Last week’s Law.com Small Firm Business included an article entitled, “Former Big-Firm Partner Finds Solo is Better.” The article chronicles the story of Lizz Patrick, former partner at Troutman & Kilpatrick, who went solo and loves it.
Recently, on one of my solo list serves, a lawyer asked whether she should move out of her home office so that clients and other lawyers might take her more seriously. If you listen to Patrick’s story, the answer is most definitely no.
Patrick started her own firm a year ago, and represents large clients like Avon Products and Nokia Siemens Networks.
According to Patrick, some of the advantages of being solo include:
- Eliminating the necessity for large numbers of staff and associates, allowing her to provide more responsive service to clients while keeping costs down – and clients still get the benefit of her extensive experience;
- The ability to be flexible and adapt more quickly to her client's needs; there's no bureaucracy to delay decisionmaking;
- Client conflicts are less frequent with a smaller firm;
- Lower overhead, through her home office. Since so much of her work is done over the phone or by email (including sending bills by email), there’s no reason for Patrick to rent office space. And if she needs to meet with clients, she goes to them - an added benefit for clients who don't have to travel to her office;
- The ability to have more control over her practice and be more responsive to clients.
According to the article, Patrick's clients don't mind that she doesn't have a downtown address. Patrick believes that clients hire the lawyer, not the address. She notes that her clients want "personal, efficient and targeted service focused on their needs...[they] don't care if I have a Washington office. They care if I'm available to do the work on their terms when it needs to get done."
One of Patrick’s clients explains why she likes working with Patrick:
"I'm looking for the right attorney and the right personal attention and the right economics. At large firms you sometimes get two or three people working on things -- and not always a partner -- and there can be a lot of bureaucracy...To be able to go directly to someone who has experience and provides great client service can be a great alternative for certain types of work," she said. "It's better service at a better price."
Some keys to Patrick’s success?
- Planning, planning, and more planning;
- Learning to use technology/software
- Outsourcing to virtual services (such as a virtual assistant and document production services); and
- Use of part time help.
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