Being a Thankful Lawyer, No Matter the Firm Size

Being a Thankful Lawyer, No Matter the Firm Size

The Attorney at Work blog this week reminds us to "bloom where we are planted."  Each firm practice setting -- solo, small firm, and big firm -- offers practitioners many opportunities to be thankful.

Blogger Merrilyn Astin Tarlton reminds us that:

In a Solo Practice

• You can dress and decorate how you please. No one is going to question your choice of socks or hair color (what purple streak?) or office accessory — even if it’s a Pomeranian.
• It’s a simple matter to change your mind and do things differently for a while.
• You don’t have to be a systems engineer to know what’s going on. It’s all happening within arm’s reach.
• A person can get a little peace and quiet around there.
• You don’t have to wait for other people to make up their minds about how much money you can take home.
• Firm name? A no-brainer.
• You can run like the wind and stop on a dime.

In a Small Firm

• You can say “Good morning” to every person in the office by simply walking to the coffee machine and back — and you even know their names!
• Firm management is rarely a mystery. Closed-door meetings are few and “transparency” is difficult to avoid.
• You know your colleagues’ practices, workloads, temperaments and networks. Cross-selling? It’s much easier to brag about someone else than to talk about yourself.
• You can try a thing or two without risking it all.
• If you’re lucky, your slow times are balanced out by your partner’s busy-busy ones.
• Your ideas and hard work can easily make a difference to the whole firm.
• You get credit when it’s due, but you don’t have to carry the load all alone, either.
• You may not have the deepest bench, but you always know who you can count on.

In a Big Firm

• You have other people who are paid to worry about technology, staffing, phone systems, insurance, emptying the trash, stocking the kitchen … you name it. Your job is to practice law.
• You show up everywhere prepackaged in the reputation of your firm’s good name.
• The financial ups and downs of your personal practice are easier to weather.
• There is security to be found in making decisions as a group.
• You get to learn about new cities and states (and maybe even countries) when you visit your firm’s multiple offices.
• You and your colleagues have star power! Just look at the next issue of The American Lawyer! It’s all about big firms.
• In the office after hours? You’re never alone because there’s always something going on.
• There’s never a problem finding enough people to pitch in, whether it’s to finish a deal, or for the bowling team, or for that Habitat for Humanity project.

What makes you thankful for your law practice setting?