Plan B Forum

It's official!

Landlines set up, incorporation paperwork & fees in the mail to the secretary of state, website domain name purchased, facebook page launched, business cards designed & ordered.

T-77 days until I fly solo!

My practice will be home-based (I live across the street from the courthouse and everyone knows where I live, so it's a great way to save on overhead + maximize tax benefits) and I will be taking contract cases for the state and federal public defenders, in addition to private pay clients - on an income-based fee scale, where necessary.

Mostly criminal defense, some family law, some wills & estates and other odds-n-ends needed by the clientele in a small rural town. Local folks are really excited that I'm starting a practice, as there's been no full-time lawyer here in over a decade. (I already have a dozen clients on my wait list!)

I'll be wearing jeans to work (I already do, except on court days), meeting with clients over a cuppa in my Craftsman's lovely formal parlor, and drafting pleadings with my dogs at my feet.

It's the biggest leap of faith I've ever taken in my life - here's hoping it goes well!

Bless your little cotton socks! Here's hopin' and prayin' all works as you would wish.

Good luck!

I have to say, going solo was both the most liberating and most terrifying thing I have ever done.

Best wishes on your new venture.

Good luck BSG, I truly hope it goes well for you. It's a very exciting time!

Be very very meticulous on your record-keeping, and your segregation, for the home-based biz deduction. It is one of the highest IRS audit areas. Probably worth a few bucks to go over all the details with an accountant and set up a good protocol in advance.

Good Luck bigskygal.

And I would advise taking weapons training and keeping one with you.
ETA
You having been a DA, I owuld think you would have done that already.

All the best BSG, keep us informed, (blog it here?)

oldr_n_wsr wrote:Good Luck bigskygal.

And I would advise taking weapons training and keeping one with you.
ETA
You having been a DA, I owuld think you would have done that already.

I was raised with firearms and have sharpshooter rating from the US Army from my JROTC days; I've had my concealed carry permit for a couple of years, but haven't yet purchased a firearm.

I'm guessing you are mentioning this in terms of personal safety, what with having clients come to my home. Most of my criminal defense clients will be contract cases, and most of those will be not in my small town, but in the next jurisdiction over (there is already a contract defender in my jurisdiction, and I don't want to take her work - she's my closest friend). So, I'll meet those clients a) at the jail, b) at the courthouse in that jurisdiction, or c) in the conference room of a colleague's practice up there.

The 'bad guys' I'll represent here for private pay will be DUIs and other small stuff, and those folks all already know where I live. Small town life is life in a fishbowl, truly. The only criminal defense clients I would have serious concerns about in term of personal safety are those with serious mental health issues, and I'll certainly take precautions.

It wouldn't hurt my 'cowgirl cred' to start carrying, though.


PS - An attorney I knew in Yuma, AZ was gunned down in his office on his last official day of practice before retirement - he was surrounded by packing boxes) by a former client's ex-husband.

Family law cases are a great deal more dangerous to deal with, in my opinion, than criminal defense cases. My defense clients all treated me well, with the exception of the one schizophrenic client who became obsessed with me. I'm planning to do family law only so long as necessary until my other income is reasonably steady - and then I'll only handle select cases for clients with whom I already have a relationship.

All the best on your new venture BSG; I'll echo on it being liberating and terrifying, but now that I've done it for a while, I wouldn't go back to my former practice.

Sue - I'm terrified, too! But also, every day I get closer to it, the more liberated I feel. If I am half as successful as you, I'll be thrilled.

Guin - thanks for the good advice! I'm following the guidelines promulgated by IRS for home-based businesses and I will err on the side of deducting less, not more. But I do plan to run my returns by an accountant - it's worth the cost.

Gob - to the extent possible within ethical mandates, I'll share some funny anecdotes here as I travel the path of rural small practitioner. Or, if I fall flat on my face - I'll share the stories of my life on the lam from student loan collectors . . .

Big RR - thanks for the encouragement, too! I think this is life's way of making me keep growing - I've always been far too risk-averse; that fear has kept me from a lot of things I wanted to do in my life in favor of 'safer' alternatives, and it's time to face that down, for better or worse.

Heck, I'm going to die someday, and that day gets closer every minute - failing in a business venture wouldn't be the worst thing that will ever happen to me!

good luck! I m sure you ll succeed... boss

Add me to the list of well-wishers, bsg. I have faith that you'll make a success of it!

Good luck!

bigskygal wrote:It wouldn't hurt my 'cowgirl cred' to start carrying, though.

This is what came to mind while I was reading your OP:



And hey, picture it with your face and name, it would certainly be an ad that people remembered.

Joking aside, good for you! So many people (me included) talk a lot about launching a professional practice firm of their own, but never do anything to make it happen.

And there's nothing wrong with accepting livestock as payment

I'm planning on bartering legal work for necessities, just like Atticus Finch - one guy on my wait list is going to trade me auto repair work for wills for him & his wife, and my pedicurist is going to trade me a years' worth of pedicures for the same.

I'd love to get a quarter beef from a local rancher in need of legal work!

There are a lot of poor folks hereabouts and I'm planning to charge less than the going market rate because I still want to be a public interest lawyer. Bartering for services I need seems to be a win-win.

Bartering services for auto repair is a really good deal. It's a great way to make sure you have a mechanic with no incentive to screw you, since he's not making any additional money off of you by ladling on unnecessary work. He also has an incentive to do it right the first time, because if your car conks out five minutes after you drive off his lot, he just has to keep working on it until he gets it right for no additional money.

Scooter wrote:

bigskygal wrote:It wouldn't hurt my 'cowgirl cred' to start carrying, though.

This is what came to mind while I was reading your OP:



And hey, picture it with your face and name, it would certainly be an ad that people remembered.

Joking aside, good for you! So many people (me included) talk a lot about launching a professional practice firm of their own, but never do anything to make it happen.

And there's nothing wrong with accepting livestock as payment

I'm heartbroken that I never saw Harry's Law - I didn't have a TV when it ran (and didn't even know about it, or I might have purchased one just for that show) and it's never yet been made available on DVD or digital streaming.

I'm a crazy big fan of Kathy Bates and David Kelley's writing, and it sounds like the show was critically acclaimed.

Congratulations and best of luck. Sounds like you are off to a good pre-start!

If, just thinking of a fantasy case here, I wanted to sue a short arsed welder for defamation, would you accept my next 4 CD's of music in payment?

Update:

I went through some serious 'terrifying' uncertainty, as was warned by Big RR and Sue U, as I geared up to job loss and practice launch at the turn of the year - but I've quickly gotten to the exhilarating/liberating aspect of private practice.

I'm been awarded a contract with the public defender, which was my primary goal, as I wanted to continue to do public interest law and get back into criminal defense. The region where my talents are needed is a bit of a hike from me - 1.5-3.0 hours, depending on which court(s) - so I'll be earning the same I was in the old job with a moderate caseload and travel time for that contract, and everything else will be just gravy. (Spent some time this morning reserving my Cape Cod cottage for this coming August, and purchasing airfare and BoSox tickets.)

On top of that, I've had a very healthy response to my local advertising and have had at least a half dozen calls each week looking for consultations, resulting in a dozen private pay clients already. I've also taken on a pro bono family case already, so will be well on my way to fulfilling that yearly obligation in the first few months of practice. I don't need any CLE for the next two years (Montana allows carry-over) so my costs are very modest beyond the initial investment in hardware, software, modest furnishings.

I've spent a lot of time the past 6 weeks just detoxing from the crap in my old job, and learning all the new stuff necessary to run my business. It's the most liberating thing ever - especially after years working in nonprofits and government - to weigh a choice, make a decision, and go with it! . . . without the need for endless meetings, balancing personality politics, etc.

I'm the Captain of my own ship - YAY!!!!


I will say that there has probably never been a better time to hang a shingle - LOTS of great time-saving software available at a very reasonable price to help me do the books, etc.


I'd say this venture is off to a great start. I'll be happy doing this for a while . . . unless I win the PowerBall tonight.















*Hey, I missed your post Gob - I should probably refer you to other counsel, given the conflict inherent in my having to have endured endless PMs and emails from the opposing party on the issue.

Endure the CDs you mean

But great news on the rest - live long and prosper!