Solo Practice

I am guessing that some people may be reading this post thinking that I am talking about the Elections coming up in November.  For those of you looking for a political post I am terribly sorry to disappoint you.  This point will instead focus on the most important decision that I have made for my law practice, whether to add staff, an associate or a partner.  To date I have operated as a true solo, but I have been helped by my office sharing mate's assistants from time to time.  I remember reading a blog post about this within the last couple of months, but for the life of me I cannot locate that article at this time.  If I find it again I will edit this post and provide the link.

The timing of this post may be a tad bit premature since the entirety of the new relationship has not been determined.  I have been in talks with a law school classmate who is 95% sure he wants to move back to Wisconsin.  We have talked for the last four years about the possibility of starting a law firm together, but until this time those talks were never really serious, at least from a practical perspective.  Now it is looking like it could be a done deal if things continue to stay strong around here.  It is too early to pinpoint an exact date, but my guess is that he will join the firm in the next six months.  I have blogged over the past three or four months about a growing desire to bring on a part-time assistant to help around the office.  To date I have not hired anyone and with this development I will likely wait another six months before I move on that issue.  The benefit to the arrangement with my friend is that he will technically be an associate from the outset, but I am not committing any guaranteed income to him.  He will operate as a quasi-partner as far as the compensation structure goes.  Eventually we will graduate to a point where he is established in practice and we will look at "partnering" up. 

In the end this is the best case scenario from my perspective since I will get the benefit of another revenue generating attorney who will double as a highly trained assistant while he becomes acclimated to the Appleton, Wisconsin community.  It will not increase my overhead, fixed or variable expenses much at all.  He eats what he kills.  I will provide the office, the initial work, training, experience and malpractice insurance.  I still bear the risk as the owner and managing attorney.  Risk does not scare me, especially when it is associated with an educated and well-reasoned decision. 

So there you have it.  Ten days into 2008 and the pinnacle decision has already been made.  He will be a great addition to the firm and it will be great to have him and his wife back in the area.  I would not be surprised to see him lend his thoughts and insight right here on this blog in the weeks and months to come.  I will discuss my thoughts, observations and plans as we move forward as well.