is your salary fixed depending on the law firm?
@@suryapasupuleti60 yes, usually it would be fixed, but there are some firms that do also do it partly by commissions, like giving you 10% of profits on cases you handle-- this all depends on the firm though. A salary is more common. Some firms also give year-end holiday bonuses.
OK. . .here is the thing. . .first, think long and hard about what you are getting yourself into. Personally speaking, while I have done well with my J.D., if I were 15 years old and wanted to "make it big" law school would be the very last thing on my mind. There are law students borrowing over 100,000 per year to get their law degrees--seriously, tuition at many law schools is between 50k-100K and then living expenses will also cost tens of thousands of dollars per year. What are the employment outcomes of some folks who may borrow literally over $300,000 to get their law degree? Temporary document review jobs that pay $20-$22 per hour. Does spending 7 years in school (4Y college, 3Y law school) then taking a tough 2-day, 12 hour Bar Exam that may have a 1/3 failure rate, and is only offered twice a year, and going through all sorts of other things to end up competing with other lawyers to earn what some high school grads earn really make sense?
@@aalegalfocus And yes, absolutely, 100 percent going solo straight out of law school is a very bad idea. I had 15 years of experience practicing law before I went solo, some excellent senior lawyer mentors, a whole bunch of open cases with paying clients, and a great marketing plan, and all kinds of other advantages, including a large amount of money that I used as "seed capitol" to buy a computer, laser printer, file cabinets, office furniture, pay office rent and on and on. . .and with ALL THAT it was still touch-and-go for a while. Furthermore, even after getting the practice off the ground, and doing well, I still had, and still have weeks where I make great money, and weeks where I lose money. Anyone planning to open a solo law practice has to ask themselves, will you be able to handle it when you go to court every day of the week, take and make lots of phone calls, send e-mails, have meetings, and generally work really hard, and at the end of the week you have less--sometimes significantly less--money in the bank than you did on Monday morning?
Is it possible to start a practice straight out of law school ?
Not unless the person is in the UK, Australia or other places where getting a law degree is the same as going to college. In the USA, typically people need to attend an accredited law school for 3 years after getting a 4-year college degree.
@@aalegalfocus whoops sorry I meant law school ? 😅
I discussed this also in a previous live stream called Important Considerations before You go Solo; it is generally not a good idea to go solo right after law school because law school doesn't teach much about the actual practice of law. There are too many pitfalls and financial uncertainty; good clients don't want an attorney with zero years of experience & there is a risk of committing malpractice and getting bar grievances. It is better to work for someone else for at least 3-5 years & save up a lot of money before trying to go solo.
Is it mandatory to have a degree in law to start a law firm?
I am pretty sure, but check with the state bar in your specific state. In NC, attorneys cannot share profits with non-attorneys. Different states have different rules.
To actually practice law, you need to pass the bar exam. In order to take the bar exam, you have to be a graduate of an ABA-accredited law school. If you live in California, you can take the California bar and go to a non-ABA-accredited law school. There are a handful of states that allow you to take the bar if you went to one year of law school, and worked as a paralegal under the supervision of an attorney for a certain number of years.
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Unrealistic
Who will ever have 2 years of living expenses saved!!! You just said you barely were making any money before you started the firm
It's not a requirement, but it will definitely make life easier to have more savings before embarking on any type of self-employment. Otherwise, I'd recommend that the person keep some sort of part-time or contract job to keep some steady income stream.