Legal businesses typically operate in two ways: as a law office and a law firm. Law offices such as The Clark Law Office typically consist of an attorney who owns the firm and associates who are salaried employees of the business. They normally specialize in one area of legal practice e.g. tax, accident, etc.
A law firm comprises several lawyers and operates as a business. The senior-most employees of the firm are called partners and have an equity stake at the company. They also lend in their name to the firm. These partners are in charge of bringing in clients and normally have many years in the field. They take the senior-most cases and are often the face of the company. They also act as the shareholders and elect the managing partner from among themselves. Many firms also give associates a chance to climb the hierarchy to partner.
Newly graduated lawyers frequently accept employment in law firms. This is because working closely with seasoned lawyers gives them more experience and credibility than starting a solo practice. Some normally remain and keep working for law firms for a long time, while others prefer to open their law offices after gathering enough experience.
Different mindset.
Being a lawyer in a law office means becoming a full-time entrepreneur. This means that you will be in charge of marketing, sales, and dealing with clients and associates at the same time. Although many people believe that these lawyers were the ones that couldn’t adapt to the grueling corporate life of law firms, the opposite is true. Most law offices are founded by people who aspire to become their own bosses and need more flexibility to follow their daily schedules.
Most law firms do not require their associates to bring in business if they have not made partners. This mindset of being an employee-If you are not a partner- is what separates lawyers at law offices and law firms. Therefore, these lawyers just have to work for the salary alone.
Workload and Wages
Law offices and law firms differ in terms of income earned. A lawyer has by far more financial incentives to establish an independent law practice than be part of a law firm. Even though the salaries in law firms have greatly improved, lawyers practicing in law offices could easily make a six-digit annual income figure if they are good at their job.
The workload that goes into maintaining a law office practice can be immense because of its small nature. On the other hand, law firms have many paralegal assistants and associates to perform research on the cases they take. As a result, law firms can offer a comfortable way of living to lawyers who decide to forfeit their wish for independence practice.
Skills Evaluation and Enhancement
It’s hard to establish a law office and stay updated with legal matters. Lawyers need to attend continuous education programs to succeed in courtrooms. Law firms have standard operating procedures to evaluate each lawyer’s level of training and need for education. This does not happen in law offices because lawyers have to deal with their cases and usually have less time and budget to re-educate themselves. It also difficult to perform skill evaluation.
Law firms have the capacity to outsource many of their needs to experts in other fields. When you are a lawyer in a firm, you can have your assigned cases analyzed by experienced personnel to give you their review. Even when you want to make a presentation, you can find the right IT person to help you. As a sole practitioner, you need to deal with all this if you won’t have the finances to employ competent enough assistants to deal with all these things.
That being said, law firms and law offices are two different faces of the same coin. Lawyers who feel they could have a better work/life balance and a higher reputation could choose the law office. Others who want to have a nationwide presence and a greater chance to influence their clients prefer to partner with other lawyers. Both options are acceptable since not all lawyers have the same expectations.
