Just thought I'd revive this thread as it has been a very good for me. Being a newish lawyer of 2 year post-call experience, I was sort of at a crossroad professionally, and the insight of some of you has really helped me sort it out.
I started my law career by articling in an elite boutique litigation firm in a large (Canadian) market. I was making 66k as an articling student which is more than BigLaw money in this market. I absolutely disliked the politics and saw myself as quite a bit of a cog in the firm's wheels due to my entrepreneurial spirit and issues with taking a Partner's words as if it was the gospel. Probably due to this "fit" issue, I was offered a renewable contractual position after passing the bar rather than a more typical permenanent associate position, and decided not to take it since I couldn't see myself hating my 60h+ work week any longer. This meant leaving an 85k+ job prospect but it simply did not matter at the time.
I found a job 2 weeks later at a very specialized medical malpractice defense boutique firm. They had a pretty lucrative contract with the largest med mal insurer in the country and also did disciplinary cases for professionals in general. It was very interesting work and the niche aspect of it made one learn the ropes very quickly. I was making 75K with a 5K bonus as a first year associate (by reference, BigLaw 1st years in my market make +-100k) working 8 to 5 with a very reasonable 1500h/year target. It was a cushy lifestyle and a great firm atmosphere, but the partners were absolute idiots when it came to managing their business and I did not adhere to their money-is-dirty-but-we-are-absolute-law-geeks ethos. I wanted to find a place where I could see myself develop my book of business to build solid revenue prospects for the future, and I knew very early on that this would not be the place I could build that kind of practice.
After about 15 months on the job, I decided to do something rather radical: I approached a very respected lawyer in a smaller suburban market who I knew would retire soon, and asked him whether he needed some help. Timing was perfect and after we got to know each other a bit he suggested we partner. He co-runs a 4-lawyer firm, but was the only civil litigator there (the other 3 do family law under the supervision of the firm's other partner). We are now finalizing his phasing out to retirement, with all his open matters having been transfered to me. We initially agreed to work under a 50/50 fee split arrangement, but I will end up a "true" partner as soon as he transfers me his shares in the firm, which is set to happen come September of this year. My own billing right now is approximately 15-20K a month, though I feel I could go up to 25K if I pushed a bit more. I am therefore making +-80-100K gross right now, though things might get substantially better after I get a say in the firm's expense. I understand typical law firm overhead is generally about 30-40%, so I think it would be fair to assume net revenues at around 100K for my share, which is not bad at all considering I am not even 2 year post call yet and am 100% free to make my own schedule. Firm expenses are now a little higher than I'd like them to be, but the other partner and I agree on the means to be taken to get them within the aforementioned average.
I am now at the stage where I will need to see how I can scale this biz forward and sufficiently develop my book of business to hire more staff. What I dislike the most about my job right now is that I am selling time for money, which I think is a bad deal for any efficient person and/or anybody with a desire to grow a business beyond making it a job. I am thinking I could probably convert some of my client base to a monthly retained fee deal, which would secure cash flow and allow me to hire with less risk. Do you guys have any experience with this model? Is it worth it?
Overall, I thought I'd share my story to show that to venture off the beaten path can often be the best thing you can do as a lawyer. I now enjoy the gravitas and goodwill of a firm that was founded the year I was born, all while getting to do basically what I want with the civil litgation side of it. The lower COL, shorter commute and absence of serious competition are just icing on the cake - and I get to make nearly just as much as I would slaving away for 80h+ a week in BigLaw!
Cheers for the fun read guys, and keep on keeping on,
-M