"In addition to the celebrity status that I've garnered since this column catapulted me to a guest appearance on the Daily Show, the legal profession itself has experienced its own glow-up. The pandemic made remote practice mainstream, artificial intelligence is reshaping everything from research to drafting, and younger lawyers are demanding more humane work environments. But one concept remains constant: starting a law firm is a radical act."
"As the daughter of a chemist, I've always been intrigued by free radicals. These molecules, with their unpaired electrons, disrupt equilibrium. Free radicals' instability can cause damage linked to a wide range of diseases, but it can also be harnessed to boost immunity and generate energy. Lawyers who strike out on their own function in much the same way. By leaving the safety of a paycheck or the legitimacy of a firm name, they destabilize the profession's status quo."
"For decades, solos and small-firm lawyers have been treated as afterthoughts - lawyers who couldn't make it elsewhere. Biglaw was cast as the center of prestige and talent; solos as routine and unremarkable. But choosing ownership is not a fallback, it is always a choice (hence the title of my book, Solo by Choice). Launching a law firm is a lawyer's way of saying: I will not tolerate inequitable hiring, rigid hierarchies, toxic firm culture, or ceding my talent to causes I cannot abide."
The legal profession has shifted: remote practice became mainstream, artificial intelligence is reshaping research and drafting, and younger lawyers demand more humane work environments. Starting a law firm constitutes a radical act that destabilizes the profession's status quo. The instability of solo practice functions like free radicals—potentially damaging but also a source of reactivity and energy. Lawyers who start firms create new client relationships, develop alternative practice models, and expand meaningful access to justice. Solos and small-firm lawyers have long been marginalized, yet choosing ownership is an intentional refusal to accept inequitable hiring, rigid hierarchies, toxic cultures, or surrendering talent to objectionable causes.
Read at Above the Law
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