Forget the Recession, Now Is Time to Go Solo

The New York Law Journal recently highlighted Carolyn Elefant, blogger (My Shingle and Legal Blog Watch), writer and lawyer extraordinaire, in an article whcih focused, in part, on her new book, Solo By Choice, which is listed as a resource in the lefthand sidebar of this blog.

The article, and the excellent book, which I recently finished reading and highly recommend, focuses on the benefits of going solo, such as being in control of your own practice, schedule and destiny.  This how-to guide provides the attorney considering going solo with factors to consider when making  and implementing the deicision to go solo.

If you're a lawyer and are thinking about making a change in your career, or even if you're simply unhappy with your current job situation,  you simply can't afford to pass this book by.  It provides a wealth of useful information, trend analysis and advice from the perspective of someone on the cutting edge of the legal profession.

From the article:

Ms. Elefant, whose practice is focused on energy regulatory and enforcement law, suggested in an interview that this is a favorable time for solo practice - not merely for independent-minded attorneys but for law firms and clients as well.

"In the past 10 years or so, more and more large-firm lawyers are thinking seriously about leaving and taking a piece of their practice with them - not poaching or stealing clients, but maybe taking those not able to afford large-firm rates, or else clients conflicted out due to firm mergers," said the "Solo by Choice" author. "There have always been lawyers who've done that, but now because of technology it's easier for younger associates to do it."

Ms. Elefant's said her notion is buttressed by data in a recently released study of 4,000 law school graduates conducted by the American Bar Foundation and Harvard Law School's Program on the Legal Profession that show apparent dissatisfaction among young lawyers at commercial firms.

The study found that large firms lose up to half their associates within as few as four years, though not because of dismissals or layoffs; nearly two-thirds of the defections are the result of associate choice.