Becoming a Personal Injury Firm Founder – The Joy of the Journey

When I graduated law school in 2013, I already knew that one day I wanted to open my own law firm. However, I first wanted to learn how to practice law in the courtroom and become a trial attorney, mostly because everything else was too boring for me. I enjoyed the adrenaline of trial work and the chaotic environment that litigation brings with it; researching and writing, although very important, was not what I wanted to do all day. I therefore started my career at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office because I knew I would get my own caseload right from the get-go and be able to try cases. 

At the PD’s office I was able to try dozens of cases, ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, learning the ins and outs of the courtroom. More importantly, I learned what worked for me in trial and what didn’t. I found that being authentic and adding entertainment and humor went a long way, especially with a bored jury. After a few years I sought to further my trial skills by attending the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming, where I had the pleasure of learning from the best trial lawyers in the country. It was here where I decided I wanted to open a personal injury law firm. Personal injury was a field that allowed me to represent victims against large insurance companies, staying true to my desire to fight for the underdog. Moreover, personal injury cases are diverse, interesting, and allow plenty of opportunity to get into court. It didn’t hurt either that I heard about massive verdicts being awarded to plaintiff lawyers across the country. If someone else could make that happen, why not me? 

Thus, my first piece of advice for young lawyers thinking about starting their own firm is to find an area of law that meets four criteria: 1) it is interesting; 2) it is not going to be made obsolete; 3) it has potential for unlimited income; and 4) it makes you feel good. As anyone who has started a firm knows well, you spend a lot of time at your job. It makes working much easier if you like what you’re doing and you can make a good living doing it.  

The next major decision I had to face when opening a firm was to decide who to open a firm with. I knew right off the bat that I did not want to run a law firm by myself. I wanted partners that I could build a business with, sharing both the burdens and the rewards. When I decided three-and-half years ago to open a firm with two of my good friends, Michael Hernandez and Elliott Jung, everyone said it was a bad idea. But they were wrong. In many instances opening a firm with your friends may very well be a bad idea, but my partners and I had a shared vision and were willing to put in the work to make it happen. Moreover, we trusted one another, we knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we enjoyed the prospect of building something together. We all bought into the concept of “ride or die.” And luckily, it worked. Well, luck may have had something to do with it, but we also worked seven days per week, spent long hours at the office, and held each other accountable for reaching set goals.  

Having a grand and shared vision of a law firm is one thing, making it a reality is quite another. It can be overwhelming at times to think about all the things you need to be able to do to make a firm work. But my advice in this regard is to tackle one thing at a time and set defined goals with certain due dates. I’ll never forget spending 10-hour days in a café taping pieces of paper together to draw a flow chart of how we wanted our website to look. Or Googling “How to manage a client trust account without violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.” It seemed overwhelming at times, but we got it done.  

We also relied heavily on consulting with lawyers and firms that came before us. Everyone we spoke with was incredibly generous with their time, advice, and encouragement—all we had to do was ask for help. And lastly, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Outsource everything that you can to programs or people that you trust and spend your time on the things that only you can do. We still live by this mantra, constantly trying to streamline processes and automating systems as best we can. Every minute you save by automating mundane tasks is more time that you can spend on the tasks that count—providing superb legal representation and client acquisition.  

Ultimately, a business cannot succeed without customers, nor law firms without clients. Hence, we spend a great deal of time on marketing, social media, networking, and doing good work. I wish there was some magic formula that brought in clients by the thousands, but we have found that you have to be persistent in all these areas and never take your foot off the pedal. But perhaps the best advice I can give to new attorneys is to provide quality representation and provide the best experience for your client that you can. Past clients will be your best referral source and they will yell your name from the mountain tops if you do a good job for them. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s good business. Sometimes this means cutting your fees significantly, taking calls late at night, or traveling to your clients in far off places, but it is always worth it.  

Looking back, it’s easy to say that opening my own law firm was a great idea. That’s not what it feels like when you start out. It’s scary and overwhelming at times. But I think too many people are scared to take calculated risks. Sure, trying to start a law firm in a field I had no prior experience in was risky, but I had immense faith in my own abilities and in the abilities of my partners. Moreover, we had a firm bedrock of legal experience from our time at the Public Defender’s Office and we felt prepared to tackle litigation in new fields of law. Moreover, we put in the persistent hard work it takes to succeed, and we never rest on the work we did yesterday. Most importantly, we set goals and we stick to them no matter what. I am a firm believer in the saying that most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years. My main advice to new lawyers looking to start a firm is this: embrace the grind and don’t give up before you see the results. I look back on what our firm has accomplished in the past three-and-a-half years and I am grateful for our successes, but I am more excited to see what our efforts achieve in the next ten.