Re: Going Solo

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On 11/03/06, Kristi wrote:
> On 10/24/06, Carol wrote:
>> Probate is good money and
>> fairly easy, but you put a lot of work into it before you see the attorney fees
>> on the other end.
>
> Just to throw out a slightly different view....
>
> When I worked for a local solo, she actually got an advanced fee on the probate
work
> of $1500.00 up front before she did any work. Conveniently, she never returned any
> of it (even if she had to "inflate" her bills - one of the reasons I left). Of
> course, we don't get a percentage of the estate here, just hourly fees.
>
> Also, she did mostly consumer work (bankruptcy, estate planning, probate, elder
> law), and got quite a bit of clients from her advertisement in the YP. She also
> advertised in the local freebie paper (like a giant nickel) with some success.
>
> I'll be opening my practice in January to coincide with the phonebook coming out.
> Wish me luck!
>
Interesting about the probate. in my state you can't get attorney fees on a probate
case without the court's permission. I guess the YP is a matter of opinion. if you
live in an area of large population then they may not be worth it, but if it's a
small city or rural, just having your name under the attorney listing has got to get
some business. if it's word of mouth, they have to be able to find your name
somewhere. good luck with your practice, and don't let the naysayers here get you
down. some of us can make it on our own and just because they couldn't doesn't make
it true for everyone in the field.