I’m not sure if we are still using the term “downturn” to describe what has occurred to the economy as opposed to “shit storm” but at any rate, after the downturn in the economy, I was laid off from BigLaw in New York City.
Without going into the huge tailspin I did, I tried to get back into BigLaw and also applied to mid-sized and tiny law. I applied for document review positions only to find that I wasn’t qualified because I didn’t have the requisite doc review experience and was inexperienced when compared to the contract/temp attorneys who had been doing it for years.
Listen, when I say I cast my net wide, I cast it wide. I applied for entry level jobs in the business sector. I thought about tutoring in a foreign language. I even thought about attending bartending school. That net was cast wide.
Many of my laid off colleagues left NYC (after first traveling abroad or couch surfing in the US) at the end of the day but I decided to stay and see if I could work some magic at ground zero.
What was the most frustrating is that after I was laid off from BigLaw and did some soul searching about what I wanted to do (something more entrepreneurial and hands-on) I set about googling law firms of every size/lawyers/people who did what I wanted to do but time and time again when I thought I found a tiny law firm/entrepreneur/business that did exactly what I wanted to do and who would jump at snagging a former BigLaw attorney (I’ve since been humbled), I found rejection behind each door in the form of a mailed rejection letter, a brief email, or just uncaring silence.
So after a few months of financial stress and career limbo and even a brief period of time of deliberating whether to move back in with the parental units far away from NYC, three little words came to me: Why not me?
Each time I read a success story about a small business that is thriving in this market or an entrepreneur or a guy who followed his dream, I kept thinking: why not me?
So I’ve decided to fly solo and start my own firm. I know, with 60,000 law firms in this country, why is starting my own firm the answer? What’s my edge? Well, I’m a strong believer in going with what you know until you can get to where you want to go.
So, I’m starting my own law firm for cash flow and networking opportunities because I am a good goddamn lawyer and will serve my clients well, which will provide a solid platform where I can transition into a hybrid law-business firm in a niche sector that involves one of my passions.
My uncle used to practice law and now has a handful of attorneys who work for him out in LA. He now rarely practices law and does more business (negotiates deals, finds investors, structures deals, etc.), flies all over the world, and is fairly successful. Why don’t I go work for him? Because he’s an ass but that’s another story. And also, if he can do it, why not me?
Why not me?
I couldn’t find an answer to that question, so here I am: flying solo. And this is my story.
As a minority woman, I have definitely come up against very interesting characters/situations while I was both in BigLaw and since I’ve been out on my own. Some of these stories will make you laugh, some will make you speechless, some will make you angry, and some will just confuse you.
I’ll also update you on my progress from picking a name, to designing my logo, to choosing a corporate structure, to what little pieces of paper I need to form my firm, to malpractice insurance, to my networking victories to snaffoos, to my successes as well as my mistakes/stumbles along the way.
As my firm is about a few weeks old, you can join me on my journey. Let’s hope it is a good one.
You can follow me on facebook and twitter.
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Good luck.
Best of luck to you.
Looks like we're in the same boat. Good luck!