Going Solo; Confessions & Inspirations - Charles Cochran, Jr.
How I Went Solo and Rediscovered My Love of Practicing Law
Guest Blogger - Charles J. Cochran, Jr.
It was January 15, 2008 and I was driving downtown to attend a
pupilage meeting of the Scanlon Inn of Court, a social group of
attorneys and judges to which I belong. My days were full of thinking
about the direction my practice had taken when my two major retainer
clients had ended our agreements. One of them, a major source of my
income, had been sold to a major chain. The other had been transferred
to the children and I belatedly discovered that I did not have a good
enough relationship with them. However things were looking up as I had
taken a specialist exam with the Ohio State Bar Association, for labor
and employment law, and I intended to market that certification to the
best of my ability. I thought things were looking up.
It was
rainy and overcast and luckily I was only driving about 55 miles an
hour when a car spun over into my lane and I struck them. At the
emergency room the doctors indicated that I had only ruptured two disks
in my neck and that I was very lucky to have only suffered those
injuries.
My life changed almost immediately as I found that I
could not safely drive the 20 miles which I needed to go to the office
every day. When I was almost involved in another accident within two
weeks of the first, due to my physical problems with driving, I decided
that driving to work was no longer a choice for me. Over the months
that passed my physical condition did not improve and my partner was
complaining of my absence from the workplace. A solo practice was born.
I guess you could say that my motives in becoming a solo were not
“pure” since I really never had a choice. Over the past year I enjoyed
the opportunity to work as a solo and I must say that it has been very
interesting. I did not realize that I had not been taking time to
really think about the practice of law. I had been responding to my
case load but had never really thought about what the practice means or
whether I was really satisfied in being an attorney. I had time to
think and I am glad to say that I do like being an attorney.
I
have practiced for the past year doing all of the work myself and I
drew a great deal of satisfaction from that. In essence I intend to
keep my solo practice because of the satisfaction which it gives me in
working on matters without the interruption, costs, politics and travel
time which you find in a normal office setting. It is amazing how much
of the cost which is associated with having an outside office is not
really necessary to do the job and do it right. It is very surprising
to me but it appears my clients are not influenced by their need to
come to my house now instead of the office. Further, I am surprised at
the number of new clients who have hired me since moving my office home
and it appears my new surroundings do not concern them either. The only
real comment which I have received from any client is that it is very
convenient to have an attorney who can meet with them in the evening or
on a Saturday. I would not have provided this type of service before
since I believe it would take away too much of my time with my family.
I still dress up when my clients come to call and when it is necessary
to appear in public but I have found that it is not necessary to put on
a coat and tie in order to practice law. I handled a Court of Claims
Status conference, in a Vaccine case, just the other day over the phone
and, dare I say, in my slippers.
While I cannot say that I am
glad that I was involved in an automobile accident last year I can say
that if it had not happened I would probably not have tried to become a
solo and I would have missed out on a very rewarding experience.
by: Charles J. Cochran, Jr., Esq. and distilled from his blog Ohio Employment, Labor and Workers' Compensation Law Charles is based in Ohio and has been a practicing lawyer for 18 years.
I just happened to google your name, and saw this article you wrote about going solo. I'm glad that its working out for you and hope that it continues to do so. I do remember your case load, very confusing for me to keep up with! But I learned alot and it was rewarding. Thanks for hiring me when I was laid off and being understanding when my family left for Maine! Good luck and God bless!
Posted by: Deborah Bolen Miller | March 31, 2010 at 01:22 PM