If you’re wondering when I’m going to stop talking about becoming my own boss and actually do it, I have an answer for you…

March. In just seven months, I’ll be leaving my stable government job and striking out on my own. I’ve been rather vague about my plans in the past, so I thought I’d give you some more details about what I’ll be doing and how I’m preparing for it.

My practice will be focused on employment law and civil rights matters. I’ll primarily be representing employees and other individuals with respect to:

• employment contracts, severance agreements, and noncompete agreements;
• discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, age, religion, national origin, and other protected characteristics;
• harassment in the workplace and in schools and universities;
• due process violations in public employment;
• unemployment compensation appeals; and
• actions by schools and local government officials that infringe upon free speech or violate the establishment clause or free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

I expect that at least initially, while I’m building my practice, I’ll also assist folks with general contract and business disputes, landlord-tenant matters, and personal injury cases.

I’m licensed to practice law in Tennessee, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. My initial office location will be in Bristol, TN, near the border with VA, and I plan to take cases in both states. (Pennsylvania would be a stretch given the distance, but maybe I’ll get the chance to use my PA law license again as well.)

I have a long list of start-up related tasks to tackle, but it doesn’t make sense to do most of them until closer to the launch date. I’ve located the perfect shared office space and will be getting new headshots taken soon. I’ve been gathering recommendations for bankers and accountants, researching practice management and e-discovery software, collecting information on virtual reception services, and more.

I’m grateful to have found some fantastic online networking groups where attorneys running their own practices freely offer advice, answer questions, and share the products, vendors, and systems that have worked well for them. It’s so encouraging to continually hear from people, particularly women, who have built successful law businesses in relatively short time. Although I’ll be a solo practitioner to start, I feel like I’m surrounded by a huge community of mentors who are available to answer virtually any question.

Many lawyers dread the business aspects of private practice, but I actually enjoy the marketing and administration functions. To me, they provide opportunities to be creative and solve problems, and I am energized by handling a variety of tasks in my day-to-day. I know I need to be careful not to try to do everything myself for any longer than necessary, though. It will eventually be important to delegate and rely on other peoples’ expertise so I can focus my time and attention where I’m most qualified and effective. I intend to engage some outside help on a contract basis eventually and at some point hope to hire an assistant, paralegal, and associate (or several).

Having spent the past six years working on cases from the neutral perspective of the court, I’m eager to step back into the role of advisor and advocate. I appreciate all the words of support I’ve received as I embark on this journey!