Applying Solo Rainmaking Secrets To A BIG Law Firm

Kxxxxx,

How exciting!  I hope you don't think me presumptuous by sharing an observation of what may be very obvious to you (it's not very obvious to the majority of attorneys in mid & big firms).  OK here it goes. . . when you peel back the veneer of a big law firm what you find is a collection of smaller law firms and solo practitioners.  The more you can think of yourself as a solo practitioner and treat the attorneys around you as clients and referral sources just as you would if you were actually a solo, the more success I predict for you.  Just like an individual store in a shopping mall.  The mall operators and the larger law firms provide a variety of services for you which relieve you of a lot of responsibilities and you might even pick up some business just from the foot traffic of the stores/lawyers around you - but at the end of the day the economics of a large firm and a solo are pretty much the same.  First you have to bring in enough business to pay your share of the overhead.  Then you have to bring in enough to pay the operators their profits and what's left over is what you can claim as your own. I would very much encourage you to sit down & write out a business/Rainmaking plan so you can make the most of the extra free time the firm will provide for you by them taking care of so many of the mundane things solos have to deal with and use that time wisely to make it rain, not just bill more hours.  I don't mention it often on the How To Make It Rain site but in the past I have done a fair amount of consulting with mid-size firms and have helped a ton of lawyers who have come out of big firms.  So don't hesitate to send me an e-mail with any questions.  .  .and check out the free e-book "Ten Rainmaking Mistakes Made By Solo Practitioners"  I promise, most of them are being made by lawyers struggling to find success in big firms too!

Again congratulations!

RJON