Ever wonder how fellow attorneys make it through their day? Are there tips and tricks you wish you knew? We have interviewed solos from across the state to share their hard-earned lessons that might help you practice too.
Next in our “How I Practice” series, meet Amy Symons. Amy is a Colorado native who earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of San Diego her J.D. from George Washington University Law School. Before founding The Law Office of Amy E. Symons, LLC, Amy worked as an attorney with Holland & Hart in Colorado Springs, Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver, and Ross, Marsh & Foster in Washington, DC.
Lauren is the coordinator of the Cherry Creek/Glendale CBA Solo Small Firm networking group.
- What are your areas of practice?
Estate planning and trust & estate administration
- Is there such thing as a typical day for you?
On the lawyering side, a typical day involves meeting with a client regarding their estate planning objectives, drafting estate planning documents, or advising clients through the probate process. As a solo, I find that the other hats that I wear means that there are no typical days because something atypical tends to pull on some of my time each day.
- Where do you practice? Do you have a stand-alone office or a home office?
I office in a boardroom executive suites set-up. I have a stand-alone office and there are a few other solo attorneys down the hall.
- What is the most rewarding thing about having your own practice?
That when it was finally profitable, it was all my baby.
- What are some of the challenges about having your own practice?
The various administrative things that come up on a near daily basis for which there is not an office manager or managing partner around to whom I can delegate.
- What are your must-have tech tools/apps?
Ha, I do not have them. I also miss an IT department that informs me of these things. I use Rocket Matter so I would say it is a must-have in terms of managing my time entry, client information, document transmission, and invoicing.
- How do you market your practice? How do you find new clients?
I am at the point where it is primarily word-of-mouth and referrals. In the past, we put some effort into search engine optimization, sponsorships, community involvement, and presentations, but now marketing hast taken a bit of a back seat.
- When and where do you interact with other attorneys?
I interact with my law partner and Of Counsel on a near daily basis. There are other attorneys in the office who I tug on sometimes. I am on the Solo Small Firm Council so I see other Council members regularly. Super Thursdays, CLE presentations, the Cherry Creek SSF lunch I host, Women’s Estate Planning Council. I married a lawyer in a different practice area so I get exposure to litigators through him, and now I look around and realize that a healthy number of my social friends are lawyers too.
- How do you stay informed with legal news/developments?
Attending Super Thursday (which is the Trust and Estate Sections monthly meetings) helps. CLEs help. Articles in professional publications help.
- If a fellow attorney decided they wanted to start their own practice, what is the one thing they should know?
That there is not just one thing, starting a practice means practicing law and running a business. Use as many resources as possible. Unless you are taking a practice with you when you go, in the beginning, you will have more time than clients. SO utilize that time to attend the CBA’s “Hanging Your Own Shingle,” attend as many solo-small firm events as you possibly can to meet other attorneys who can provide legal and psychological support, get good time-keeping and book-keeping systems in place before you need them to be good systems, consider investing in a business coach and drafting a business plan. The SBA and Denver Metro Chamber are often under-utilized resources for attorneys who are also running the firm.
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