It’s exciting. You start practicing, open an office, get a few clients, and then you get a few more.
Some clients pay you well. Some have good cases. Some days are good. Some, not-so-much.
Your first year or two, it’s hit or miss and you wonder why you thought going out on your own was a good idea. But you hang in there (because you have no choice) and eventually, you gain some momentum and start making a living.
In a few more years, you might take inventory and realize you’re on your way to being one of those rich lawyers people talk about. They think you were an overnight success, but you know it’s not true.
Unless it was, in which case kudos to you and/or your rich daddy who set you up.
Most lawyers have to “put in their dues” before they make it. Five years of hard work, my law school torts professor told us it would take, but it will be worth it.
It was for him. He earned enough in his practice to retire and teach law school for “fun”.
Whatever your end game is, if you haven’t reached the level you want, if it’s been a lot longer than five years and you’re still not even close to your goal, there could be a lot of reasons but it might simply be this: there is no formula and everyone’s journey is different.
So maybe you just need more time.
For most of us, it takes time to learn the business and get good enough to do the job clients demand and deserve. Even more, it takes time to figure out how to bring enough (good) business and income to cover expenses and begin to chew down some the debt taken on to get through school and open that office.
So, don’t beat yourself up. Maybe you’re not failing, maybe you’re just expecting success too soon.
Give it time.
It will happen when it happens.
As a successful friend of mine puts it, “Stick and stay and you’ll get your pay”. He isn’t a lawyer but he is far more successful than most of the lawyers I know.
My friend didn’t expect overnight success. In fact, I’m pretty sure he didn’t expect to be successful at all. He got his ego out of the way and went to work.
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