Starting a Law Firm - Why Should I Start a Law Firm?

If you are thinking about starting a law firm and, more specifically, how to start a law firm, you probably have at least some semblance of a plan on how to achieve that goal. This means you've wanted to start a law firm for some time.

I started thinking about it before I even went to law school. When I was in undergrad, I clerked for a small litigation firm in my hometown. The owner of the firm was my friend's father (since retired), and he showed me everything. I went with him to court, worked on client files, helped with discovery, etc. On some days, when there wasn't much to do, I walked across the street to the courthouse to just watch what was going on. One time, on a Friday, we took off early and went to a baseball game. He was in complete control. From that point on, I wanted to own a firm. I wanted control of my career and my life.

As I moved on to law school, my classmates seemed to be very concerned with clerking for large law firms and getting jobs with those firms after graduation. However, I had my eye on the prize - starting my own small law firm. You see, partnership in a big law firm is very different than partnership in a small law firm. I've been in practice for approximately five years, starting out as a Virginia trial attorney. I've only worked in smaller shops and I can tell you with confidence that I have far more substantive and hands on experience than nearly all of my lawyer friends who are associates at larger firms. While they may eventually make partner, it will be an entirely different experience than mine. Not better or worse, just different. But that is a post for another day.

Starting a law firm requires a lot of hard work. That's worth repeating. It requires a lot of hard work. But it also provides everything that I want for my family and for me - flexibility, wealth, and balance. Finally, I am a go-getter personality who loves to take big challenges and meet them head on. So I am challenging myself to earn more as an owner than I was earning at my last job within eighteen months. More importantly, I want to make more time for my family (not an easy task when starting a law firm). I'm excited for this chapter of my career.