On July 25th, The Pangis Law Firm turned 10.
To say the first decade flew by would be an understatement. While starting a business is inherently difficult, the sudden and unexpected challenges of the COVID pandemic (handling a real estate closing in May 2020 with a participant wearing a full clean room suit, complete with face shield and three masks, is certainly a memory) and having our office building sold with two months notice were speed bumps for which no one could prepare me.
When I began practicing law, having my own firm was neither a goal nor a dream of mine. That's not to say I loved working for someone else or what life was like in a mid-sized firm, but I just didn't see hanging my own shingle as providing enough value to make the juice worth the squeeze. So what happened? In the words of Harold Macmillan, "Events, dear boy, events."
Like anything in life, there are lessons to be learned from the experience of running a solo law firm. Some of these I sort of knew beforehand and were merely reinforced, but others were lessons learned the hard way. The last 10 years have taught me:
As a solo practitioner, there are no days off. Even when you are on vacation, you are working. Taking/returning calls and emails while away remains a necessary evil which can, at best, be slightly mitigated.
That said, one of the biggest reasons I started my own firm was having a young family that I wanted to be present for and involved with while they grow. Working for myself allows me to be a dad who has put his kids on the bus every morning, and works from home at least twice a week to get them off the bus. When they are sick I stay home with them and I have coached every sport they played from ages 5 into their teens, and often multiple teams at once. The schedule flexibility required to accomplish this is simply not achievable in a Firm life system which tracks billable hours, even with the most accommodating of Firms. And yes, it leads to its own challenges, such as working many late nights after the kids are put to bed and weekends, or taking fewer clients and reducing my revenue during particularly busy sports seasons, but being there at every step of their lives and for every game and practice is something I will never regret and they will always remember.
Be prepared to spend about 20% of your time doing "administrative" work. When I went solo, the Senior Partner at my old firm warned me of this, but it didn't really click what it meant in practice. Over a five day workweek, that averages out to a full day of week doing the administrative stuff which is not billable. That includes things they don't teach you in law school, such as learning Quickbooks so you can properly relay information to your accountant who prepares your quarterly tax returns for you to process and pay. Yes, some of this can be given to third-parties to assist with, but that all costs money you don't have when starting a firm.
I knew this early in my career, but it is reinforced when you go solo - your true value as an attorney is not in your ability to practice law, but in your ability to generate clients. You can be the smartest, most diligent advocate for your clients, but if you do not have the means and methods to get that client to find you, walk in the door and hand you their money, it is all for naught.
Even with that, there is great power in saying "no" to certain potential clients. The longer you practice, the better the sense you will have for this, but there are certain clients and situation which will prove far more challenging to your time and efficiency than taking on the case is worth. It is sometimes better to refuse to take a case if you sense that is where it will go. Red flags include someone who has gone to or through several lawyers before landing at your door. This is a challenge I have wrestled with when business has been slow and someone has come in looking for help, but either they or their case looks like it will lead to bad places such as unhappiness by the client in a best case end result you can deliver (it is not uncommon for clients to have unreasonable expectations), a client who does not respect and abuses your time (this occurs most frequently with flat fee and pro bono cases) and a client whose ability to pay what the case will cost to see through to completion is simply not there.
Your paycheck will be uneven. There are good months and bad months, and both you and your family need to be prepared for this ebb and flow. This is also a challenge with saying "no" to potential clients when everything screams for you to do so. Working for a Firm guarantees you a paycheck every two weeks. Working for yourself might provide for a bigger paycheck, but expect a few smaller ones, too.
Finally, the most important thing you need to start and run your own firm is the correct support system in your non-work life. The demands of the Legal profession are not particularly family friendly to begin with, and the right partner/family situation is a must to avoid either the work or family life from collapsing on itself. They will have to understand things like working late nights, weekends and while on vacation are table stakes. If they aren't willing or able to live with that, don't start a firm. This isn't a 9-5 gig. You also need to be able to leave work at the door and not bring the stress and pressures of the profession into the family dynamic. Partners and kids will absolutely pick up on it and it never leads to good places.
If asked to judge whether the decision to start my own firm was a "good" one, the answer is easy - yes it was. Being around for my kids these last ten years has been everything to me. That was a choice I made and will never regret. Now that they are in their teens and just a few years from flying away from the nest (NOOOOO!!!!!!), I am interested in learning how running a solo practice will be different. I look forward to reporting back to you for our 20th anniversary.