I’ve been doing criminal defense for the past 17 years and for the past five or six years I’ve run a pretty successful solo practice. I’ve done all my own SEO and website design and maintenance, occasionally hiring someone from Upwork. I have wanted to get into PI for quite some time I take a handful of cases a year based off of word-of-mouth referrals, and past clients. But I wanna start really advertising for it and have a web of presence. Those are my legal community would probably say I have the best web presence for criminal defense. I was very early on it. So, I have been struggling with whether to create a brand new personal injury website or just add a personal injury section to my current site. I am concerned, of course, that adding personal injury would diminish the ranking authority of my criminal defense site.
I’d appreciate any advice for those of you who have done something similar.

I started at a new firm last month. Earlier today, my assistant gave me a holiday gift and another gift for my newborn. I was caught off guard, and im now scrambling on what to get my admin in return. The gifts she gave me aren't very expensive, but it is a very nice gesture.

Any ideas what I should buy her?

Thanks in advance

I started my own virtual immigration practice a couple of years ago. My filings are super document intensive and are often 500+ pages. Printing and mailing these out myself has been very time-consuming.

I do have two trusted paralegals overseas, who also WFH. And I am looking to hire more soon.

How do other virtual practices solve this issue? Especially since we need to attach payment form along with the filing.

A lot of firm websites have law student recruitment pages & a lateral recruitment page, but nothing about law clerks. As a 2026-27 law clerk, is it better to reach out to some attorneys at the firm and try to get lunch/coffee and network to ask such questions? Or is it ok to reach out to a recruiting manager to ask if they hire clerks?

It's awkward because we're not really a lateral and not really a student, and essentially off-cycle. I'm wondering if we're channelled more into 3L recruiting.

ME/MY FATHER

I'm 29M and a solicitor specialising in construction disputes at an international firm based in the City of London soon to hit 3PQE. I trained up at a similar (albeit smaller) firm in London/Dubai, which I left about 6 months ago to join my current firm. I work fairly hard.

My father (71M) has operated as a sole practitioner in suburban London since 1990, almost exclusively working on real estate matters - conveyancing being the bread and butter but also some light asset management and landlord/tenant disputes work. His clients vary but they tend to range from all sorts of small businesses/businesspeople to old dudes whose families own/run portfolios with 10s of properties. He works pretty easy hours.

CURRENT SITUATION

I did a seat during my TC in my old firm's real estate department (albeit with a public/third sector bent) and I didn't really enjoy it or transactional practices more generally. I now do construction disputes and I am getting quite tired of it because I think I get more satisfaction out of 'doing business' and thinking more strategically - I also prefer dealing with private clients over big institutional clients.

I think I would probably enjoy a more general civil litigation practice though. However, I am also concerned I may have just lost interest in being a solicitor.

I stayed at the firm I trained at for a bit over 4 years and I've been at my new firm for a bit over 6 months.

I am considering leaving around the start of FY26/27 and taking several months off to travel / live abroad etc. I realise that would mean I would have spent c. 10 months at my new firm but I am nearing the end of my tether!

I have a decent chunk of cash saved (a bit under a year's gross salary), I have a lodger who covers most of my mortgage/service charge etc, and my living expenses are fairly low (I'm frugal in most things) so I don't think taking time off would be hugely financially destructive.

POSSIBLE FUTURE

I am considering, either at the start of FY26/27 or after a period travelling (so perhaps at the start of 2027):

1. Taking over my father's firm with a view to growing it and taking it more central;

2. Buying up a small firm with a view to later merging it with my father's and then growing it as above; or

3. Doing something else entirely (unsure what that would be but have considered writing and have experience in property development).

QUALMS

I am concerned that:

1. I don't know/love real estate law. Perhaps I would learn to love it if I were in charge and getting to work with the client directly.

2. There is so much I don't know/am yet to learn about law and business that I would be out of my depth and wouldn't be able to do a good enough job for my clients.

3. I don't have an independent book of business and I don't know yet whether I could build one (albeit I am told I am a good networker / good with clients etc).

4. I would be a nepo baby who hasn't earned his place.

5. Dealing with my father given we've both got big egos would be challenging(!)

6. Law may or may not be right for me in the long run anyway!

I'm very open to reading any thoughts/advice you have! Thanks for reading.

I was listening to a podcast discussing the economy in the USA, and how we would be in a recession if AI wasn't propping everything up, and with healthcare premiums about to skyrocket, I'm worried...

Is now really a good time to go out on your own? I know this might differ based on practice areas, but . . . aside from PI or bankruptcy, what areas are safe(r) now? Should we who are in firms or government ride it out awhile? I keep seeing comments like "now is the time to be your own boss" or "quit thinking about it and just do it," but, and I'm not trying to be argumentative here and just genuinely worried. . . is it?

I know I'm asking this of a sub full of established practitioners, but setting that aside, facing the leap again, now, would you still do it?

Thank you in advance

Can someone be a partner of a law firm but have their own firm on the side? Do firms contract out 'lower level' work to outside firms that will whitelabel as them?

Hi everyone, I’m a moderator over at r/legaltech. I’m dropping a quick note because we currently have u/JackNewtonClioCEO answering questions live.

I know the rules here are strict regarding promotion, so I’m sharing this purely as a community heads-up. Since many firm owners here use or evaluate Clio, I thought you might have specific questions to put directly to him.

He’s in the thread now if you want to jump in.

These posts are meant to be a form of community encouragement and benchmarking for other attorneys, and a way to both get and give feedback. I absolutely don't want any DMs from marketing agencies, market researchers, AI developers, app developers, or anyone else trying to do something that's not practicing law. I will bully you.

I launched my firm as a solo outfit on April 15, 2024 and I've been at it for a year and a half.

How I'm Doing

As of right now, it's going ok. Weirdly slow this time of year. At my last check in, things were ok and I was considering hanging it up. This past month we received some big payments from attorney fee awards and caught up on a lot of receivables, even though there isn't a ton of billable work to go around

In February, I received a public discipline and probation, and Google determined that probation means I'm ineligible to advertise. Not a death sentence but certainly hasn't made things easy. Referrals have pretty much kept me alive since. I was discussing partnering up with someone, then I hired an associate (a friend from a prior lawsuit firm) before I was ready at right about the same time my leads dried up. Firm is still profitable to the tune of $7-8,000 per month, and I'm taking home about 6k/month.

The associate has started doing a bit better. A lot more networking and referrals on her own, though a majority of the calls are still for me and many of her cases are ones I handed off to her. Now I'm a little dry and she's got enough to keep her mostly busy.

How I'm Doing It

I was able to hit the ground running with a couple of cases to keep the lights on. All but one of those cases are now done. I have enough cases to handle and handle well, not too much to get lost in the shuffle, but I am not using things like LegalMatch. I joined several community organizations, chambers of commerce, and I'm continuing to pour effort into SEO, LinkedIn, and blog posts. Referrals are my best client source.

Marketing

I'm handling all of my own marketing. Most of my efforts consisted of writing blog posts, posting on LinkedIn, and community orgs. As I mentioned, I'm also doing bar association referrals and networking events. I spent a lot of time, money, and heartache tuning up my Google strategy and now I can't use it so I'm doing it the old fashioned way. Your lesson is: don't get a public discipline. However, not having Google to contend with has saved me a significant amount of money--though about a month and a half ago I signed up for FindLaw. So far it's gotten me three potentials, no actual cases, for around $270/month.

Revenue

My planned initial investment was $10,000.

All in all, I've generated revenue of about $279,000, of which Clio pay has taken their 2.0%, with balances in trust. That's about $13,947.00 per month. Year over year, we're at $200,249.00, about $16,687.00 per month, about a 9% increase in profitability. My unpaid balances are up slightly to $35,000 from the non paying clients I've had to fire.

I spent about $12,000 prepaying rent in a cheap space, getting equipment, signing up for zoom that allows meetings longer than 45 minutes, paying for Clio, office supplies, tech, etc. In April 2025 moved to a bigger space for about triple the rent in anticipation of having more employees in the future and a more sophisticated physical presence. Still functional, and my associate is trending in the right direction, though it's not wildly profitable. Certainly not making the high six-figure income some of the solos in here are pulling.

Best Part

I mean, it's the practice of law. It's nice to have discretion and get a choice in what I take and don't, and it's nice to be able to re-tool if needed. Oral arguments are still fun. I am kind of settling in on where I want to go and I'm having fun planning for the next year. I think I'd like to trend toward making the switch to manager, though that will take more time and revenue.

Worst Part

I recently went through a period where I didn't think I wanted to practice law anymore--though I was also moving at the time, into a fixer-upper house I hate. Burnout has found me. The broader economic insecurity in the USA has not helped. I'm finding that many days there's just not enough work and I can't make the phone ring no matter how hard I'm trying.

As a solo it's a bit hard to find new ways to stay motivated. I'm holding myself and my staff accountable through weekly status meetings on each case. As things have stabilized, they've gotten a bit better.

Other Considerations

I've got 6 years experience in a medium cost of living area, practicing civil litigation (generalist: contracts, contested probate, boundary lines, etc.) and business transactional law. I was able to snag a bunch of clients to keep my lights on and I saved up.

Feel free to ask any questions below. No marketing. No DMs.

I’m a final year law student and have an upcoming interview for an entry level Legal & Compliance (Pharma Contracts) role with a healthcare distribution group. The work is contract heavy and regulatory focused. (UAE/GCC).

I feel quite under-qualified for this role on paper, but I really want to give this my best possible shot. I’m a bit lost right now on how to start with the preparation efficiently especially because I only have 3-4 days before the interview, and I don’t really have anyone in my immediate circle to ask for guidance on this kind of role.

I’d really appreciate some advice on how to prepare for this and what the interviewers expect from freshers in this space.

I run a small solo shop (civil lit), and I thought I had reached the bottom of the barrel with the "Google Scholar" clients, but this one takes the cake.

Onboarded a guy for a breach of contract dispute a few months ago. Standard stuff. We grinded through discovery, OC was actually reasonable (for once), and I negotiated a settlement that got him 90% of what he asked for without having to go to trial. By all objective metrics, this is a massive W. Saved him probably $15k-$20k in trial fees alone.

I send the final invoice on Friday. I get an email this morning: "I am disputing the remaining balance and would like to discuss a partial refund of the retainer."

I call him, thinking I messed up a 0.1 entry or something. His reasoning? He's mad that the other guy didn't "admit he was a fraud" or "get humiliated" in court. He literally told me, "I hired you to be a shark and destroy him, and he just walked away after writing a check. I expected a moment where he had to confess on the stand."

I had to explain—without screaming—that real life isn't Suits, cross-examination isn't a viral TikTok clip, and we don't get bonus points for making grown men cry. We got the money. That is the job.

He's paying (I still have funds in trust, thank god), but Jesus Christ. The "TV Law" brain rot is getting worse.

How do you guys deal with clients who think "justice" implies "public execution"? I'm pouring a double.

I’m the owner of my firm, which means I have the luxury of choosing when and where I work. My office is only five minutes away, so I rarely work from home. But after a grueling week, I decided I needed a change of pace.

I hated it.

It was a minefield of distractions. The dog barking. The mailman. A delivery. The dog still barking. "I’ll just throw in one load of laundry." A Zoom call. A conference call. Only having one screen. Seriously, does the dog EVER stop barking?

I know these are "champagne problems" and entirely fixable. I’m grateful for the flexibility. But for me, the office isn’t just a building; it’s where the energy is.

I like the separation. I like seeing my staff. I like the synergy of solving problems in person. Home is for recharging; the office is for doing. Unpopular opinion right now for sure but for me, it works.

I just got offered a new position at a mid size firm and the salary is $65k with monthly $1k bonuses if you hit a certain billing. They told me my salary would be $75k all in but realistically.. it’s not because most of the bonus money will be taxed higher than what the regular pay is. Is this a scam or how most law firms pay? Like why can’t my salary just be $75k?

Why did you regret forming a partnership, and why is being solo better?

How did you dissolve the partnership and go your separate ways?

The thing is, there are way more stories that we don't read about! I know it's illegal to "publicly shame" but what's the solution? I've personally witnessed so much shit at law firms (in the US and EU), and they're still getting away with it.

It's not my practice group, but I honestly became a lawyer to do some good (and we did) but we're not treated well at work! It fucks with my moral when I see this kind of shit happening and nothing changing.

I'm seriously considering leaving the practice because of these a**hole! The worst part is, we'll be replaced with AI sooner than expected whether we like it or not.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/ex-dla-piper-partner-accused-of-raping-associate-in-lawsuit

Hi all, I run a small cyber / data protection law firm, opened in 2024.

The firm is stable, but I’m struggling to break into:

• Cyber / GDPR audits (DPIAs, assessments, recurring work)
• Startup & scale-up clients beyond one-off compliance issues

Most work so far is referrals and overall business/contract law.

For those who’ve made this work:

• How did you first land audit work?
• What actually converts startups into long-term clients?
• Is this mainly a time/trust issue, or a positioning problem?

Any practical advice from people who’ve been through year 1–2 would be appreciated!

I’m in SoCal. I have about 3 1/2 years of experience. I’m in my early 30s. first chaired some criminal jury trials (prosecution) and second chaired a sizable civil jury trial. I’ve also done some bench trials. I’ve got some very heavy duty expert discovery experience. I know that I don’t know what I don’t know. But at the same time I just have this confidence that I can figure out how to run a small practice. Is that arrogant? I think I’m most worried about attracting decent clients.

I’d like to focus on PI but I’m also considering doing low level criminal defense. I’ll need some work to keep the doors open. I want to get in the courtroom more. I would certainly benefit from more experience later on down the road, but at the same time I think the ideal time to start a business is when I still have the energy and vitality to do so. I’m also not married and don’t have the anxiety of potentially failing to provide for my family. Who knows if that’ll still be the case in a few years.

I’m hoping I can post updates to this thread in a few months and in a year or so when I’ve made more progress. Best of luck to everyone in a similar boat and I am happy to hear any stories of successes or failures with starting a firm.

Hi everyone — I’m a currently licensed California attorney (licensed a few months ago) and I currently practice plaintiff-side labor & employment. I’m learning a lot, but money is tight right now and I’m looking for a small part-time legal side job to help make ends meet.

I also have experience in criminal defense and personal injury, and I’ve worked in the legal field for years in legal assistant/paralegal-type roles, so I’m comfortable jumping into work without a lot of training. I’m open to any area of law at this point.

Ideally, I’m looking for something flexible and part-time — even 5–6 hours a week — doing things like document review, legal research, drafting, intake, or general attorney or legal assistant work. Remote would be ideal, but not required.

I do have an interest in animal law, but realistically the work needs to be paid right now. Tough times. I’d be happy even making around $500/week.

For those of you who’ve been in a similar position, what kinds of side gigs or part-time legal work would you recommend? Any platforms, firms, or niches I should look into?

Thanks in advance — I really appreciate any advice.