In my last blog entry, I discussed the reasons why lawyers make the jump from firm life to solo practice and also the reasons that hold them back.  Many lawyers I have talked to have cited the start-up costs as a prohibitive barrier to entry.  They also talk about the income they are giving up.  I will briefly discuss the income issue and then focus on the startup costs.

Say you are earning $100,000 a year at your current firm job.  If, as a solo, you bill at a very competitive rate of $150 an hour, you would need to bill and collect 667 hours in the course of a year to make $100,000.  That translates to 13 hours a week. 

In early 2008, I left a great job as a senior associate at one of Wisconsin’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious firms to start my own practice across the Milwaukee River in an office share on Old World Third Street.  After a whole lot of work, it’s all coming together.  In the past two and a half years, I can’t begin to tell you how many lawyers I have spoken to who have told me that they too want to do this too.  But then they list a number of reasons why they aren’t ready yet and may never be ready.  I’m sure there are a number of lawyers out there who have the same thoughts, and maybe some of them are reading this blog (maybe even while they are supposed to be working billable hours).

So, rather than focus on new cases or a specific area of law, I am going to devote my month as guest blogger to issues associated with starting a law practice.  If my anecdotal evidence is correct, it is likely to have a wider appeal than anything that is substantively narrow.

This first week I will devote to the soul searching aspect of the decision.  The “why” aspect.