Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program- OLAP

I recently received a letter from an articling student in the Toronto office of a large national firm. He was considering starting his own practice and leaving Bay Street behind when he came across my column “Surviving in private practice” ( Law Times, March 8, 2004 ) on the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program web site.

Although he had a guaranteed position awaiting him after he was called to the bar, he was interested in starting his own practice. He was leery, however, of leaving a comfortable situation for an unknown future. He was looking before he leaped and hoped I would be able to give him some advice.

The litmus test for me, after 35 grueling years of sole practice, is asking whether I would do it again. Years ago I had an irresistible itch for independence and scratched it. I would not scratch it the same way again.

I would also tell new lawyers to take with a grain of salt the usual moral injunction they hear from speakers at calls to the bar about the most valuable hours being those for which you never render a bill. Pro bono is very admirable, but the landlord does not want to hear about all your good works when it's time to pay the rent.

That's why I applaud Treasurer Frank Marrocco for his remarks at this year's calls to the bar. He talked about the social obligation that underlies the privilege of being a lawyer and the importance of public service, but he candidly stated that in the real world “you can't eat good works and you can't support a family if all your services are given away for free. You can't have much of a social life, never mind the good life, on zero dollars an hour.”

The recent study commissioned by the Law Society of Upper Canada's sole practitioner and small firm task force revealed some brutal facts. “Fully 25 per cent of sole practitioners who work alone reported an annual income of less than $50,000. Fifty-seven percent of sole practitioners who work alone...reported earning less than $100,000 annually.”

The freedom of a sole practitioner is illusory. The hours are not necessarily less than those of lawyers in large firms, nor is the stress. When you practice law, stress comes with the territory, but big firm lawyers get paid more for theirs.

I recently talked to a young lawyer who started his career with a monster firm, then entered sole practice for a few years, and then went to another large firm. I asked him why he did it and found his answer succinct but profound.

“I decided I want to spend my time practicing law, not running an office. I may have to worry about business development and attend more firm meetings than I like, but I have more time to practice pure law in a big firm. My clients can afford to have me practice law the way it should be practiced. I do all the research and preparation I need to get the best results.”

The best advice I can give to a new lawyer who wants to practice solo is not to do it right away. You will spend too much time reinventing the wheel and then needlessly spinning it. Specialize and learn the ropes from the best lawyer or firm you can get a job with. Develop the knowledge and the competence for private practice for which law school has not equipped you, and for which the newly revamped bar admission process will not adequately equip you either. Develop your sea legs before you set sail alone.

That being said, all is not grim for those who choose to become sole practitioners. There are resources now available that did not exist when I sallied forth on my own 35 years ago. The law society offers new practice workshops at nominal cost. The practice management resources on the law society's web site ( www.lsuc.on.ca) are superb, and there are substantive information resources as well.

There are also excellent materials on the LawPro ( www.lawpro.ca ) , PracticePro ( www.practicepro.ca) , Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program ( www.olap.ca ), and on the Ontario Bar Association ( www.oba.org) and Canadian Bar Association ( www.cba.org ) web sites.

Continuing education programs offered by the law society and the OBA are more accessible and relevant than when I was first starting out, although there is still an economic barrier which prevents many lawyers from attending as much CLE as they like.

The Ontario Legal Aid Plan is more lawyer-friendly than it was many years ago. There are resources on its web site ( www.legalaid.on.ca ) and you can electronically bill.

Do not misinterpret me. Sole practice has never been easy, and even in the age of the Internet, with helpful resources available on your desktop, it is still hard. Indeed, the surplus of resources can be overwhelming, and becoming and remaining technologically proficient has its own challenges, particularly in terms of money and time.

You need an independent temperament, the ability to constantly adapt, and eternal optimism to survive as a sole practitioner. You should also not expect a pot of gold.

Above all, you must take to heart the wisdom expressed in the Ethics of the Fathers; in order to be happy, you must be satisfied with your lot.

Gary Lloyd Gottlieb can be reached at: glgqc@interlog.com

The preceding article has been reprinted with permission from the author, Gary Lloyd Gottlieb. Mr. Gottlieb is a Toronto Sole Practitioner and a Law Society of Upper Canada bencher.

BACK TO SOLE PRACTITIONER PAGE

BACK TO MAIN CAREER PAGE