To Office or Not to Office

One of the great debates between my husband and I is the decision about acquiring office space. He is concerned about accruing unnecessary overhead, while I have several reasons for wanting to move the office out of my dining room.

First, I am reluctant to invite future clients into my home. He is planning to start with with criminal defense work and I don't embrace the idea of those clients being at the dining room table with my kids. Second, I want him to get out of the house. Many people can work at home, but I'm not certain it's the best venue for my husband. I want him to focus on building the practice, not keeping house. Lastly, I want him to get out of the house - but for another reason. Lawyering can be lonely work, like teaching. By being out in an office, alone or as a share, and near the courthouse he is more likely to network with other attorneys and build the relationships that were lacking in his former, big-law practice.

Building a Solo Web Presence

After returning from a CLE this past week, my husband is working on developing his website and overall web presence before fully launching his firm. In my initial post referred to going solo as hanging out a shingle, but in today's world it's more about being online. Today's attorneys use the web, blogs, etc. to reach new potential clients and keep connected with current clients. Living in a university town, it's essential to have a web presence because it where young people go first for assistance. College students are not going to check the Yellow Pages for an attorney, they're going to Google it.

We'll be in touch soon about the new website.

Going Solo is a Family Affair

The day my husband's firm had him resign was gut-wrenching. We had been anticipating a lay-off as possibility, but we never imagined it would come as it did. While the lay-off/resignation sent us all in a tailspin, it was a very positive week. In many ways, the stress that he had been carrying for months and months all melted away and was replaced with a new, optimistic outlook. Still heavy with concern and what-ifs, the future was finally within his locus of control, more importantly, it was within our locus of control.

As the attorney's spouse, I never had much input about his work. The firm ruled all, from the billable hour to the client cases. But now, we are approaching this new enterprise as a true team; it is a family affair. Our dining room table is the new office. Our son has noticed that Dad's work attire is a little more casual. Our home is a little happier. We are embracing going solo together.

Welcome to the Solo Attorney's Spouse

This blog is meant to share our experiences as my spouse opens a solo law practice. More and more attorneys are finding themselves down-sized from big law, and my husband is no exception. The buzz about attorney layoffs is hot; it's on the news, in the blogs, and being felt in families across America.

In our case, my husband has decided to hang out his own shingle. This is not without some trepidation, but it is with the support of the solo attorney's spouse, me. So join us on this journey and share your experiences about going solo.