So, it seems that the ABA’s Section of Litigation (of which I’m a member – full disclosure) has published in the November 2007 issue of Litigation News Online this article, which notes that “Bigger Isn’t Always Better When It Comes to Outside Counsel.”
Folks, seriously, the ABA is catching on. This? Is cause for major celebration!
The author, Ruth Piller, notes that GCs perceive several advantages to solos and small firms when it comest to giving them business, and doing business with them. Those advantages include features such as:
- No major markup on expenses as big firms do (which I always thought was weasel-esque at best, unethical at worst; I don’t even charge my clients for such things as faxes and emails – it’s all part of my overhead)
- More accessibility and accountability
- Greater attention and focus, as the corporate client is not just one out of a thousand, but probably stands a good chance of being the top client for a solo
The fact that GCs are embracing (even if slowly) the solo practitioner isn’t at all surprising to me. I’ve been preaching the solo gospel for awhile now, and it’s obvious that the advantages are way too transparently attractive to corporate types for competent solos to be overlooked for long. Solos are just more nimble. We’re early adopters. We don’t have to run things by committee – we are the committee. We’re more responsive, generally speaking, and quicker to solve a problem, I’d wager. We don’t have a thousand law clerks whose insane wages we have to justify by giving them endless research tasks. We have to produce results, or we don’t eat eventually. It’s as simple and fundamental as that. Clearly GCs see this, and recognize the advantages.
(By the way: Carolyn Elefant’s noted this before at her excellent blog, MyShingle.com. The thoughts are certainly not unique to me or to the GCs quoted in the Litigation News article. And a plug for Carolyn: MyShingle is still one of the top resources for solo lawyers, despite the recent mini-bloom of other sites. If you’re not reading The Inspired Solo, go read My Shingle! Better yet – subscribe to us both.)
So, for you newly-made solos out there, and those of you staying up to 2 in the morning making your plans for Me, Myself, and I LLC, think this over: you are not limited to the small town, Main Street, bread-and-butter-and-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink practices of yore. Expand your vision. Go after that corporate client (but do it smartly, with precision). Sell yourself and your practice, and most of all – never, ever, ever apologize for being a solo. It’s your greatest strength.
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