I got contacted by another young attorney recently seeking my advice regarding her obtaining employment (not the first such contact I’ve gotten). The story was a common one, essentially she’d been hopping from contract position to contract position over the last few years and currently she had recently become unemployed again. Is this your plight?
Wouldn’t hanging out your shingle on a full or part-time basis be a better long-term plan?
I will not sugar coat the start-your-own-firm process…it’s tough and not always the most lucrative endeavor. But even during this recessionary year the income has kept coming and I know I’ve got something that can be built upon in future months/years. The contract job to contract job to contract job to unemployment attorney has about zip.
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Right. It’s really just a small change of mindset from contract attorney to solo practitioner. Instead of thinking of each “job” as an opportunity to work forty hour weeks for a few weeks, start looking at it as income for your “firm.” Then chase temporary jobs that you want to do, and instead of considering those people your boss, think of them as your client. It’s the first step in the right direction.
I think that the reason many lawyers don’t want to start their own business is that they’re afraid they won’t be able to attract any clients and that their firm will fail. Being at a big firm, even as a contract attorney, allows them comparative safety.
The first thing any young lawyer needs to do is learn some basic ways to market themselves and their firm, not just to attract clients but also to instill themselves with confidence. The more they believe in themselves, the more potential clients will believe in them and request their services.
Good points, Peter. But starting a practice is just not for everyone. Some attorneys want or need a firm structure and want to know that if they work an hour they will get paid for it. When you own your own business you don’t get paid for the business development and administrative tasks. To each his own.
[...] Stop the Job Hopping and Launch Your “Law” Career Posted by Peter on September 18, 2009 law firm management A follow-up to my recent post, Stop that Job Hopping Once and For All… [...]