Solo In Chicago…Grow Your Practice!

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Editor’s Note: I meet so many great and interesting attorneys through SIC that after only 4 years I thought it might be useful to hear from some other voices in this space.  I mean there are so many things that I don’t even know that I don’t know…perhaps others know. Plus, I’m a big junkie of good conversation and interviewing so it’s fun for me too.  Russell graduated from the University of Illinois law school, was licensed to practice in November 2006, and started his solo practice earlier this year. Interestingly, he’s also fluent in Spanish which we discuss a bit below, with both English and Spanish Websites.

SIC:  Why’d you start your law practice?

RK:  I started my law practice because I saw that my boss (another solo) was making more
money than I was.

SIC:  Describe the timing of your launch in terms of point-in-career, experience, life factors, and
finances.

RK:  I'm 31 and my wife works and we have no kids yet. I realized that I go solo now while I
have my wife's income and no child related expenses or I never would. My wife takes care of my
day to day expenses. I saved a significant but not massive nest egg to get started. I'm 2 months in
and I still havn't exhausted it.

SIC:  What are your primary practice areas and how did you select them?

RK:  My primary areas are criminal law, family law and bankruptcy. I practice in these areas
because that is what my experience from my prior job was in.

SIC:  How do you office?

RK:  I rent from an older more experience attorney. I can't recommend this enough. My landlord
is an incredible resource who has offered me very affordable rent, great advice, and even a few
referrals.

SIC:  How have you tried to attract clients? What works/doesn’t work for you?

RK:  I personally studied how to appear in Internet searches and put a lot of time into it. It's
complicated and everyone is trying to sell you "the secret to high Google rankings" but you never
really know what you're going to get. I now get a lot of clients off the Internet. I also network like
crazy. I let people know I speak Spanish and have reasonable rates. The only thing I've done that
laid a complete egg was sending out letters to people I didn't know if I didn't follow up. If I
followed up, the letters would pay off sometimes.

 
SIC:  How did set your fees

RK:  I set my fees based on what my old boss used to charge.  My clients are mostly working
class and can't afford big retainers and the possibility of endless bills so I use a flat fee system.

SIC:  What are the best and worst decisions you’ve made in running your solo practice?

RK:  My best decision about starting a solo practice was planning early. I was thinking about this
for over two years. I wrote down every idea and reviewed them constantly.  My opening went off
without a hitch and I immediately started getting paying clients.  My worst decision was billing
too low for my first half a dozen clients or so.

SIC:  I know you’re fluent in Spanish, how have you targeted that niche population?

RK:  I have a Spanish website.  I write letters and personally visit social agencies that deal with
Chicago's Spanish speaking population. I network with every spanish speaking lawyer I meet.  
Soon, I will be hosting legal seminars in a spanish speaking church.  Same as what anyone does, I
guess.  Only in Spanish.