Risk and reward await those who go on their own

An eccentric minority or an undervalued mainstay of legal services in outlying and deprived areas of the country?

Whatever your views on sole practitioners, with more than 550 such firms in operation, it’s clear that going it alone retains its appeal even in a climate where big firms seem all prevailing.

But why do people choose to practise on their own?

Being your own boss and reaping the rewards of your own endeavours seem to be top of the agenda for those who’ve taken the plunge.

“I think for my own self gratification I realised ultimately this is what I want to do,” said Nigel Bailey, who set up his own firm in Fort William last September.

“My perception was that I had little opportunity with the firm I was with and that as I was well established from a professional standpoint it was the right time to branch out on my own.”

For others, it was a series of circumstances that led to them operating on their own. In Frances Konopka’s case it was more by accident than design, but for the time being at least, she’s happy to work without another solicitor, running MK Solicitors in Cardonald.

“I have always worked in small firms, so the transition hasn’t been too difficult. There are the obvious benefits such as not having to go and consult with other people when you are making decisions about the best use of resources or the future strategy of the business. But then again when you have a problem you do not have the support of someone else to talk it through with.”

Duncan Henderson’s decision to fly solo as Inverness Legal Services for Criminal Advocacy was also a culmination of circumstances. The firm he was working for was being taken over and it seemed a good opportunity, if ever he was going to go out on his own, to do it at that juncture. He relishes “being my own boss and for the first time in my life having control over my own workload”.

Of course the unique demands of being a sole practitioner aren’t for everyone. Solitary practice requires a certain kind of personality.

“I think you have to be self sufficient”, says Konopka, “you no longer have someone you can go to and say what do you think of this. All the responsibility is at your door, so you have to have the confidence to handle all that.”

Henderson adds “different practices will require different skills. But essentially clients have to like and trust you and feel you are communicating with them properly.”

Bailey identifies “maturity” as being fundamental as well as being fairly level headed but says that most important is being trusted and established in the area in which you intend to practise.

But what of the reverse, moving back into the ‘big’ firm scenario?

Karyn Watt’s experience is slightly different. Having run her own firm for more than five years, she recently joined Anderson Strathern. Was it that the demands of running a sole practitioner firm are just too great to sustain over a long period?

“Particularly in the early years of running your firm there are sacrifices to make, there is not much of a life outside the office. You are finance director, marketing director, personnel director. You find yourself waking up in the middle of the night thinking I forgot to do that and sometimes, when I worked in the house, I would get up and do it, so it was intrusive.

“You can end up being reluctant to take holidays or when you do, you take the mobile phone with you and you’re not really getting away from it all.

“The positive side is that you are the master of your own fate and if you work hard you are the one who gets the benefit of it.

“However, you need to have a great deal of drive to make it work and probably to make it effective, you need not to have a lot of other commitments. For example, I think it would be really difficult to do if you had children.

“Eventually, I reached a point where I felt I could do no more to develop my practice and to be honest I felt that I was not able to dedicate myself to training and that was not fair on my younger staff. I was getting bogged down with administration rather than having the time to go out and see clients.”

As well as the personal sacrifices, there are, of course, financial considerations in setting up your own practice.

The days, if they ever really did exist, of banks lending to lawyers with impunity are long gone. Nor do legal firms seem to attract much sympathy from local enterprise companies. In fact, solicitors setting up a legal practice do not seem to be treated as a small business, or their principals as entrepreneurs.

Konopka looked into the prospects of grants but there didn’t seem to be anything available. “In some ways that’s quite unfair because we are a business like any other and there’s no reason why someone setting up one type of service business could potentially get a big grant and someone setting up in legal practice should not get the same assistance.”

Henderson had a similar experience of applying to local enterprise companies and finding there was not much available by way of support. In light of concerns about the shortage of solicitors in rural areas, he suggests the time might be ripe to reconsider that approach.

Nigel Bailey also reports that it was “made fairly plain to me that legal firms were not perceived to be seen to be adding to the economy”.

With funding scarce, it can pay to cut costs particularly in the early months. Henderson works from home, does his own stationery and has avoided expensive ledger books. He also works without a secretary. With fewer overheads, he feels he can operate at a higher level of profitability while doing a lower volume of work.

Watt agrees that it’s not always necessary to have an office these days. “I think in the past you really would have to have an office. It was standard practice for people to come in and meet with you to discuss things. I also don’t think there is even the same need for secretarial back-up. Most people are so computer literate that they can draft their own documents anyway.

“The chances are wherever you go now you would have to put in capital anyway. I think you have to accept that if you last the first year that is great and if you last three years you have really started to crack it.”

Having established a small firm, the issues for many sole principals then becomes do they continue to expand, take on someone else, and lose that independence, or keep juggling what business they have. Most business advice would warn of the dangers of standing still – and of course there’s the limitations in practice coverage that a sole practitioner can offer.

Konopka thinks that when the volume of business gets too great, she will take on a partner or assistant but is wary that in a small firm, if you don’t get on with someone, there is nowhere to hide. And Henderson admits that having established his own practice, it would be difficult to give up the independence he now cherishes.

“I think that from where I am sitting at the moment, I would not want to expand but I might review that in two or three years.”

In a sense, the dilemmas of all those finding their way running a small firm highlight that when it comes to making informed business decisions, there isn’t much available by way of advice. Being a good solicitor with a strong client base isn’t enough. Konopka thinks there isn’t enough help available from a business management perspective to those running their own practice.

“If there were more networking opportunities available to meet people who are in a similar situation to yourself, that would be useful.”

For any of you frustrated where you are, and for whom the dream is to start up on your own, the advice seems to be speak to as many people as you can before rushing in on a whim. But if you’re willing to make some sacrifices, the rewards and sense of personal fulfilment can be immense.

“You have to weigh it up,” says Konopka. “If you are sitting in a firm frustrated but getting a good salary, you have to consider whether it is worth the risk of starting a new business and foregoing much of a salary for a while. If you have family responsibilities, that has to be a big consideration.”

Henderson recommends “asking a lot of questions and listening very carefully to the answers. In the end, the decision has got to be what is right for you”.

Bailey says: “Think long and hard,” but points to the number of like-minded individuals who have made it work.

Rest assured, if it’s not what you hoped for, the skills you develop in running your own practice are valued elsewhere, even in a large partnership. Watt’s experience speaks for that.

“Running a small practice definitely makes you more money conscious, both in the manner in which you would act on behalf of the firm but also from the client’s perspective. You know that money is important to them and you should offer a value for money service because they are not coming to see you because they want to. If you lose a client it hurts, and it should not be any different in a bigger practice. I made it my job to go and see clients in their own place of business so I could get a better understanding of how they run their company and to enable me to give them much more practical advice.”