var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); });
device = device.default;
//this function refreshes [adhesion] ad slot every 60 second and makes prebid bid on it every 60 seconds // Set timer to refresh slot every 60 seconds function setIntervalMobile() { if (!device.mobile()) return if (adhesion) setInterval(function(){ googletag.pubads().refresh([adhesion]); }, 60000); } if(device.desktop()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { leaderboard_top = googletag.defineSlot('/22018898626/LC_Article_detail_page', [468, 60], 'div-gpt-ad-1591620860846-0').setTargeting('pos', ['1']).setTargeting('div_id', ['leaderboard_top']).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); } else if(device.tablet()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { leaderboard_top = googletag.defineSlot('/22018898626/LC_Article_detail_page', [320, 50], 'div-gpt-ad-1591620860846-0').setTargeting('pos', ['1']).setTargeting('div_id', ['leaderboard_top']).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); } else if(device.mobile()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { leaderboard_top = googletag.defineSlot('/22018898626/LC_Article_detail_page', [320, 50], 'div-gpt-ad-1591620860846-0').setTargeting('pos', ['1']).setTargeting('div_id', ['leaderboard_top']).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); } googletag.cmd.push(function() { // Enable lazy loading with... googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ // Fetch slots within 5 viewports. // fetchMarginPercent: 500, fetchMarginPercent: 100, // Render slots within 2 viewports. // renderMarginPercent: 200, renderMarginPercent: 100, // Double the above values on mobile, where viewports are smaller // and users tend to scroll faster. mobileScaling: 2.0 }); });
×
  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Law Students
  4. Law Student Career Advice
  5. Preparing for Your Career
  6. Planning to Have a Solo Practice after Law School: How Realistic Is It?
Tell us where to email your access instructions
Upload Resume

Support PDF,DOC,DOCX,TXT,XLS,WPD,HTM,HTML fils up to 5MB

< Back To All Articles

Planning to Have a Solo Practice after Law School: How Realistic Is It?

4420 Views
( 442 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Hanging your shingle after the graduation and attempting to go solo may be either a first or a last option, depending on the law graduate. For example, whether a graduate makes the decision to go solo will often depend on his/her personality, skill set, network, and interests. If you are going solo after graduation because it is your first choice, then we suggest gaining a bit of experience under a mentor or in a law firm. This experience always helps to establish a proper solo practice. However, if you are thinking of going solo because of lack of acceptable alternatives, then there are things to be careful about, and we will be discussing these areas of concern in this article. Regardless of the situation, , going solo after graduation has always been an option. It is not unrealistic, but there are things you need to keep in mind to make it work.

Why people think it is unrealistic to go straight for solo practice right after graduation
 
Planning for a Solo Practice

People do think that it is unrealistic for the average law student to strike out solo because a solo practice usually needs the person to have the following:
 
  • Business acumen – knowing and being able to run a complete business unit (marketing and pricing of services and all other paraphernalia)
  • Affable personality – both clients and people who refer cases like affable personalities in the first instance
  • Risk-taking personality – business involves risks, but law students have a reputation of being generally risk-averse
  • Networking ability – for a solo practitioner work usually comes from social referrals and from referrals from other lawyers. A person who has poor networking skills, usually, has little chance of success in solo practice
  • Physical constitution – now you don't need to have the constitution of a NFL player, but having one helps. A solo practitioner has to carry around things more and run around more than an attorney in a law firm. The solo practitioner does not have the luxury to delegate work, thus, practicing as a solo attorney requires a healthier physical constitution to cope with work stress.
  • Tech savvy – Today's clients come with notebooks, laptops, and electronic record and communications devices in all shapes and forms. Being unfamiliar with your client's software is acceptable, but if you cannot pick up the intricacies within the hour – you are suspect of being incompetent
  • Money for investment – while you can get away with minimums, there are still investments that require to be made, whether it is the salary of a supporting paralegal secretary, or whether it is the hiring or purchase of hardware or software – there are initial expenses that can be adjusted, but cannot be done away with.

Want to continue reading ?

Become a subscriber to LawCrossing's Job Seeker articles.

Once you become a subscriber you will have unlimited access to all of LawCrossing Job Seeker's articles.

There is absolutely no cost!



About Harrison Barnes
Harrison Barnes is the founder of LawCrossing and an internationally recognized expert in attorney search and placement. Harrison is extremely committed to and passionate about the profession of legal placement. Harrison’s writings about attorney careers and placement attract millions of reads each year. LawCrossing has been ranked on the Inc. 500 twice. For more information, please visit Harrison Barnes’ bio.

About LawCrossing
LawCrossing has received tens of thousands of attorneys jobs and has been the leading legal job board in the United States for almost two decades. LawCrossing helps attorneys dramatically improve their careers by locating every legal job opening in the market. Unlike other job sites, LawCrossing consolidates every job in the legal market and posts jobs regardless of whether or not an employer is paying. LawCrossing takes your legal career seriously and understands the legal profession. For more information, please visit www.LawCrossing.com.


Article Category

  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Legal Career Advice
  4. Law Student Career Advice
  5. Preparing for Your Career



Featured Testimonials

You have a wonderful program. I will use it again if things don\'t work out.
Richard


Facts

LawCrossing Fact #212: We do not do anything that does not necessarily benefit you.

 

Harrison Barnes does a weekly free webinar with live Q&A for attorneys and law students each Wednesday at 10:00 am PST. You can attend anonymously and ask questions about your career, this article, or any other legal career-related topics. You can sign up for the weekly webinar here: Register on Zoom

Harrison also does a weekly free webinar with live Q&A for law firms, companies, and others who hire attorneys each Wednesday at 10:00 am PST. You can sign up for the weekly webinar here: Register on Zoom

You can browse a list of past webinars here: Webinar Replays

You can also listen to Harrison Barnes Podcasts here: Attorney Career Advice Podcasts

You can also read Harrison Barnes' articles and books here: Harrison's Perspectives


Harrison Barnes is the legal profession's mentor and may be the only person in your legal career who will tell you why you are not reaching your full potential and what you really need to do to grow as an attorney--regardless of how much it hurts. If you prefer truth to stagnation, growth to comfort, and actionable ideas instead of fluffy concepts, you and Harrison will get along just fine. If, however, you want to stay where you are, talk about your past successes, and feel comfortable, Harrison is not for you.

Truly great mentors are like parents, doctors, therapists, spiritual figures, and others because in order to help you they need to expose you to pain and expose your weaknesses. But suppose you act on the advice and pain created by a mentor. In that case, you will become better: a better attorney, better employees, a better boss, know where you are going, and appreciate where you have been--you will hopefully also become a happier and better person. As you learn from Harrison, he hopes he will become your mentor.

To read more career and life advice articles visit Harrison's personal blog.

Let's Do It!
Email:

Only LawCrossing consolidates every job it can find in the legal industry and puts all of the job listings it locates in one place.

  • We have more than 25 times as many legal jobs as any other job board.
  • We list jobs you will not find elsewhere that are hidden in small regional publications and employer websites.
  • We collect jobs from more than 250,000 websites and post them on our site.
  • Increase your chances of being seen! Employers on public job boards get flooded with applications. Our private job boards ensure that only members can apply to our job postings.
Read more...

Do you want a better legal career?

Hi, I’m Harrison Barnes. I’m serious about improving Lawyers’ legal careers.  My only question is, will it be yours?

About Harrison Barnes

Harrison is the founder of BCG Attorney Search and several companies in the legal employment space that collectively gets thousands of attorneys jobs each year. Harrison is widely considered the most successful recruiter in the United States and personally places multiple attorneys most weeks. His articles on legal search and placement are read by attorneys, law students and others millions of times per year.

Learn More

Success Stories

I’ve used LawCrossing for years and I think it is terrific. The search features work very well and bring back extremely relevant results. I think it is exactly what it should be.
  • Karen Crupi Highlands Beach, FL
+ Read More Success Stories

Why You'll Love LawCrossing

Click here

Legal Job Market Updates

Stay Ahead. Get your weekly career digest giving you:

  • the latest legal jobs
  • legal employment news and trends
  • career advice and more
Questions?