Comments on: Going Solo Right After Law School http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/ Great Things Come in Small [Law] Practices! Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:09:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Chris http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-7825 Chris Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:41:00 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-7825 There is no doubt that more and more law students will be going solo after attending law school. That is why sites like yours are so important and why I started www.lonelysolo.com for solo lawyers to network. I really hope that the experienced generation will take the time to help eachother and the newer generation without charging them tons of money that they already don't have. My main concern is that many students leave with 100s of thousands of dollars of debt and as soon as they graduate when they try to start a solo practice they are bombarded with fees from the bar, incorporation fees, practice management fees, fees for phones, virtual office space, and more. The last thing they need is tohave to pay for a solid mentor. Shouldn't the legal community help its younger members get on their feet in these difficult economic times instead of taking their money and still letting them start failing solo practices? I hope the legal community agrees. Chris www.lonelysolo.com There is no doubt that more and more law students will be going solo after attending law school. That is why sites like yours are so important and why I started http://www.lonelysolo.com for solo lawyers to network. I really hope that the experienced generation will take the time to help eachother and the newer generation without charging them tons of money that they already don’t have.

My main concern is that many students leave with 100s of thousands of dollars of debt and as soon as they graduate when they try to start a solo practice they are bombarded with fees from the bar, incorporation fees, practice management fees, fees for phones, virtual office space, and more. The last thing they need is tohave to pay for a solid mentor. Shouldn’t the legal community help its younger members get on their feet in these difficult economic times instead of taking their money and still letting them start failing solo practices?

I hope the legal community agrees.

Chris
http://www.lonelysolo.com

]]> By: Carlos http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-180 Carlos Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:55:01 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-180 David Galalis, thanks a lot for the info. I will also be starting a solo in Brooklyn, though I plan to do contract work first for gain experience and confidence. Your post was very helpful because it spoke about the intangibles like energy and opportunity and hit on concerns I am facing now. I haven't been able to get a FT job since I graduated law school in 04 so I'm going to have to make my dream of owning my own firm happen sooner than I thought. Tim, I also found your respose helpful because I am also interested in transactional Commercial and Real Estate work, but I wonder if one can start off as a solo and work themselves into those type of deals, or do you feel the experince can only be gotten from working at a firm first? Would I have to cultivate mentors to lead me through each new deal as a senior attorney would? David Galalis, thanks a lot for the info. I will also be starting a solo in Brooklyn, though I plan to do contract work first for gain experience and confidence. Your post was very helpful because it spoke about the intangibles like energy and opportunity and hit on concerns I am facing now. I haven’t been able to get a FT job since I graduated law school in 04 so I’m going to have to make my dream of owning my own firm happen sooner than I thought.
Tim, I also found your respose helpful because I am also interested in transactional Commercial and Real Estate work, but I wonder if one can start off as a solo and work themselves into those type of deals, or do you feel the experince can only be gotten from working at a firm first? Would I have to cultivate mentors to lead me through each new deal as a senior attorney would?

]]> By: Carlos http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-6113 Carlos Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:55:00 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-6113 David Galalis, thanks a lot for the info. I will also be starting a solo in Brooklyn, though I plan to do contract work first for gain experience and confidence. Your post was very helpful because it spoke about the intangibles like energy and opportunity and hit on concerns I am facing now. I haven't been able to get a FT job since I graduated law school in 04 so I'm going to have to make my dream of owning my own firm happen sooner than I thought. Tim, I also found your respose helpful because I am also interested in transactional Commercial and Real Estate work, but I wonder if one can start off as a solo and work themselves into those type of deals, or do you feel the experince can only be gotten from working at a firm first? Would I have to cultivate mentors to lead me through each new deal as a senior attorney would? David Galalis, thanks a lot for the info. I will also be starting a solo in Brooklyn, though I plan to do contract work first for gain experience and confidence. Your post was very helpful because it spoke about the intangibles like energy and opportunity and hit on concerns I am facing now. I haven’t been able to get a FT job since I graduated law school in 04 so I’m going to have to make my dream of owning my own firm happen sooner than I thought.
Tim, I also found your respose helpful because I am also interested in transactional Commercial and Real Estate work, but I wonder if one can start off as a solo and work themselves into those type of deals, or do you feel the experince can only be gotten from working at a firm first? Would I have to cultivate mentors to lead me through each new deal as a senior attorney would?

]]> By: South Carolina Trial Law Blog http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-182 South Carolina Trial Law Blog Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:36:59 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-182 <strong>Starting Your Own Practice Out of Law School</strong> A third year law student wrote to Carolyn Elefant of Myshingle and asked the following question: I graduated law school last year and am finishing up another graduate degree...and am taking the bar this summer.  For law students with little... Starting Your Own Practice Out of Law School

A third year law student wrote to Carolyn Elefant of Myshingle and asked the following question: I graduated law school last year and am finishing up another graduate degree…and am taking the bar this summer.  For law students with little…

]]> By: South Carolina Trial Law Blog http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-6115 South Carolina Trial Law Blog Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:36:00 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-6115 <strong>Starting Your Own Practice Out of Law School</strong> A third year law student wrote to Carolyn Elefant of Myshingle and asked the following question: I graduated law school last year and am finishing up another graduate degree...and am taking the bar this summer.  For law students with little... Starting Your Own Practice Out of Law School

A third year law student wrote to Carolyn Elefant of Myshingle and asked the following question: I graduated law school last year and am finishing up another graduate degree…and am taking the bar this summer.  For law students with little…

]]> By: Legal Blog Watch http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-181 Legal Blog Watch Tue, 08 Feb 2005 17:49:10 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-181 <strong>TO SOLO OR NOT TO SOLO? 3L WANTS ADVICE...</strong> A 3L student has written to Soloist Carolyn Elefant and asked her for advice on whether to hang out a shingle right after graduation. Elefant weighs the merits -- and her own mixed feelings -- about attorneys going solo immediately TO SOLO OR NOT TO SOLO? 3L WANTS ADVICE…

A 3L student has written to Soloist Carolyn Elefant and asked her for advice on whether to hang out a shingle right after graduation. Elefant weighs the merits — and her own mixed feelings — about attorneys going solo immediately

]]> By: Legal Blog Watch http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-6114 Legal Blog Watch Tue, 08 Feb 2005 17:49:00 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-6114 <strong>TO SOLO OR NOT TO SOLO? 3L WANTS ADVICE...</strong> A 3L student has written to Soloist Carolyn Elefant and asked her for advice on whether to hang out a shingle right after graduation. Elefant weighs the merits -- and her own mixed feelings -- about attorneys going solo immediately TO SOLO OR NOT TO SOLO? 3L WANTS ADVICE…

A 3L student has written to Soloist Carolyn Elefant and asked her for advice on whether to hang out a shingle right after graduation. Elefant weighs the merits — and her own mixed feelings — about attorneys going solo immediately

]]> By: David Galalis http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-179 David Galalis Tue, 08 Feb 2005 10:07:38 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-179 I have always had visions of owning my own firm ever since I decided to go to law school. (The reasons are deeply intrinsic and too expansive to discuss here). I will be launching my "blue collar" practice in Brooklyn, New York, in January 2006, after my clerkship with the Massachusetts Superior Court ends and I've had time to settle into my new home. (I originally had intentions of putting down roots in Boston, but hey, life is what happens when you're making other plans). Something important to consider in the equation of WHEN to go solo is the fact that starting a business is risky no matter when you start it. So, better to start a business when you don't have much to risk. For me, as a young twenty-something with no kids, no mortgage, no elderly parents, and a rediculous excess of energy, now is that narrow window in my life when I have very little to risk. My legitimate concern is that the longer I wait before making the leap, the more difficult it will become. And eventually, that window will close--I'll have become satiated on a steady paycheck, I'll have much greater family obligations, a taste for luxury, and no amount of experience or contacts will be able to give me the push I need to step out into thin air. So, my advice is this: do it while you have the energy, while you can afford to take some risks. That energy will eventually fade, and life's obligtations will have a tendancy to make you paralytically risk-adverse. And as far as experience, you'll gain it the same way a first year associate does--through other attorneys. The only difference is that these attorneys will be other solos or small firm practitioners with more work than they can handle, but who don't have the means to hire a full time employee. So, they'll hire you instead on a contract basis, and a necessary element of that contract will be the guidance and advice you need to complete the assignment. But in the end, only you know what your dreams are, what your motivations are. If being solo is the only way you can be happy, regardless of the risk of failure, then you've already made your decision. Life is short. Do it while you can. Cheers! David Galalis, Esq. I have always had visions of owning my own firm ever since I decided to go to law school. (The reasons are deeply intrinsic and too expansive to discuss here). I will be launching my “blue collar” practice in Brooklyn, New York, in January 2006, after my clerkship with the Massachusetts Superior Court ends and I’ve had time to settle into my new home. (I originally had intentions of putting down roots in Boston, but hey, life is what happens when you’re making other plans).
Something important to consider in the equation of WHEN to go solo is the fact that starting a business is risky no matter when you start it. So, better to start a business when you don’t have much to risk.
For me, as a young twenty-something with no kids, no mortgage, no elderly parents, and a rediculous excess of energy, now is that narrow window in my life when I have very little to risk. My legitimate concern is that the longer I wait before making the leap, the more difficult it will become. And eventually, that window will close–I’ll have become satiated on a steady paycheck, I’ll have much greater family obligations, a taste for luxury, and no amount of experience or contacts will be able to give me the push I need to step out into thin air.
So, my advice is this: do it while you have the energy, while you can afford to take some risks. That energy will eventually fade, and life’s obligtations will have a tendancy to make you paralytically risk-adverse. And as far as experience, you’ll gain it the same way a first year associate does–through other attorneys. The only difference is that these attorneys will be other solos or small firm practitioners with more work than they can handle, but who don’t have the means to hire a full time employee. So, they’ll hire you instead on a contract basis, and a necessary element of that contract will be the guidance and advice you need to complete the assignment.
But in the end, only you know what your dreams are, what your motivations are. If being solo is the only way you can be happy, regardless of the risk of failure, then you’ve already made your decision. Life is short. Do it while you can.
Cheers!
David Galalis, Esq.

]]> By: David Galalis http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-6112 David Galalis Tue, 08 Feb 2005 10:07:00 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-6112 I have always had visions of owning my own firm ever since I decided to go to law school. (The reasons are deeply intrinsic and too expansive to discuss here). I will be launching my "blue collar" practice in Brooklyn, New York, in January 2006, after my clerkship with the Massachusetts Superior Court ends and I've had time to settle into my new home. (I originally had intentions of putting down roots in Boston, but hey, life is what happens when you're making other plans). Something important to consider in the equation of WHEN to go solo is the fact that starting a business is risky no matter when you start it. So, better to start a business when you don't have much to risk. For me, as a young twenty-something with no kids, no mortgage, no elderly parents, and a rediculous excess of energy, now is that narrow window in my life when I have very little to risk. My legitimate concern is that the longer I wait before making the leap, the more difficult it will become. And eventually, that window will close--I'll have become satiated on a steady paycheck, I'll have much greater family obligations, a taste for luxury, and no amount of experience or contacts will be able to give me the push I need to step out into thin air. So, my advice is this: do it while you have the energy, while you can afford to take some risks. That energy will eventually fade, and life's obligtations will have a tendancy to make you paralytically risk-adverse. And as far as experience, you'll gain it the same way a first year associate does--through other attorneys. The only difference is that these attorneys will be other solos or small firm practitioners with more work than they can handle, but who don't have the means to hire a full time employee. So, they'll hire you instead on a contract basis, and a necessary element of that contract will be the guidance and advice you need to complete the assignment. But in the end, only you know what your dreams are, what your motivations are. If being solo is the only way you can be happy, regardless of the risk of failure, then you've already made your decision. Life is short. Do it while you can. Cheers! David Galalis, Esq. I have always had visions of owning my own firm ever since I decided to go to law school. (The reasons are deeply intrinsic and too expansive to discuss here). I will be launching my “blue collar” practice in Brooklyn, New York, in January 2006, after my clerkship with the Massachusetts Superior Court ends and I’ve had time to settle into my new home. (I originally had intentions of putting down roots in Boston, but hey, life is what happens when you’re making other plans).
Something important to consider in the equation of WHEN to go solo is the fact that starting a business is risky no matter when you start it. So, better to start a business when you don’t have much to risk.
For me, as a young twenty-something with no kids, no mortgage, no elderly parents, and a rediculous excess of energy, now is that narrow window in my life when I have very little to risk. My legitimate concern is that the longer I wait before making the leap, the more difficult it will become. And eventually, that window will close–I’ll have become satiated on a steady paycheck, I’ll have much greater family obligations, a taste for luxury, and no amount of experience or contacts will be able to give me the push I need to step out into thin air.
So, my advice is this: do it while you have the energy, while you can afford to take some risks. That energy will eventually fade, and life’s obligtations will have a tendancy to make you paralytically risk-adverse. And as far as experience, you’ll gain it the same way a first year associate does–through other attorneys. The only difference is that these attorneys will be other solos or small firm practitioners with more work than they can handle, but who don’t have the means to hire a full time employee. So, they’ll hire you instead on a contract basis, and a necessary element of that contract will be the guidance and advice you need to complete the assignment.
But in the end, only you know what your dreams are, what your motivations are. If being solo is the only way you can be happy, regardless of the risk of failure, then you’ve already made your decision. Life is short. Do it while you can.
Cheers!
David Galalis, Esq.

]]> By: Al Nye http://myshingle.com/2005/02/articles/questions-advice/going-solo-right-after-law-school/comment-page-1/#comment-178 Al Nye Mon, 07 Feb 2005 18:40:44 +0000 http://174.120.83.8/~sh1ngl3/97/going-solo-right-after-law-school/#comment-178 I'd suggest buying Jay Foonberg's book HOW TO START & BUILD A LAW PRACTICE. My review of the book is located on my blog here: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/44vsa" rel="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/44vsa</a> Al Nye I’d suggest buying Jay Foonberg’s book HOW TO START & BUILD A LAW PRACTICE. My review of the book is located on my blog here: http://tinyurl.com/44vsa
Al Nye

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