A Solo Legal Practice May Afford More Flexibility, Balance of Work and Lifestyle

If you’re an avid fan of the television drama “The Good Wife,” you may sometimes wonder what it’s like to work for a large legal firm. Yes, the hours do seem long and grueling, yet there’s that attraction of a high salary plus the glamor of high-profile litigation and courtroom challenges. I will admit that television does a fair job of portraying the ambiance of large legal practices, but as they say, the devil is in the details.

Here in Seattle, a partner in a larger firm must generate about $200,000 of billable hours just to cover overhead costs — associates, paralegals, secretaries and office leasing — before he or she starts yielding any individual profit. That’s a lot of financial posturing for the luxury of serving a larger practice with staff and office overhead. Still, bigger firms do provide valuable training for attorneys just beginning their careers. They learn the practice of law in their chosen niche or specialization, and they gain valuable experience in developing a clientele base.

My legal career, too, essentially began in a large firm, but I felt somewhat trapped in a field of practice that was heavily litigious and full of conflict. I didn’t like the combative nature of the litigation process, and I really felt I would be happier if I were working with people to avoidproblems in the first place, rather than solving them later down the road. So I approached my litigation clients, informing them of my decision to leave the firm and go “solo.” Basically, I said, “I want to help you grow as a business and be successful in business. You’ve hired me before to defend you in litigation. Why not consider me as your business attorney?” With this convincing premise, I hit the ground running with no interruption in business activities or income and have never looked back!

Having the freedom and independence as a solo practicing attorney is truly incredible. In one sense, you are tied to your practice because you must be available 24/7 for clients, but your workday is your own. You can create the hours that you work and the hours that you don’t. Although my work day may often be interrupted with phone calls or emails from clients, I also have the flexibility to work 12 or 13 days straight and then take a week off. More importantly, I’m able to balance my personal lifestyle with the enjoyment of my practice by working from several different locations, including Seattle and Whistler, British Columbia. I have done that since the 2010 Olympics, when I served as a volunteer for the event and realized that I could practice effectively from both locales with some help of modern technology.

Over the last five years of operating my solo practice, I’ve encountered other attorneys, too, that have successfully established their own practices with better incomes, leaving behind the larger high-profile firms and their overhead pressures. Why not? A big office tower with high-figure floor rents and maintenance costs is no longer necessary to practice law. Technology has revolutionized the legal marketplace. All you need is a desktop or laptop computer, a printer, a scanner and some mobile communication equipment, and your office can be any size anywhere, even at home. And when scheduling clients, you now have the flexibility of visiting their offices. In fact, I actually think clients are more appreciative of the fact that an attorney is willing to come to them on their turf. Instead of being preoccupied with billable hours at high rates, clients can now develop more cost-effective business relationships withtheir attorneys, where they feel more like partners rather than line items on a profit statement.

Even today I’m still surprised when new clients tell me of their disappointment with previous attorneys who were not responsive in returning phone calls or emails, or who scheduled meetings and then failed to show. I don’t understand it, especially with all the modes of communication technology available. Moreover, this behavior delivers a poor impression of the legal profession to the public. What are these attorneys thinking? Success only prevails when clients are serviced in a respectful manner. If we can provide this service to our clients from our home offices, so much the better.

                                                          

You Don't Need Big Box Firms for Big-Time Representation

The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) is a trade group for life sciences in Washington. As a Life Sciences attorney, I often attend their trade events and meet people who are involved with pharmaceutical studies and various bio-technology projects. They are usually represented by one of the large firms here in Seattle.

The people I meet in the life sciences industry complain to me about the cost of their legal fees; they make a phone call to their attorney, and they're charged $400 an hour. I'm not really sure why or how these big firms have a monopoly on the life sciences, but it seems as if there is a perception out there that big law firms are better-equipped to handle cases. They are bigger, after all, and better-staffed. Their fees are hefty – but surely you get what you pay for.

This is an unfortunate misconception – one that costs a lot of money.

Many attorneys who now work as solo practitioners or for small firms trained at a major law firm. It is indeed possible to attain high-quality legal representation at a big firm. But is a big firm the only place you can find this level of competent representation?  If you choose to go a different route, will you be sacrificing quality? The answer is unequivocally “no” – and it's important to understand this, particularly if you don't have a corporation paying your legal fees.

The fact of the matter is that big firms are expensive – and they simply don't have to be. Their high costs are often a result of inefficiency and a certain approach to billing practices. In litigation, for example, the big firms tend to issue the absolute maximum number of interrogatories and requests for production and admission. The goal is to bring in as much information as possible, but retrieving and assimilating all that information takes time and costs money, which is then billed to clients. Perhaps this isn't a pressing issue when the client is Google or Microsoft, but what about individuals paying their own legal fees?

Whether it's a contract or a litigation dispute, the most cost-effective approach is to try to narrow down what's actually relevant and draft language that reflects what needs to be said in clear language, omitting the superfluous. For those of us in solo practices, part of the reasoning for this approach is practical: we are busy, and we don't have the time or the staff to do unnecessary work.  Many solo practitioners and small firms are staffed with attorneys who trained at large firms and provide excellent services at reasonable prices. 

For me, however, working as a solo practitioner also plays into my belief about the way I want to practice law. I don't believe in billing time just to bill time. It is my objective to do exactly what my clients want me to do – no more and obviously no less. I don't take action unless my client has approved it. When my clients receive my bill, they fully understand exactly what it is they're paying for.

Essentially, I believe in making things as clear as possible for my clients in the area of contracts and other transactions, using clear, understandable language. It is inappropriate, in my mind, to use 30 pages of complicated and archaic legal-speak to say what could be said simply and clearly in three pages. This is my approach in all matters.

Legal representation can be efficient, excellent and economical. It is possible to have all three. A smaller firm or a solo attorney can provide clients with the same level of service they would receive at a larger firm, and making this choice can bring the added bonus of a considerably smaller price tag.

If you are looking for an attorney, I recommend you contact your local bar association. Most Bar Associations, including the King County Bar Association and the Snohomish County Bar Association, have lawyer referral services.