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Successful California Solo Taking Questions
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:41 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I've been reading these forums for years without posting and decided to answer some questions about going solo. Being solo is actually pretty awesome and if you have some social/business skills you can make very good money.
I don't really care too much about outing myself and may do so later even, so I'll give you some general (not too specific) details on my background.
I graduated from a T-20 school between 2008-2011. I was on law review (not on the editorial board), order of the coif, and summered at a big firm. I hated law review, and hated the big firm. I got no offered during the Summer because I came in every day at 9 and left every day at 4:30. I honestly was just there to collect my 30k over the Summer and then do something else after law school. I had decided at that point not to be a lawyer when I graduated.
After the bar I worked at a non-law job for about a year. I was getting paid 70k plus a small bonus working a normal 9-5 type job I found through a friend. During that time I started helping some friends with basic legal issues (DUIs, auto accidents, etc) on the side and found out I actually liked the work. Something about doing that type of work actually makes you feel like you're a real lawyer.
Once I had some clients, I quit my job and started my own practice. I handle criminal, personal injury, and a small about of civil litigation. I'm running about 100 active files on average right now. I keep my overhead low.
I have a $150 virtual office to meet clients/get mail. I have one full-time assistant (who works in my home office) and I use a handful of contract attorneys when necessary (appearances, motions, etc). I've done five solo trials (both bench and jury) and lost one of them.
My net income for 2013 was 200k and for 2014 300k. This year should be slightly better than last year. I have a few large PI cases (surgery cases) that have meditations coming up.
My quality of life is pretty awesome. Although I do work pretty much every day (including weekends). I usually start working around 8:30 (at home) and wrap up around 5. I schedule most of my client meetings on two days of the week and then going into my virtual office to do them all in a row. Most of my PI clients I never meet (we just e-mail and I mail them a check at the end).
On weekends I'll put in an hour or two per day when I have some free time. I don't mind that part though because I can fit it in whenever I want. I'm in SoCal so if I want to take a day off for the beach or Disneyland I can do whatever I want. Since my cases are mostly PI and criminal, I never have an emergency deadline for anything.
Anyways, I'm going out with friends today but I'll check my phone periodically and respond to any questions. Being a solo really can be a good job, and if you forget about prestige for a minute you might actually even enjoy your life.
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:59 AM Author: milky bateful center have you ever gone up against a biglaw "litigator"?
have you ever sucked a cock? |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:06 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Depends what you consider big law. There are a lot of large insurance defense firms.
I've had several cases against Macy's and they use Manning and Kass (which is fairly large). They always try to remove cases to federal court and then I get them remanded. The partner who works for Macy's, Jeffrey Lenkov (google him if you want to have a laugh), is a huge asshole (and really funny if you have thick skin).
He called me up and told me I filed a motion to remand because I'm a chickenshit (his actual words). I got the case remanded and called him to rub it in his face. We settled shortly after in mediation.
No cock sucking. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:08 AM Author: Blathering institution cumskin what if that dude is a poster here? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319066) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:12 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Like I said, I'm not concerned about being outed. Also, he would probably think it's funny. He gets pleasure pushing people's button. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319083) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:53 AM Author: magical spot Ha. Took your advice and did the google on him; his JD is from Northern Illinois University School of Law, which I only recently found out was formerly Lewis University School of Law (until Northern acquired it in 1980-ish).
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:58 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison If you want a laugh:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Macys-West/Los-Angeles-California-90017/Macys-West-Attorney-Jeffrey-M-Lenkov-Macys-breach-of-duty-has-left-me-permanently-disa-737146 |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:09 PM Author: motley nursing home background story 180 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319335) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:23 AM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house I just got started in CA shit law a few months ago. From one of my cases I know USC also uses Lenkov. I didn't know anything about him, so thanks for the heads up brah. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319131) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:25 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison You doing plaintiff's side? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319139) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:28 AM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house Defense. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319152) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:35 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison If you make a throwaway e-mail and post it up I'll shoot you my info if you want to get any advice. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319180) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:36 AM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw Can I email you too brother? I have a throaway acct but dont want to post it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319186) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:07 PM Author: zombie-like stage community account Just use Guerrilla Mail. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319614) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:48 AM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house I'll take you up on that when I'm back on an actual computer and not my iPhone. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319229) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:19 PM Author: buff nubile church building you realize it's easier to email things on an iphone, right? you dumb faggot. if you don't want to contact him, then just say so. don't make up these silly bitchmade excuses. enjoy your life failure, faggot. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319680) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:22 PM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house I have to create a throw away email account first. Sorry about your PMS. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319701) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:25 PM Author: buff nubile church building im loling so hard at you right now you silly bitchmade simpleton. enjoy never being good at anything at all, you fucking failure. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319726) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:48 PM Author: Disrespectful Location Legend 180 schtick reminds me of the olden days of xoxo mentally ill mega posters.
Wait - your name's not Ted, is it? |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 1:02 AM Author: tantric haunted graveyard He's also the azn dentist. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27339169) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 12:26 AM Author: aromatic hairless range yea korea is 180 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27347178) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2021 7:22 PM Author: zombie-like stage community account We haven't had a Lenkov update in a while. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#42569792) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:03 AM Author: laughsome theater How did you have any idea what you were doing if you started out with basically 0 experience (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319046) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:10 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison First, I purchased malpractice insurance (you can get a $500 100k/300k policy through lawyers mutual your first year of solo practice).
Second, personal injury and criminal law are not rocket science. For the civil stuff I joined the local consumer attorney group and found a couple mentors. They gave me sample letters (rep letters, demand letters, drop letters, etc), and also sample litigation docs (complaints, discovery, etc). For the criminal stuff, I have a family member who does criminal law exclusively, and I would just call her and pick her brain as needed.
As for civil litigation, I started that after I had been litigating PI cases and had already done a trial. So it wasn't a mystery by then. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:11 AM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw LOL what? You just found a random lawyer to send you free docs and he was like "ok dude!!" (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319081) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:12 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Yes, I don't know how you find it that hard to believe. Also, my attorney group has a listserve that has hundreds of samples accessible to any member. It's super common among attorney listserves.
This shit isn't hard. That's why I posted this thread to begin with. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:13 AM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw I've just never heard of it. How does an aspiring solo find such a group/mentor? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319090) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:15 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison https://www.caala.org/
Look under the tab litigation resources. See where it says "document bank & resource library"?
https://www.casd.org/index.cfm?pg=memberBenefitsNew
See where it says "document bank"?
I'm a member of both groups. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:16 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I almost never draft anything from scratch. Why reinvent the wheel. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319106) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:18 AM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw Dude thank you. I've been looking for shit like this forever. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319112) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:24 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison No problem. That's why I'm here. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319132) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:08 AM Author: Trip Property Prole That happens all the time. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348264) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:16 AM Author: chrome bonkers lodge what are your thoughts on someone who does biglaw for a financial cushion and then leaps into the world of shitlaw? do you think it's straightforward enough to hit the ground running? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319107) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:22 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison The work is REALLY easy compared to BigLaw. However, the skill set is vastly different. If you're willing to spend the time to learn the knowledge isn't that hard to acquire. You could master both areas easily in a year if you're committed. Also, I hope you're comfortable in court because you'll be going there a lot.
The only hard part really is getting the clients. Networking with attorneys is almost worthless. Network with your non-attorney friends. Tell literally everyone you meet you are a lawyer and what you do. Build an e-mail list and send out monthly updates. If you're doing PI and criminal make friends with doctors, tow truck drivers, body shops, insurance agents and bailbondsmen.
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:26 AM Author: chrome bonkers lodge as far as the crim law work, how shaky did you feel with the procedural stuff before you made your first appearance? i have a background in a niche area of shitlaw where i worked as a paralegal but have given thought so running a practice akin to what you do.
also, from a shitlaw litigation persepctive - i still have this hard-to-kick striver mentality and keep telling myself that i should do corporate to develop some skill set for non-legal work down the line. i know that shitlaw is litigation. do you think it matters if i do corporate as a biglaw associate? it almost seems like biglaw lit develops a totally different skillset than shitlaw lit. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:36 AM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw IMHO biglaw doesnt prepare you to solo/shitlaw in any respect whatsoever. Maybe in terms of how to not talk to people, if anything. I'm not saying you shouldn't do biglaw first. The money is too good. But choosing corp vs lit based on shitlaw aspirations really doesnt make any sense. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319181) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:39 AM Author: chrome bonkers lodge this is precisely what i thought. thank you. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319196) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:58 PM Author: Puce fragrant library idk... in lit at least you learn to write up a complaint, discovery requests, briefs on motions to dismiss, etc. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319568) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:38 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I knew all the big concepts just fine from talking to my family member. But there are little things you just have to learn as you go.
Funny story. When I first did a DUI I didn't know you had to let the clerk know you were ready so your case could get called. I was sitting there for like 2 hours and all the other lawyers got called. I asked the clerk what was up and she said "are you ready now?"
Even though biglaw litigation is totally different, learning the basics of litigation will help you with shitlaw later. Corporate work will be zero help.
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:25 AM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house Why don't you do your own motions and appearances? That's my favorite part. I'm new to this shit law thing though. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319136) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:35 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Well first off, my appearance attorneys charge me $75-90 per appearance. So if I have something far away, for the price of gas I can just have them do it for me.
Secondly, there are a lot of non-substantive hearings to do (proof of completion hearings, status conferences, case management conferences, trial setting conferences, etc) and you spend 90% of your time just sitting waiting to get called. The time is better spent getting new clients or settling good cases.
Also, writing motions is the worst. I hate writing, so I make my contract attorneys do it. There is almost no law and motion in PI anyways. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:38 AM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw So which legal aspects do you handle yourself? Just filing the complaint and talking to client/opposingi counsel? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319192) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:42 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison The majority of what I do is getting clients, keeping them updated and happy, going to court for substantive hearings, and dealing with adjusters/attorneys/prosecutors.
I don't even draft complaints most of the time. I use form complaints for almost everything and my assistant just preps those and I sign them. My assistant has a complaint checklist. Here it is:
1. Summons* 2. Civil Case Cover Sheet* 3. Statement of Location (Los Angeles Only)* 4. Complaint* 5. Complaint for Motor Vehicle a. Cause of Action b. Attachment 6. Complaint for Negligence a. Cause of Action b. Attachment 7. Guardian Ad Litum (only if there is a minor)
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:46 AM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house What do you think about the LA PI hub downtown? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319217) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:49 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I love it and hate it. No more case management conferences and they don't do OSCs RE: service anymore.
The downside is that department 1 can send you out to any courthouse in LA the day of trial (so it makes it hard to settle a case since you don't know if it will be a plaintiff's friendly judge/jury).
You also only have like 20 minutes to make a 170.6 motion if you don't like your judge. Since the internet sucks in that courthouse it's hard to do research on the spot too.
Also, getting a trial in less than a year is basically impossible now with budget cuts. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:50 AM Author: arrogant pit wrinkle So basically you have very good social skills/networking abilities?
Just trying to imagine the aspies on this board trying to do the same |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:56 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I have a friend who has a practice and his brother is his "marketing manager". Basically my friend is super anti-social and never talks to clients but his brother has really good people skills. His brother brings in all the business and my friend does all the work. His brother even negotiates prelit with adjusters.
My point is you can have a successful practice even without social skills. Just hire someone to do that part. Running a business is about knowing your weaknesses and fixing them. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:10 PM Author: arrogant pit wrinkle I'm not a lawyer, but my cousin is. he's stuck in shitlaw. I hope he does this, because he's a pretty charismatic guy and also very smart, but got screwed by going to a TTT. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319629) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:36 PM Author: gay stag film new version how did you find contract attorneys to do motions? how much do they charge? doesn't it take some time to bring them up to speed on the case (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321744) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:26 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Appearances aren't usually for anything substantive. Here is a real e-mail I sent to my appearance attorney:
"[NAME],
Can you cover an appearance for me on Wednesday at Van Nuys, Dept 113 (8:30am)?
Client: [CLIENT NAME] Case: [CASE NUMBER] Facts: DUI was pled down to a speed exhibition. Client has proof of VIP and restitution hearing. I haven't been able to get in touch with the client for a couple weeks (he has brain damage from illness and is a little spacey) but he told me a month ago he completed the VIP program. If he gets me proof of completion prior to Wednesday I will e-mail it over to you. Also, victim is not showing up so the prosecutor will just take the restitution hearing off calendar. My client has auto insurance and believes they took care of it already.
Let me know."
Edit: thought you said appearances. See the bottom of this thread for info on motions and how much I pay. As for getting up to speed, my cases aren't that complicated dude. I usually can do it in a 20 minute phone call. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:38 AM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop 180 thread dood (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319191) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:49 AM Author: magical spot ^ Seriously 180. I usually read XO just for shitsengiggles, but this dood seems 100% legit. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319235) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:50 AM Author: pungent cobalt university legal warrant cr.
respect to OP.
there should be more shit like this on here. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 2:49 PM Author: dark vivacious mental disorder (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27320391) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 3:25 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27327332) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:50 AM Author: outnumbered cruise ship 20 minutes to 8 in the morning on a sunday wtf, i'll make my first post and answer questions yeah, no |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:55 AM Author: milky bateful center how many of your clients are niggers? do you dislike niggers? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319269) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:57 AM Author: disturbing thirsty personal credit line corner i'm thinking about taking a large scholly from my state flagship school and doing this in my homestate. would you recommend this kind of life to a young bro who had a fed gov job type career? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319279) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:00 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I don't know anything about you. My general advice is don't go to law school because most people end up working for a firm and being unhappy. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319295) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:08 PM Author: disturbing thirsty personal credit line corner fair enough. looks like ill never make 100k+... but that chill never-went-to-law-school vibe
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:59 AM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house Do you send all your auto collision clients straight to the chiro for 2-3 months on lien and if so, do you care how transparent that is?
This is my biggest pet peeve so far. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:03 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I have a ton of doctors who treat on a lien (chiro, neuro, ortho, podiatrist, MRI/X-Ray/CT).
I usually have them see an MD first who recommends them to chiro (usually 2-4 months). If it is a big impact and there is decent pain I send them for MRI and then ortho consult. If the policy is large enough I have them do pain management (epidurals, facet injections, etc) if they want it.
Insurance companies will always say your client overtreated, was overbilled, etc. Don't let that bother you. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:07 PM Author: Cerebral step-uncle's house Everyone over bills, so that doesn't bother me. I just wish more PI guys were like you and sent their clients to an MD first and went from there.
It's harder to get my clients to settle when the bullshit is painfully transparent. That just gets them pissed off and makes them want to take it trial to "send a message." |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:02 PM Author: motley nursing home background story ty for this thread dooder.
Not in CA but would love to work for myself at some point, provided I don't end up like Jimmy McGill. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:07 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Friends just arrived so I'm heading to the gun range now. I'll respond more when I get there. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319323) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:08 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig 180 brother this guy knows his shitlaw and he probably knows who i am.
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Date: February 15th, 2015 12:59 PM Author: Puce fragrant library what do you do about overhead - i.e. expert fees for those surgical cases. Don't you need a report before mediation, and doesn't that run like 50k? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319572) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:08 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison First, you usually don't hire experts prior to mediation. The defense will do an independent medical exam though. I usually wait until closr to trial to designate experts. Secondly, 99% of cases aren't 50k in fees. Usually ortho, billing expert (for reasonableness of fees) life care planner, and biomechanic. In basic cases just billing expert and maybe ortho. I did a trial with no experts on a small case. We won just fine. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319620) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:09 PM Author: translucent well-lubricated area tattoo This sounds like flame, doesn't ring true 100 active case files for a solo seems like an insane work load to manage and still have a high QOL. Also no way would overhead be low with that many case files.
I think this guy is "dream-lifestyle u jelly" trolling us. This guy would literally be in the 99.99%ile of lawyers from his class in CA, and would be on the cover of every lawyering magazine in CA. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:12 PM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw I mean, it probably is flame, but at least he had an ounce of practical advice unlike most of the flamey solo shitlawyers here. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319637) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:19 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I'm at the gun range. I'll post my redacted quickbooks summary for 2014 when I get home in a few hours. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319679) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:22 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge wtf are you even talking about. guy makes between 200-300k and you think he's in the top .01% and should be getting zillions of accolades? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319707) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:34 PM Author: translucent well-lubricated area tattoo For solos in his class year, yes. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319793) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:34 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge don't think it's that crazy. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319798) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:38 PM Author: translucent well-lubricated area tattoo He said 300k net. That means he'd realistically be grossing closer to 400k, which is more than most corporate peeps in his class year would be making. That's an absurd achievement if true. And he claims to not be working that hard - i.e, he could be netting closer to half a mil if he wanted. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319825) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:36 PM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw For 2010-2011 class years it sounds a bit absurd. For 2008 (or slightly earlier as would be the case if OP is smart) it's not that unrealistic. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319813) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:41 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Also, just to add, 100 files (mostly PI and crim) is not crazy at all for a solo with a full-time assistant (and I use contract attorneys as needed). If you actually did that type of work you would know. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319846) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:54 PM Author: translucent well-lubricated area tattoo So you net 300k, what was your gross? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319936) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:57 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Close to 400k. Like I said, I'll post all my numbers in a few hours. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319953) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 1:59 PM Author: translucent well-lubricated area tattoo So you average about ~4k/year from each case file. Do you ask for a big retainer? How do you find criminal clients willing to pay that much? A DUI isn't worth 4k is it? Most of those plead out and are around like 1k in my area. Are you representing drug dealers or something? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27319966) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 2:05 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Most are PI so no retainer. On civil cases 5k retainer and 250/hr. The majority of crim cases are drugs and DUI. I charge a flat fee 5k for felonies and 2.5k for misdemeanors (1k extra if it is a 2nd or 3rd DUI). Trial is separate but almost all plead out. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27320024) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:56 PM Author: gay stag film new version do dui's getting confusing with license issues? will you take a dui if they have other open criminal matters? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321517) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:01 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison In California for a DUI there are parallel proceedings. One criminal and one civil (administrative per se hearing). You have to schedule the civil hearing within 10 days or you automatically get suspended for 6 months on a first DUI (30 days after the arrest).
The hearing is a joke though. It is run by a DMV employee who is the finder of law, finder of fact, and prosecutor. They rule on your objections and put on the case for the DMV. I've only won a couple of them and that's because the police made huge errors.
Biggest part of dealing with the license is helping my clients get their restricted license later on (sr-1, ab541 enrollment, etc). |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:31 PM Author: gay stag film new version you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about this shit for only being out 2 years, and no da/pd experience. how'd you learn it?
also, how do you close/ sing up the dui clients? do you sell them that you can get them off, or just tell them you'll try to get them a very good deal? my biggest problem is i want their expectations to be low, but this doesn't help when trying to sign them up |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:37 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison First, I'm not two years out (said graduating class was in the range of 2008-2011).
I don't even discuss expectations with clients most of the time. When I get a call I explain the criminal law process (DMV hearing, arraignment, pretrial, etc), tell them a little bit about the department they are going to be in (I know most of the departments pretty well), and then e-mail them sign the paperwork or meet them in person to sign. I never ask someone if they want to hire me, I just treat them like it's a foregone conclusion - it works really well.
It may come as a shock but most people are scared and just want someone to make all the decisions for them. By the time they call me I don't have to do much selling.
It also helps that I get most cases via referrals so as long as I seem nice and knowledgeable on the phone they are probably hiring me.
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:42 PM Author: gay stag film new version interesting, how did you develop your referral sources? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321774) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:48 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I said it earlier in the thread. Just let everyone you meet, EVER, know you're a lawyer and exactly what areas you practice in. I mean I literally have handed a business card to every single person I've met since I started my own practice.
Once you do a few cases, tell those stories to people (one time I settled this case for 50k, etc). Non-lawyers find it interesting and it makes them think of you as an expert. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 10:05 PM Author: Thriller mother police squad lol at someone paying 5k jfc
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Date: February 20th, 2015 4:55 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison What's so crazy about that? If you're facing significant jail-time it is totally worth it. For example a client was recently facing 4 years of state jail time and I got him 6 months county. He was out in two weeks. Was that not worth 5k? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27357893) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:09 AM Author: medicated crawly kitchen 100 case load isn't that bad for a solo given a good assistant. I run about 150 PI with 2 assistants and maybe work 40 hours a week (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348267) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:51 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Here is my P&L from last year since you guys think I'm a flame (I literally just pulled it from quickbooks):
http://imgur.com/yOCcqvH |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:01 AM Author: medicated crawly kitchen wtf you're freaking me out. My 2nd year solo P/L is damn near to the dollar the same as yours. I honestly had to double take to make sure it wasn't someone trolling me (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348249) |
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Date: March 14th, 2015 10:03 AM Author: Talented Office Giraffe How do decide how much to pay yourself?
How often do you pay yourself?
How do you determine what is a business expense vs. something you should pay for out of your member's draw (e.g., cell phone, car lease, T&E, etc)? Since you said you give your card to almost literally everyone you meet couldn't every meal and drink be T&E? |
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Date: March 14th, 2015 5:02 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I base my salary on what I want my SEP limits to be for retirement. Since I wanted 50k I set my salary at 200k (because you are capped at 25% of your salary).
I pay myself once a year. Basically in December I write one check to the franchise tax board (around 20k), one check to the IRS (around 80k), one giant check for me (around 110k) for after tax salary, one check to Vanguard for my SEP (50k), and one check for my distribution (31k).
I then put around 25k aside for the next year and save/invest the rest of my salary/distribution. Besides the 25k I put aside, we live off my wife's salary.
As far as deductions, I am probably on the more conservative side. Yes, I could probably write off more meals and vacations, but for the nominal benefit I would get, it isn't worth the risk of an audit. Also, meals and entertainment are only 50% deductible anyways. I stick to basic things like internet, cell phone, office supplies, auto expenses, moderate meals/entertainment, association dues, etc. If I get audited I would have zero worries.
I have a few friends who write off basically all their personal expensive (Costco trips, market trips, the movies with their kids, etc). They are terrified of an audit though and it is not worth the extra stress to save a few k. I'm already doing very well and being able to sleep at night is worth being more conservative. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:55 PM Author: gay stag film new version bro you know anything about ssdi? seems like if you screen the right cases that can be an easy 5-6k a case. about 10-15hrs of work? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321511) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:56 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Don't know anything about it. I don't even know any attorneys that do it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321516) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 12:01 AM Author: gay stag film new version binder and binder made like 60 mil in a year nationwide doing this. you seriously don't know anything about social security disability? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324208) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 7:15 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park it seems really easy too (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27329036) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:04 AM Author: medicated crawly kitchen Ssdi sucks. You don't even have to be an attorney to do it in my state.
You need huge volume to make $ and the clients can be terrible. All the downsides to PI clients with little upside -- fees are capped. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:56 PM Author: bearded round eye How many small businesses have you sued on behalf of some "disabled" clients? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321518) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:59 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Do you mean for ADA violations or for people injured on the premises of a business? If the former, none. If the latter, barely any. Usually my premises liability cases are at large businesses (markets, department stores, malls, etc). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321533) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 5:58 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Will you hire me if you get more business (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321525) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:03 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison No, sorry. I have no ambition to expand my practice. I like my workload and don't want to manage more people. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321557) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:04 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig 120 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321559) |
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Date: February 9th, 2019 4:56 PM Author: Stirring bistre bawdyhouse mexican (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#37754042) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2021 10:34 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Well, this didn't end up being true... (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#42570811) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:33 PM Author: gay stag film new version what do you do for advertising? do you have website that ranks well in google? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321725) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:52 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I do zero SEO/google ad words/avvo/etc. I get almost no traffic from my website.
Most of my paid advertising (which is only about 6k/year) is attorney referral services.
The majority of my clients come from word of mouth. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:58 PM Author: gay stag film new version what kind of attorney referral services? like buying leads from total legal? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322306) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:19 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I don't know what total legal is. But something like 1-800-thelaw2. Basically you pay monthly and they guarantee X number of phone calls forwarded to your firm. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322454) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 9:36 PM Author: gay stag film new version gotcha, total legal is pretty similar, they forward leads entered on their sites, they've got 100s. what practice area(s) do you get the leads for? and are you pretty good at converting them? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322999) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:36 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop WTF r u doin paying urself a 200k salary on that revenue? You are pwning urself tax wise. U could get away with paying 100k and taking the rest as distributions. Save at least 10k in taxes, prob more.
Also how much you pay for your asisstant? She works full time? |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:42 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I am paying myself 200k in salary because I want to have a huge SEP IRA contribution. SEP max contribution is 25% of your salary. If I paid myself 100k I would be limited to 25k in my SEP. I end up saving more in taxes this way than if I claimed 100k and K1'ed the rest. I also want to hoard retirement savings as much as possible. Look at the line for my retirement contribution expense (50k). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321776) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:48 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop Yeah but you can make an employee contribution up to 18,500 and then your employer contribution up to 25% of your wages. Combined its capped at around 50k total.
by my count you could pay yourself a salary of around 125k and still max out the 50k combined 401k contribution. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:49 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison FICA caps anyways around 125k. All you save after that is medicare taxes which is like 2.9%.
Also, if you are a solo and you are K-1ing that much of a percentage of your profit it could trigger an audit. I've checked statistics. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:55 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop I guess, in CA you have to pay 1.5% tax on your distribution income too so I suppose the difference wld be 2.9% medicare tax minus 1.5% distribution tax=1.4% on 75000 ... so yeah that is not much
I may make 300k this year though and I intend to only pay myself like 100k in wages. Fuck the IRS |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:59 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Are you a solo also? I'll post up a throw away e-mail later. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321835) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:01 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop Yeah, I'm doing 180 too and shld make 250k to 300k this year, maybe double that if this one case turns out as expected. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321844) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:03 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Yea, I'm still waiting for that seven figure case lol. I have a couple surgery cases that may come close to that this year. One of them is a broken back, pelvis, and hip from falling off a 20 foot ladder. Guy couldn't walk for four months and will have mobility problems for the rest of his life. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321854) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:04 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop PI seems either hit or miss. Lots of 5k to 10k cases but then a good cases is into six figures. My area is more like 30k to 40k avg settlements. Hard to get significantly more than that, but its generally rare (under 20%) of my cases that settle for under 35k
So my business plan is just to make it up on supply. Do around 22 cases in a year and settle them all for avg 35k, and I am pulling over 300k since I take 40% contingency |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:06 AM Author: Trip Property Prole dude, that's tommy t, be careful (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348259) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:59 PM Author: cruel-hearted dashing whorehouse why arent you doing a single person 401k instead? just 1099 or marry your secretary to qualify
NM just saw that thread up above |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:38 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig I wish I was you brother jelly as fuck (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321752) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:52 PM Author: boyish frisky boiling water juggernaut have you ever had to handle extensive discovery?
what's your fee arrangement like with contract attorneys?
typical size ($) of your cases? largest case?
you definitely sound like a shitlaw guru who's been practicing for 10+ years. hard to believe you ~30 yrs old?
how did you learn all these different practice areas so thoroughly? i know you had mentors but in my experience, it's often tough to ask for help on a lot of these things without having to pay or bring them in. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 6:58 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I don't know what you mean by extensive. But no, I've never had a case with crazy discovery that couldn't be answered in less than 10 hours.
I pay my contract attorneys $75-90 per appearance anywhere in socal. I have a few contract attorneys that charge me anywhere for $15-25/hr for law and motion. There are a lot of attorneys out there looking for work.
My average PI case settles between 10k-20k. My largest PI case so far is 300k (although I settle a lot of 100k cases all the time), and I settled a contract case for a million in 2012 that was blended so I got 5% of that plus hourly.
I learned by handling a shitload of cases. I've done over 500 cases since I started. I have way more litigation experience than a lot of biglaw partners at this point. Shitlaw lawyers are generally pretty cool dudes. They are the few genuinely happy attorneys I meet. I can always call/e-mail them with questions. Also, I used to post all the time on my listserve for advice and people would always help. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:03 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop 180. I too have noticed that solo attorneys are the only happy lawyers I ever meet. They dont deal with nearly as much BS.
And agree re the litigation experience. A typical junior partner in BIGLAW who has practiced for say 10 years has done maybe 3-4 cases a year so 40 total. I can do 20 a year in my practice area. Hell after two years of practicing solo I'll be around 35 cases total. And I do ALL the work from start to finish whereas in BIGLAW ppl are just doing parts. I alaready feel I have way more exp than most BIGLOL pp |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:06 PM Author: boyish frisky boiling water juggernaut thanks. i'm feeling a little inspired though i've already made up my mind to quit law. i'll be forwarding this thread to a friend who is considering hanging a shingle.
"extensive" meaning depositions and drawn out discovery disputes (motions to compel, protective orders, etc). |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:07 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop IMHO everyone shld fucking at least try to do solo for one year before quiting law entirely.. it is completely different from working for others in a firm and 100 times more enjoyable at least if u are the type of person who doesnt mind taking charge of EVERYTHING incl shit like having copy paper, stamps, mailing shit, advertising, running a website, etc (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321895) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:00 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig 15 to 25 for law and motion contract work sounds like absolute flame (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322316) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 1:56 AM Author: Curious Duck-like Indian Lodge Idiot if you're saying he could probably get away with charging less i agree. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324860) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:11 PM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw Damnit I really enjoyed this thread until you admitted hiring attorneys for $15-25/hour. I would feel miserable if I took advantage of fucked over law grads that way. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322395) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:21 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison $15-25/hour is not a flame. Do you not know how many underemployed and unemployed lawyers there are out there? Also, it's not like I am taking advantage of anyone. There are hundreds of lawyers in my city lining up to take on any type of legal work.
Most of my contract attorneys are new solos who don't have enough work to keep themselves busy and need filler. Also, the work isn't biglaw law and motion caliber stuff. I usually give them a sample and they take our facts and draft a motion. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:22 PM Author: lemon vigorous telephone bbw Do you think they generally overbill you to make up for the low hourly? $25/hour isn't that bad I guess. $20/hour is fine for someone waiting for bar results. But $15/hour? Jesus. I wouldn't be able to look that dude in the face. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322481) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:29 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison They probably overbill a little bit but I let them know up front how much time I expect the project to take. If they are abusive I just don't use them again. As of right now I have a few reliable guys/girls that I use. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322520) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 8:31 PM Author: boyish frisky boiling water juggernaut if you're some underemployed/unemployed lawyer who's already doing doc review or in between shit with lots of time on your hands, $25/hr to churn out some fill in the blank motion and not even having to sign your name to it is actually not a bad deal. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27322530) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:46 PM Author: gay stag film new version how are you getting these pi cases? isnt' a blood bath to get these cases with all the attorney advertising thats out there - radio, tv, billboards, internet (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323506) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:46 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig OP is named Joseph S. Nourmand (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323513) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:03 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Read the thread. I've covered this extensively already. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323661) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:40 PM Author: gay stag film new version that seems like a lot of pi cases just from letting everyone you know you're a lawyer (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324013) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 12:22 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Think whatever you want. I posted my P&L in the thread. Look at my marketing expenses. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324375) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 2:27 PM Author: gay stag film new version i'm not doubting you. you said you spend 6k on the referral service, what's the other 10k marketing spent on? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326825) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:13 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I'm not saying I do this but sometimes people refer you cases who are not lawyers. I think you can figure out the rest. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328221) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 7:14 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park seems a little risky to record that in your books as a marketing expense (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27329024) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 7:14 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Hitting the gym. Be back later to answer more questions. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27321942) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 9:40 PM Author: racy tanning salon (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323047) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:39 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Based on the testimony of the neuropsych you can get big money (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323465) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:54 PM Author: racy tanning salon (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323574) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:03 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Idk man broad question for limited info (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323668) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:59 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison It really depends on what kind of issues he is having. Just saying brain injury is pretty broad. Is it memory issues, motor function, speech problems? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323621) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:01 PM Author: racy tanning salon (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323648) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:04 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison If he testifies well and seems credible, seven figures. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323685) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:08 PM Author: racy tanning salon (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323719) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:10 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Same answer. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323736) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:11 PM Author: racy tanning salon Thanks. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323744) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 10:37 PM Author: Ruddy Gas Station Cuckold how many depos do u take a year (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323448) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:02 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I take maybe 10 depositions a year. Most cases are accepted liability and there is no point in deposing the driver. Most depositions I take are expert depositions and like I said earlier I don't usually get to that point too often. I defend maybe one every week or two. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323656) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:07 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop What percent of your cases do you have to retain an expert and pay them to draft a report? Doesnt that add up to significant costs? How much do you spend on experts a year? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323715) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 1:52 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I rarely retain experts. Most cases aren't litigated, and most litigated cases settle after discovery and deposition (some have an independent medical exam). The costs aren't crazy. Most experts can get retained for about 3-5k. The last expert I designated was Wexco (Brad Avrit's office) on a trip and fall at a community college. Client fell in a pothole and I had them go out and look at it.
Also, I don't know why you keep mentioning "reports." Reports are useless and I almost never get reports. They are hearsay, so how does that help you in any way? If you have an expert they are going to be testifying. In very, I mean very, rare circumstances I may have a report for a mediator. |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 2:03 AM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Reports are good for pre litigation settlement value as a plaintiff, if you don't mind having your experts identity known and the results seen and potentially scrutinized a good report increases early settlement value. I'd never provide an expert report as a defense attorney, leaving plaintiffs guessing is more effective. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324893) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 2:07 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Lol. I've never in my life heard of a plaintiff's attorney retaining experts prior to litigation (and I know A LOT of PI attorneys). That's honestly insane. The only exception is I may call my premises liability expert to see if it is worth taking a case since I don't know industry standards on a lot of safety stuff.
Maybe you mean treating doctors? If you mean the treating doctors, they always write reports once the client is done treating. I turn those all over prelit (insurance carriers won't settle without them), but those doctors aren't necessarily my experts. |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 2:08 AM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig I've seen a few in defending products cases, the reports got my carriers to settle (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324934) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:09 PM Author: stimulating topaz dragon What kind of insurance do you have? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323730) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:22 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Malpractice?500k/500k. Runs me about $3500/yr. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323819) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:18 PM Author: kink-friendly pocket flask toilet seat How many solos that you interact with a genuinely smart and talented? 95% of solos I meet are idiots. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323789) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:28 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Not too many. A lot are solos because they are idiots or socially awkward. The successful ones have good social skills and are reasonably bright. The top PI attorneys (the ones who do huge 8 figure cases) are as smart as any attorney I've met. Google Michael Alder, Gary Dordick, Brian Panish, Arash Hammampor (sp?). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27323889) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 4:49 AM Author: exhilarant dopamine Arash is a very cool dude.
OP isn't flame. I used to be in CAALA and OP has real knowledge. I do chill fratty midlaw but still handle some P work on the side. Honestly p work is a lot more fun because you spend time demanding money and actually get it. |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:47 PM Author: Exciting National Security Agency Any thoughts on corporate law for small businesses as a solo? Dead due to legal zoom? Profitable? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324083) |
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Date: February 15th, 2015 11:52 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Like forming corps and LLCs? No clue. I feel like it would be hard to pull big income making money at 1k a pop flat fees. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27324134) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 11:30 AM Author: Ruddy Gas Station Cuckold How often do you file motions to compel (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326117) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 11:38 AM Author: motley nursing home background story (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326144) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 12:34 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Maybe a hand full. I'm not doing hardcore civil litigation. And even the non-pi civil litigation I do is generally pretty straight forward (small business disputes over contracts, etc). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326299) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 11:33 AM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Do you get scared taking on things outside of your practice area? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326132) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 12:36 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison No, because I don't really do that. I have my practice areas, and I know them very well. I don't just take anything that comes through the door.
Also, I have a network of attorneys I refer cases to and they give me 25% referral fees. So if a potential employment case, family law case, or worker's comp case calls me for example I just farm it out to someone else and make a little bit of extra cash with zero risk. |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 2:31 PM Author: big sanctuary electric furnace Not a laywer here so this prolly a stupid question. When you refer a case to another lawyer how do you know they don't screw you on your cut? Honor system? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326847) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 4:37 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I keep a list and check in with them periodically. They are people I know and trust. If they screw me over they know I'll send cases elsewhere. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27327902) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 2:38 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Did you learn any on the go? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27326891) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 4:37 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison See above. I learned PI and criminal as I went. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27327906) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 3:24 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park 180 thread, ty. how did you approach finding mentors? i saw the organizations you linked to above. how did you go about finding your mentors through those? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27327312) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 4:35 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I joined the Consumer Attorney Association of Los Angeles and introduced myself on the listserve. Several attorneys reached out to me and I offered to take them to lunch. Also, the attorney who did my accident when I was 18 happened to be a member and emailed me. He was a cool dude and even gave me some minor impact cases to cut my teeth on.
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:01 PM Author: gay stag film new version it sounds like you've been very fortunate bro (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328112) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:25 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I can promise you it's not luck. This can be replicated. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328300) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 12:36 AM Author: gay stag film new version Bro you seem like a cool dude, is there any way I can contact you? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27331721) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 2:46 AM Author: exhilarant dopamine Bro we run in the same circles and i think there is quite a bit of luck involved. There's no other association in America like caala in my experience. And we are in an economy where you can pay for shitlaw law and motion for $15 an hour (that's fucked up imo but more power to you). But i agree what you've done can be replicated. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27332337) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 4:43 PM Author: ultramarine embarrassed to the bone set double fault "I have a few large PI cases (surgery cases) that have meditations coming up."
FYI, that's called med mal and it is very expensive to litigate. For that reason alone, I am calling BS on some of this. |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:00 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Surgery cases meaning they were injured and had surgery as a result. I think that is pretty clear considering I said they were PI cases. I don't handle med mal.
One is a broken back that I mentioned up above. Another is a girl who fell in a pothole and broke her ankle and shredded several tendons. She was 22 years old and had two failed surgeries. She also was gymnast and she can no longer do that because of the injury. |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:01 PM Author: ultramarine embarrassed to the bone set double fault OK brother. Awkward description, but I will allow it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328106) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:02 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig As a shitlawyer I knew exactly what he meant and what he said is a common shitlaw saying. Go back to big law you prestigious jackass. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328119) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:07 PM Author: ultramarine embarrassed to the bone set double fault (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328166) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 1:11 AM Author: Swashbuckling Mildly Autistic Heaven As a fellow aspiring shitlaw KING, I knew exactly what he meant. Cheers (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27331941) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:04 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Also, if you think I'm BSing on some of this stuff then prove me wrong. If you look at time stamps on my responses to substantive questions they are pretty quick. It would be hard, if not impossible, to do all this research if I didn't know what I was talking about.
As far as how much money I'm making and my caseload, I posted up my P&L for last year. Would be hard to make that kind of money without cases.
I don't think I've posted a single thing that is inconsistent or unbelievable. |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:56 PM Author: gay stag film new version gymnast careers are over by 22. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328484) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:57 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison It's not her career. It's a lifelong hobby. She is starting vet school soon. Will have pain for the rest of her life while working on her feet. She also can't wear heels anymore. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328507) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 7:13 PM Author: gay stag film new version how much would you settle for? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27329018) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 1:12 AM Author: Swashbuckling Mildly Autistic Heaven Answer this big Dog (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27331943) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 2:49 AM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Clients decide to settle. Attorneys make recommendations. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27332347) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:05 AM Author: Trip Property Prole That's stupid. First of all, it is very cheap to meditate a case. Just go ohhmmmm. Second, and more importantly, you sell pieces of those cases to deep pockets. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348257) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 5:13 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig The most shitlaw thing in this thread is implying manning kass is anything related to biglaw. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27328214) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 7:15 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park what was your gross revenue the first year you were solo? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27329041) |
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Date: February 16th, 2015 8:16 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Well, like 40k because I was moonlighting during my non-law job.
My first year out 100% on my own gross was close to 175k, net was about 145k. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 3:01 AM Author: Soul-stirring site therapy are you serious? 145k? that's fucking better than most secondary market midlaw. you're inspiring me brother. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27332397) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 4:39 AM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park titcr. fuck it, gonna become a PI shitlawyer. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27332578) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 2:56 AM Author: comical brindle voyeur national one day i'll start a law business (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27332373) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:11 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I'll be around for another hour or so if anyone else has questions about starting/running their own practice, personal injury law, criminal law, or practicing in Los Angeles in general. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336580) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:13 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge do you know any immigration solos in so cal? if so, how are they holding up? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336590) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:20 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I know a couple immigration solos. They do pretty well but need high volume because most of their clients are Hispanic and can't afford crazy fees (my uncle does immigration in Beverly Hills and only does rich Asians and middle easterners but that is more of the exception). Also, one benefit is that a lot of Hispanic clients pay and then ghost.
Meaning they pay the down payment and then never call back. Usually it's because something scares them, they hire the attorney, and then they relax and never call back. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:41 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge Is your uncle Carl Shusterman? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336862) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:49 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Nope. Don't know who that is. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336938) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:14 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park how did you get clients your first year? do you think it's possible to go solo fresh out of law school? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336599) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:21 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I covered this already but I basically started doing work for friends on the side while I held a non-law job. Once I ramped up sufficiently I left to go out on my own.
It is possible fresh out of law school but you would need some cash to hold you over until you build your pipeline.
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:24 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Can you settle a minors claim without making an appearance due to minors compromise requirements? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336693) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:27 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Usually carriers want to do a minors comp if the settlement is 5K or more. Because of that I almost always file a lawsuit when my plaintiff is a minor. There is no downside. Since I'm going to have to pay the filing fee anyways for the minors comp, I may is well litigate the case a little bit and get a better offer.
For example I have a case right now with 5k in meds and the offer is 6.2k (minor impact soft tissue - we call the MIST cases). I told State Farm I would take 8k. They told me 6.2k is their highest. Since I have to pay for the minors comp anyways I'm just going to file. They will end up paying me 10k plus they're going to have to pay their own attorneys' fees.
Also, when I trust the client, sometimes I will indemnify the carrier against future claims when the minor turns 18 in exchange for them waiving the minors comp. Although, I only do that on smaller cases where I can't get too screwed. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:41 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Dont file man MARK WIENER will cut your throat with his aggressive in house litigation team (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336863) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:48 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Lol nah man they aren't that bad. I just settled a UIM claim with Garimarie Matsukas at Mark Wiener last month in mediation with Bob Tessier. We got 50k new money on top of the 15k third-party policy we popped. There was only a couple grand in PD. Client had chiro and epis. Initial new money offer was 10k. Demanding arbitration was totally worth it.
Edit: Btw you know your shit if you know Mark Weiner is State Farm house counsel. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 8:51 PM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig Sounds wgwag (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27336957) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 9:07 PM Author: Swashbuckling Mildly Autistic Heaven couple grand in PD? what is PD (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337098) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 9:08 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Property damage. A couple grand or less is usually considered a minor impact. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337106) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 9:22 PM Author: Swashbuckling Mildly Autistic Heaven will u be my mentor (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337201) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 10:32 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Sure. Post an e-mail up. What city are you in? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337792) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 12:40 AM Author: gay stag film new version another bro here. i'm on east coast. would you mentor? i can create thow away email (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27339043) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 12:51 AM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig I know a lot more than that.... (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27339106) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 9:02 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge What had been the shittiest part of solo practice? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337055) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 9:11 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison The worst part is the administrative crap like cutting checks and accounting. I could hire someone to do it but I don't trust other people and I don't want to spend the money.
Also, I generally like dealing with clients but sometimes you get that client who just drives you nuts. For example, one client last week wouldn't give me her insurance information because she was afraid her rates would go up (you need your client's own insurance information to check for medpay coverage, under-insured motorist coverage, and to eliminate prop 213). No matter how much I told her it wouldn't impact her premiums she didn't listen. It wasn't until I told her I couldn't take her case that she gave me the info. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 9:28 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Here is a stub for a check I received a week and a half ago:
My fee was $21,666.66.
Hopefully this motivates some of you to try out practicing on your own. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 10:11 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park cot damn (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337599) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 10:09 PM Author: anal marvelous stage No flame -- are you embarrassed when you meet people and after they ask you what kind of lawyer you are you say PI and Criminal? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27337569) |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 10:27 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Lol. A few things.
First, most of you are tainted from going to law school. In reality most people are impressed when you say lawyer, regardless of what you do. 99% of people have no idea what the difference between Latham and my law firm is.
More importantly, I don't really care what they think. I never cared for prestige or money. My wife is an attorney and pulls ~100k working an in-house job 5 minutes from our house. We keep our expenses between 5-6k/month (we have an 800k house in LA we bought for 650k close to the bottom of the market so our mortgage is only 3.2k). We live off her income (I contribute about 1500/month) and we save/invest almost all of my income.
Edit: Plus when I'm at a party and I talk about my criminal cases people seem to be really impressed and interested. I doubt war stories from Skadden have the same effect. |
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Date: February 17th, 2015 10:31 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park "First, most of you are tainted from going to law school. In reality most people are impressed when you say lawyer, regardless of what you do. 99% of people have no idea what the difference between Latham and my law firm is."
titcr, unless you live somewhere that has or otherwise associate with a lot of prestigious, highly educated people. at least until you have enough money or political connections. |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 12:51 AM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop this. law is the most brainwashed professi0on.. its pathetic.. being solo is 180 and the only manly occupation in law (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27339105) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 1:11 AM Author: tantric haunted graveyard Most people don't have the luxury of living off an attorney-spouse's income.
I did the same thing starting out but I come from a much different background--flat broke. I was literally waiting tables when I started picking up co-worker DUIs (one of my first cases was doing a DUI for a waiter bro) and car accidents (motorcycle accident for another waiter bro).
You either need a decent earning spouse like you, a lot of savings to fall back on, or be able to live off of virtually nothing (like me).
I have a quarter million in loans I'm trying to pay back so eventually I decided I needed something more consistent in terms of salary. And I never had any money to market myself so I didn't ever have great PI cases walking in my door. |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 1:18 AM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park if you had significant savings or an earning spouse, what would you have done different? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27339266) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 1:21 AM Author: tantric haunted graveyard Advertise. Get a real office with real support staff and proper software and shit. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27339280) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 10:48 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Just as a practice tip. Building a huge office sometimes means you make less. I have a few friends with 40k monthly overhead. They have to settle 120k in cases a month just to break even. Some of them only pull 100k net and they have a lot of stress to settle cases all the time.
Since my expenses are so low, like 80% of every dollar I make is net. Also, if I have a month where I don't settle cases because a gap in my pipeline, I'm not freaking out. |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 11:57 PM Author: tantric haunted graveyard I did the solo thing for five years out of necessity. I had almost zero overhead because I had zero capital. I hustled multiple work-for-office-rent deals. The craziest was this bankruptcy attorney for whom I did 341a meetings of creditors in exchange for an office.
Let's say the attorney's name was Mark Smith. It was the Law Offices of Mark Smith. My boss was also named Mark. Mark Jones. He had his TJSL diploma on the wall. Eventually I started to suspect Mark Jones was not a lawyer.
I confronted him one day and asked him whether he was a lawyer. He said, "Yes and no." Turned out he passed the bar, not the moral character and fitness.
So when people called asking to talk to Mark Smith, the receptionist would put them through to Mark Jones who would answer, "This is Mark." The real Mark Smith quit law and became an elementary school teacher. He renewed his license every year so his high school buddy, Mark Jones, could continue to play lawyer.
My point is that I don't think it is as easy as you have made it out to be. You are taking one or more things for granted and are assuming others. But otherwise, congrats. |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 9:10 AM Author: adulterous costumed locus damn that is a true shitlaw tale (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348270) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 10:44 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I didn't need to live off my wife's income. I had a decent paying job that I kept until I had enough clients to generate decent income every month.
The only reason I brought up my wife was to explain that I don't care too much for money. Even though we made slightly over 400k combined last year, we are only spending 70k to live.
We could be spending a lot more but I'd rather save the bulk of it and retire early. My goal is to stop law around 40 and become a teacher (I really enjoy teaching). If I can pay off my house by then, and save/invest a lot, I could teach full-time without sacrificing the quality of life I have now. |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 1:13 AM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park how can you live in socal on only 70k? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27347441) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 1:37 AM Author: tantric haunted graveyard I made $56K last year with crippling student loan debt. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27347512) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 1:47 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison My mortgage is 3.2k, I paid off my student loans last year, and all my car and phone expenses are paid through my firm.
So basically I just have food, cable, utilities, and entertainment.
70k easily covers that. I'm talking about 70k actual, not pretax. |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 10:49 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I made a gmail account if anyone wants to e-mail me for advice, mentoring, or just to say hi. If you're an insurance defense attorney in LA drop me a line too:
calishitlawguru@gmail.com |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 7:31 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Lol. With all the people asking me to contact them, not a single e-mail. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27344383) |
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Date: February 18th, 2015 11:47 PM Author: gay stag film new version bout to hit you up bro (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27346896) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 10:16 AM Author: Adventurous market check again when you have time (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348446) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 12:25 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Figured I'd post up my class year. I gave a range before but figured I might as well be more specific. Graduated 2010. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27347174) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 1:12 AM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park that is damn impressive (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27347437) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 1:17 AM Author: Glittery Theater Stage Filthpig I'm an id attorney in la but I don't ever have cases with 2010 solos from t20s so I don't know you (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27347451) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 8:05 AM Author: exhilarant dopamine I think Tom from Simon and Simon is the same class year and kills it as well. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348165) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 8:53 AM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Tom Feher went to high school with my wife. He is killing it in trials, not sure how much he is making though since he is an associate over there and all the money goes to the Simon brothers. Definitely will make huge money in the future though.
The Simon brothers are insane too, they just hit a 17 million dollar verdict. I think they are young dudes too, like late 30's early 40's.
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Date: February 19th, 2015 10:14 AM Author: exhilarant dopamine I'm on vacation right now but I'll shoot you an email when I get a chance. I've been copping some nice TCPA loot on the side. If you're around dtla we can grab lunch sometime. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348439) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 10:49 AM Author: gay stag film new version What's TCPA? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27348562) |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 12:11 PM Author: histrionic primrose lay goal in life I handle divorce & family law cases in NY. Graduated about the same time as you. Firm is the partner and me so I'm getting a lot of depo, trial, court experience.
I've been thinking about expanding to my own practice area. PI work and crim have an appeal for sure since I like lit and especially like managing clients expectations and settling cases.
I know some well established PI/Crim guys (including a great firm right across the hall). I'd approach them, but don't want to come off as trying to leech their business.
Do you have any tips or suggestions on breaking into those practice areas from my position? |
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Date: February 19th, 2015 2:36 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison From what I heard, NY is a lot tougher to do PI than California. E-mail me (calishitlawguru@gmail.com) and I'll put you in touch with my friend who just started his own PI practice in NY (he did three years at Skadden first). He is probably better for advice out there. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27349883) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:08 PM Author: twinkling 180 hissy fit chapel What part of Cali? And why work so much (enjoy it, workaholic, need the money, etc.)
I make about half of what you do in TX but I only work about 20 hrs/week. Not sure if I could ever get used to working alot (more than 35 hrs/week) again. Did the Downtown Firm thing in Dallas after graduation from Michigan in 2006. |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:16 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge did you do lit at the dallas firm? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358003) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:17 PM Author: twinkling 180 hissy fit chapel international trade. Was mostly transactional. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358012) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:19 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge now what do you do? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358028) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:22 PM Author: emerald hateful brunch philosopher-king (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358039) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:25 PM Author: twinkling 180 hissy fit chapel Family Law. Live near large military base rep soldiers in uncontested divorces. Took me a while to find a niche that required little work and guaranteed pay (call of Chain of Command and get it sent to me as an allotment if they fail to pay and i provide a signed K) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358063) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:33 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park that sounds absurdly like "one weird trick". aren't uncontested divorces about the simplest thing there is? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358094) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:35 PM Author: twinkling 180 hissy fit chapel hence why I work 20 hrs/week or less. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358114) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:42 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park if true that is absolutely 180 brother (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358163) |
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Date: February 22nd, 2015 12:58 AM Author: gay stag film new version asset division? how much you charge per (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27367431) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:33 PM Author: chrome bonkers lodge shrewd. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358101) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:21 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park this is my dream. how do you do that? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358034) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:34 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef i pay myself $36K and have a 500K net income for my shitlaw practice. also work mon-fri 11am-3pm with occasional 1pm-2pm on weekends. preftigious ?
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:35 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park do you also do PI? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358113) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:36 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef nah mostly corp
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:39 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park no way you're clearing 500K doing corp work as a solo (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358146) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:41 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef corp + some patent stuff - i have very regular clients that have been feeding me work for 3+ yrs. dont even bother to advertise or maintain a website anymore. basically acting as their inhouse.
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:45 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park like what, software licensing, employment contracts, shit like that? your clients can't be big enough that they're doing M&A that often. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358181) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:46 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef yup. all fairly routine stuff.
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:47 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park how did you manage to get into it? i'm a corp biglaw drone but i would kill to make a third of what you do working for myself, doing what you do. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358192) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:50 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef was working shitlaw and one of the shitlaw clients liked me and hired me on as in house. later they downsized and i got put on contract. then i picked up another contact from there since one of the coworkers went to another place and i got my second contract. 3rd contract from doing a seminar and 4th from a CLE course. 5th from a person who was employed by contract #1. now i have a 6th lined up which is also a maybe client from #3. 5 x 120K/yr ish average each gives me $500K net after all taxes and junk.
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Date: February 20th, 2015 5:59 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park i am extremely jealous. if you didn't have any of those clients but still know what you know now, how would you go about trying to build a similar practice? none of the clients i work for in biglaw are going to give me work if i go solo. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358278) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 6:10 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef best is to start on the side doing crap work - the court system is a good feeder route for public defender cases. i wouldve done it that way if i didnt have a client supply. once youre in court regularly people see you. bonus is you get paid. night court once a week if you cant do daytime work like friday night or something.
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Date: February 20th, 2015 6:11 PM Author: Vibrant Trailer Park that's not corp work, and corp clients don't come to criminal court (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27358339) |
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Date: February 20th, 2015 6:21 PM Author: spectacular rough-skinned french chef you dont start a law practice based on what you want to do. you start it based on your circumstances and what work you will get. beggars cant be choosers and all that. like i said - if i didnt get a corp practice break, i wouldve started a crim practice. the idea is to do something solo, not to pick and choose on what you end up with finally. youre going to fall into a niche somewhere if youre successful - youre not going to be able to select what you do necessarily in advance or maybe not at all.
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Date: February 22nd, 2015 4:38 PM Author: racy tanning salon Just sent a question to your gmail. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27370133) |
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Date: February 23rd, 2015 9:05 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Overwhelming responses via email. Been talking to about ten different people via email, three on the phone, and a couple are getting lunch with me. I'll post up a consolidated list of advice later based on my conversations. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27379308) |
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Date: February 23rd, 2015 10:45 PM Author: Swashbuckling Mildly Autistic Heaven u are the MVP (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27380035) |
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Date: February 24th, 2015 9:09 AM Author: emerald hateful brunch philosopher-king most valuable poaster (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27381811) |
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Date: February 24th, 2015 7:23 PM Author: Swashbuckling Mildly Autistic Heaven (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27384701) |
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Date: February 24th, 2015 8:29 PM Author: Puce fragrant library That would be 180. Planning to go solo in a year or so and am following all of your advice itt closely. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27385156) |
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Date: February 28th, 2015 6:25 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison Here are some things I pulled from this thread (and I added a bit):
Get a mentor. Choose someone who is patient and will be willing to answer all your questions, regardless of how many you have. A good place to start is join a local attorney group or bar association. I practice in Los Angeles and joined CAALA (www.caala.org). Organizations are great because attorneys share legal documents.
Networking with non-attorneys is far superior to networking with attorneys. Attorneys don’t give away good cases. If you only get cases from other attorneys you will always have a small dollar value caseload. Think about your practice areas and where you would get clients. I do personal injury and criminal law so I mostly network with tow truck drivers, insurance agents, chiropractors, bail bondsman, and pawn brokers.
Make a nice website and business cards (wordpress and vista print are fine). I hand out business cards to everyone I meet, tell them a story about a success I had as a lawyer, and make sure they know exactly what areas I practice in (the back of my business card actually has all my practice areas).
Make as many profiles online as you can (yelp, avvo, manta, google+, facebook) and ask clients to review you as you finish their cases. Even if you don’t get clients from the internet, potential clients will look you up and be happy to see you have good reviews.
Be nice to everyone you meet, don’t treat people like shit. Even if you turn down a case, don’t be a dick to the potential client. I have gotten 50k PI cases from people who first came to me with a case I would never take. They called me back months later remembering that I was nice and helpful.
Answer your phone and email! This is the biggest complaint clients tell me about their former attorneys. If you get a call and don’t answer, the next attorney they call with get hired. I answer my phone 24/7, let my clients text me, and respond to e-mails pretty fast. I got a new client two weeks ago because I got a voicemail at 1am getting out of a movie. I called the guy back and he hired me for a 5k felony (said he tried 5 attorneys and no one responded since it was late).
Read books on sales techniques. A solo is just a glorified salesman. I would say 70% of my practice is getting and maintaining clients (and admin work), and 30% is actually practicing law. The areas I work in are very easy. Most of my day is selling. If you don’t have the personality for this, it doesn’t matter how good you are at law – you will fail.
For people considering personal injury. Don’t worry about the cost of litigating a good contingency case if you don’t have a bankroll. If it is a good case you will have no problem finding another attorney with money to jump into the case with you. The hardest part is finding those great cases.
Buy malpractice insurance, it’s cheap. Try lawyers mutual, they have a $500 strong start program for a 100k/300k policy. It costs $1,000 in year 2 and $2,000 in year 3. It is based on when you start as a solo, not how long you have been in practice. So if you are a 5th year opening your own firm it is still $500 the first year.
Use Quickbooks and buy checks you can print. I save a ton of time printing checks instead of handwriting them. Once you get good at Quickbooks accounting is very easy. I just have one business account and one trust account.
Keep your overhead low. Get a virtual office for mail and so you have a conference room to meet clients. The truth is most clients don’t want to meet you in person, they want to just sign up. I close 90% of my cases over the phone and send them a retainer via e-mail. Get an high volume scanner (you can get a nice brother one for a couple hundred bucks) and use an eFax. You can get a good VOIP phone for like $20/month.
This is all I could think of off the top of my head. Let me know if you guys want any other info.
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Date: March 13th, 2015 9:14 PM Author: rebellious disgusting dog poop This is 1fucking80 and spot on IME. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27485499) |
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Date: March 14th, 2015 11:45 AM Author: glassy sinister becky (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27487843) |
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Date: March 17th, 2015 5:44 PM Author: Cerise Razzle-dazzle People Who Are Hurt Stock Car Subject: Paging CA solo dude In these so called MIST cases as you say, what's the reasonable expectation/outcome for a client? E.g, a typical rear-end type accident, and standard neck/back pain and such--assuming the car has to be totaled out due to the damage?
I have a friend who's being dicked around by the at-fault driver's TTT insurance company, but I'm not so sure there's much to warrant hiring a lawyer over this but perhaps you have some insight? |
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Date: March 17th, 2015 6:05 PM Author: Cerise Razzle-dazzle People Who Are Hurt Stock Car Also, would you say that your advice only holds true for crim/PI and perhaps family law aspiring solos, or do you think you can duplicate your success in a transactional world? You're in LA for example--do you think you could pull off the same as an entertainment attorney? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27507677) |
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Date: March 17th, 2015 9:26 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison I think transactional is WAY harder to run a profitable law firm. Especially starting with nothing. Almost everyone gets in car accidents or has a friend who got a DUI. How many people actually need entertainment attorneys? Every young entertainment attorney I've ever met is either poor or they work for someone else. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2808970&forum_id=2#27509142) |
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Date: March 17th, 2015 9:20 PM Author: Wonderful Crusty Garrison There is no "standard." Value depends on a ton of factors. How soon did they treat, what kind of doctors did they say, what were the MRI findings, what kind of treatment did they receive, how much were the medical bills (and how reasonable were they), how well did they recover?
However, if it was a total loss the case definitely has some value even if treatment was light and there were no MRI findings. How much? I have no clue without a lot more specifics.
Sorry I can't tell you more. If you e-mail me the specifics I can give you a better answer (my e-mail is posted in this thread). |
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