I’m a true solo who just started my practice two months ago. I was just offered a position at a midsize firm making $85k with health and dental. Also possibility of paying off my student loans. I feel like I would be miserable there, but it sounds wonderful to have a steady paycheck. What do I do???

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I definitely want to open my own firm one day I think, but I want to know what I am doing first.

Part of me wants to tell you to stay with your own firm, because capitalism thrives on exploiting labor, but I just can’t imagine I would have provided good legal advice as a first year.

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Fair point friend! Good for you getting the experience and getting out on your own sooner than later! Best of luck truly 👊💯🤘 (formerly AA1, just lateraled 😀)

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150k student loans. First year attorney but lots of experience. My practice has been “open” for 40 days and I’ve brought in $3500 in revenue. Hard to say what the next six months or year will look like

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You should work as an associate while you have the chance. Some attorneys can get lucky and do fine as a solo first year, if you have clients you can draw from readily, but otherwise you need the training as an associate.

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How many years experience do you have? $85k is not much unless you are a first year. My first year makes that much and we are a small firm.

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Why not find a solo to latch on to and just do an eat-what-you-kill situation

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I think you should take the position. It gets easier to be a solo after you've had some years of practice in part because you know more people and have more referral sources. Take the position and get paid to do the networking and practice-building you would otherwise be doing on your own dime.

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How’s your practice going now/what year are you? How much do you have in student loans?

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I'm going to go the other way and say don't do it. Building a solo practice is tough that's for sure but you'll never have such a rewarding feeling. The ability to control your clients when you work how long you work.

I can't say for where you live but I'm located in California. Prior to doing solo I was in insurance defense and I was making about $100,000 a year. After a year in Solo practice I brought in $95,000.

It takes some time but you'll see that the money starts to come in. And I can guarantee you this the reason they're offering you $85,000 is because they're probably bringing in $150,000 off those clients. Always remember that the firm and the partners are taking a cut.

As far as benefits go there are a ton of organizations that have good benefits for solo type practitioners.

Before I went solo I truly hated my job and didn't want to be a lawyer anymore. Now I love the freedom.

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I recommend taking the position to learn and pay down student loan debt. Network to get to know who does what where and who to avoid. However, leave to launch your solo practice asap.

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What state are you in?

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