Open my own law firm

I am now a proud solo. I’m so thrilled about this new venture! It’s hard, but the best work I’ve ever done.

The more they stay the same. I did some reevaluation on this goal, and by changing my thinking about it – looking at opening a different kind of practice, my way – it appeals to me again, strongly.

I’m not committing fully to anything but evaluating this as an option, right now. But I’m going to open up the old goal to take advantage of the old posts and entries. I don’t want to rehash old territory if it doesn’t need exploring more fully. If it does, though, I’m there. I want to make a good decision this time – not one based on assumptions and fears.

... at least not right now. :)

I wonder if my earlier reticence wasn’t all just about “fear” – fear of success, fear of trying something so far outside my comfort zone. I keep coming back to this, and to one other interest. And while I feel pretty strongly that one of them holds the key to my future career development, I have no clue which one. So – sigh – back to the drawing board! This time, I think I’m going to try a different approach to this “what do I want to do?” problem. I’ve done the whole left brain, intuitive, gut-feeling thing. This time, I’m gonna try using the right brained approach. Analysis. Weighted measurements. Check lists.

I engaged in a lot of soul-searching as I was doing the prep work for this goal. And I came to the conclusion that it’s not for me. I am still fascinated with the process of opening up a professional services firm, but I had to admit that, once that process was completed, I would be left with something that wasn’t necessarily that attractive to me – running a (hopefully successful) firm.

So, I’ve already come up with another idea to explore – and am going through a similar process with that idea now.

UPDATE – decided the other idea wasn’t for me, after all. I really like being a lawyer. I’m giving this one another look.

See http://basquette.typepad.com for more details. It may be superceded by “write a book” (or several).

I started a new blog and have been updating it regularly. I’ve gotten quite a few useful comments and suggestions from other attorneys who’ve done or thought about doing it as well. I’m looking at a consumer law/bankruptcy practice right now, though I’m still interested in employment work. Getting adequately funded is still the major obstacle, but I’m working on raising my credit score and lowering my debt (eradicating most of it) to help out there.

I’ve been busy!

I’ve downloaded/printed/saved several key articles on insurance options, firm structure, practice management, and business/marketing plans. My goal this week is to outline all of them and take my notes. Also this week, I plan to outline the rules of evidence – I don’t use them a lot as an in-house counsel, so if I’m going to litigate, I’d better refamiliarize myself with them, cold. Also, I plan to do the same with the ethics rules. I do use them, but it’s good to review and know them “cold” – also, I want to prepare a very substantive/substantial outline for each subject, complete with case notes and opinions elucidating the rules.

With respect to the obstacles in my path: two things, I think, are going to stop me (as I noted in another comment). The first is financing, or a lack thereof. This is a real concern of mine. I’d prefer not to, but if I have to, I will postpone OD (Opening Day) to give myself time to adequately capitalize.

The second obstacle is my collected fears and self-doubts. I don’t want to diminish these, because they are substantial. Also, I think they’re important. I don’t want to brush them off as if they were nothing – even though I don’t intend to let them be the sole reason I decide not to do this, if I do get to that point – they are there for a purpose, and I think the purpose is “to make sure I get off my ass and do the necessary work to prepare myself for life in private practice.”

Fear: the ultimate motivator.

And to prove that I’m serious, to myself as much as anyone else, I’ve reordered my list of things to put this thing in the number 1 spot.

I spent my lunch time browsing for resources. There are a ton, to be blunt. I was a little overwhelmed. Thankfully, there’s a great website called www.myshingle.com that puts it all in one place for me. Yay, Carolyn! Thank you.

So I printed off some of the preliminary “this is what’s involved” articles and read them all. I began a separate goal page for this project in my planner, and I took one of those Myers Brigg tests (INTJ, for anyone who’s interested), to see if I “have what it takes.” Bottom line: I don’t care if I don’t have what it takes right now – I’ll spend the next year getting it.

So then I started laying out some preliminary steps and deadlines to meet them. The most exciting one for me is the last one – well, ok, the last two, given recent events:

8. Give notice. April 17, 2006.

9. Open up. May 15, 2006.

Holy guacomole. There it is, in black and white. No turning back now. I debated giving two weeks’ notice. But this is a small office, and my absence will have a large impact, and I don’t want to lose potential referrals or business, but also? I don’t want to start my solo life off on anything other than a positve note reflecting my deepest truest values, because THAT’S why I’m doing this to begin with. And I just don’t want to treat the people I work with that way – because I wouldn’t want to be treated that way if our roles were reversed.

My next steps: I have two weeks in July coming up on leave, where I will spend the time doing some deep self-evaluation on topics like – what kind of law practice do I want to build? what do I need to improve on? what are my current strengths? where do I see this going in ten years?

I plan to have my first draft of a preliminary budget by August 31 of this year, and my first draft of the business plan by Halloween. Early next year I’ll begin moving into specific tasks like puchasing equipment (or leasing), finding space (or building an effective home office), pinning down financing/funding, etc. The funding is going to be the biggest part of this, I have no doubt – or the most critical rather, because I think the biggest part is the business plan and the stuff that goes into it – but I am determined to make it. One way or the other, I will find a way for this to happen in ONE YEAR.

So it is written. So it shall be done.

I really need to get this one done. Soon.

• get funding together. One year’s expenses = $40,000, plus expenses for the actual firm, which I have no clue about, so…
• estimate first year’s expenses for the firm.
• decide on a specialty. Options include a transportation/government affairs boutique practice, environmental, employment, and general practice. Leaning towards environmental and employment plaintiff’s practice right now.
• draft a business plan. I have an old one from the last time I thought about doing this (seven years back) but I think it’s unusable, even as a jumping off point, since my career has changed so much since.
• give some thought to retaining a career coach. Especially one with experience helping new solos.

What am I missing? I have so much to learn about – marketing, litigation, practice management … but it all sounds like FUN to me.