Sunday, February 04, 2007

Hangin' Out My Shingle.....(or just hangin' out)

After 14+ years of practicing law, first as an employee in a private firm, then as an employee in a State agency, my entreprenurial urge has gotten the better of me and I'm going into business for myself and my clients on March 3, 2007. (That is most assuredly NOT me pictured at right.)

I have newfound respect for the small businessperson. Getting a business off the ground is like the Chinese Water Torture....one little thing after another. Business license, tax certificate, logo design, stationery, signage, website (watch for the launch, to be announced here), office space to be leased and remodeled, insurance, software and equipment to evaluate and purchase, phones, internet service.....every time I pick up my checklist to strike an item, I find myself adding two more. And I am doing this while maintaining my full client load at the Justice Mill. (My aforementioned murder trial resulted in a plea which had been in the works since before I decided to make the leap, so that has freed up a few hours, but the press of time is acute.)

When I open the doors, I'm expecting the sphincter-tightening realization that there is not another paycheck in the pipeline. Root hog, or die, as the saying goes. But there will be rewards of a less tangible nature. When my travels take me past a nice little stream, I can try to persuade a few trout onto my dinner plate, without thinking up some phoney-baloney excuse for my boss. I can take on meritorious cases that wouldn't have qualified for my previous agency's services, and I can reject those cases in which the defendant is just trying to game the system (or at least charge a fee commensurate with the insult to my self-respect.)

I can set my own schedule, which will make my wife happy when it's time to visit the kids at the Cape, or attend a dog show out of town. As Jan-Michael Vincent said to Darren McGavin in an obscure 70's army flick ("Tribes"), when asked why he didn't wear underwear, "Sir, I like the freedom, sir!"

If I want to put a sign that says "Worst President Ever" in my office window, I can do it. If I want to represent a draft resister, should it come to that, I can do it. If I want to be politically active without fear of recrimination, I can do it. Because, you see, I like the freedom, too.

38 Comments:

  • What an adventure -- and an act of courage and confidence. Best of luck to you as you brave the wilds of self-employment. You're an inspiration.

    Your observations about the freedom you'll have now to speak and act as you feel resonates, too (I hate that word, resonates, but it fits here). One of my first actions after being laid off by my newspaper was to open up my blog identity a bit; the second was to slap a "Bush's Last Day" bumper-sticker on my car. Felt GOOD, it did.

    By Blogger Wren, at 10:48 AM  

  • Well, Wren, I daresay you inspired me more than vice versa. You started using that newfound freedom on Day One, as I recall. And by the way, rumor has it that Charlie Brown is getting the old campaign gang together again. Your blog is your portfolio.

    By Blogger roxtar, at 11:15 AM  

  • Congratulations-and good luck!

    By Blogger Unknown, at 5:20 PM  

  • Good on yer, star. I think you'll do swimmingly in what is by all accounts a growth industry.

    By Blogger Bobby Lightfoot, at 6:34 PM  

  • Could you line "Worst President Ever" back to the official President Bush Bio on whitehouse.gov? It will help keep that page at the top of the google search for "worst president ever"

    By Blogger Moderator, at 1:21 PM  

  • Best of luck with your practice! I tried self-employment for a year or so. All in all, it was nice, but I kind of missed having someone else foot the bill as I surfed the web. That and health care (don't get me started).

    By Blogger Boldly Serving Up Wheat Grass, at 1:50 PM  

  • Trout fishing lawyer. . . . trout fishing lawyer. . . oh, yeah:

    Stewart plays a small-town lawyer by the name of Paul Biegler, who is the defense attorney for Lieutenant Frederic Manion (Gazzara). Lt. Manion is charged with first degree murder for shooting a barkeeper, Barney Quill, because Quill allegedly raped Lt. Manion’s wife, Laura (Remick). However, Lt. Manion is eventually acquitted under the defense of irresistible impulse. The bulk of the film's plot revolves around the drama as it unfolds in court
    The film highlights several of the law’s shortcomings that stem from the fallibility of the law’s human components. These components – the counsel for defense and prosecution, the defendant and his family, and the jury – have different positions on what is right or wrong, and varying regard for the values of integrity and justice. This variation allows the law to be manipulated in many ways. The most controversial legal issue in this film is the unethical witness coaching indulged in by Biegler as he spells out for Lt. Manion the only plausible defense Lt. Manion has – the insanity defense. Witness coaching is seen as the subornation of perjury to a lesser extent, and prompts the defendant to conceal the truth and manipulate his story in order to obtain the best possible verdict.

    By Blogger Will Divide, at 3:54 PM  

  • Knock 'em dead, dog! It's always great to see someone cool headin' out on their own, especially in your business.

    ... the press of time is acute.

    That's a sweet turn of phrase, but alas, that seems to be what it takes to motivate me half the time.

    Good speed and great luck to you. Since we generally make our own of both, I'm thinkin' you'll do quite well.

    Congrats!

    By Blogger Michael Bains, at 10:21 AM  

  • Best of luck. You may not need it because you seem like the type who has his shit together, but it surely can't hurt.

    I'm afraid my innate laziness and lack of organization prevent my joining the self-employed, at least for the foreseeable future.

    By Blogger Kevin Wolf, at 12:13 PM  

  • The WVSBDC can help with getting that shingle out and paper work completed... give them a call...
    www.wvsbdc.org...

    Good Luck!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:12 AM  

  • Good luck, roxtar! I started my own little biz in 1998. You'll really start to appreciate the litle things about your previous employer.

    Like office supplies! And, um, a copy machine *someone else* knew how to work/fix!

    Dealing with taxes is the worst part. And the freedom is truly indeed the best part.

    Lots of luck to you!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:30 PM  

  • Billionaire Mark Hopkins
    .
    A billionaire is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of currency, such as United States Dollars (USD), Pounds or Euros.

    Though a "billion" used to be a million million in much of the Commonwealth of Nations, the American version (one thousand million) is commonplace now; so in Britain a billionaire is someone with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:45 PM  

  • Sink Sink Socks is a Sigue Sigue Sputnik tribute band.

    By Blogger bobby lightfoot, at 9:09 PM  

  • Bacteria, viruses, home mold, fungi etc. must be killed in the clean up process. The most widely-accepted, safe, and effective sanitizing agent is hypochlorite in the form of household bleach. For all following procedures the bleach solution referred to is one cup of bleach to one gallon of water. This will give a sufficient strength to kill organisms.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:03 PM  

  • Good luck Rox I wish you well, lazy days by the trout stream? first year! ho ho ho.
    You mark my words this fourteenth day of March 07 and we will talk about a year hence. Hope your business is as successful as your fish conservation program.
    Best wishes.
    Oscar Wilde.

    By Blogger Himself, at 1:42 AM  

  • Good luck! Small business is a tough way to go and I have the utmost respect for those who give them a try ... especially those who can make them work.

    By Blogger jedijawa, at 5:00 PM  

  • Dude, you still blogging? Just checking in... -PH

    By Blogger Boldly Serving Up Wheat Grass, at 8:20 PM  

  • I like your wig do you really have to wear that because you are a lawyer.

    By Blogger Crystal Cantrell, at 7:16 PM  

  • EkFm4A Your blog is great. Articles is interesting!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:44 AM  

  • yy1lAP Please write anything else!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:04 PM  

  • Wonderful blog.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:17 PM  

  • Wonderful blog.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:39 PM  

  • Thanks to author.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:17 PM  

  • Please write anything else!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:06 PM  

  • Thanks to author.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:45 AM  

  • Thanks to author.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:17 AM  

  • Hello all!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:22 AM  

  • 1KmriK Thanks to author.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:35 PM  

  • Good job!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:03 PM  

  • You notice all the amazing free time you've had for blogging since this post! Hope you've got some fishing in.

    By Blogger Steve Muhlberger, at 11:47 AM  

  • Yes, working for yourself is the only way to have real job security. Sure you are responsible for the business, but then again you also have control over it. You no longer have to fear cutbacks, layoffs, drinking coffee from the company break room... only partly kidding here :) Best of luck, but remember there is really no luck involved, it's planning and work.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:51 PM  

  • Good fill someone in on and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you seeking your information.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:47 PM  

  • [url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com][img]http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/ganardinero.jpg[/img][/url]
    [b]Queres ganar dinero desde tu casa y buscas informacion[/b]
    Hemos hallado la mejor pagina web en internet de como trabajar en casa. Como fue de utilidad a nosotros, tambien les puede ser de interes para ustedes. No son solo formas de ganar dinero con su pagina web, hay todo tipo de formas para ganar dinero en internet...
    [b][url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com][img]http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/dinero.jpg[/img][/url]Te recomendamos entrar a [url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/]Ganar-dinero-ya.com[/url][url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com][img]http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/dinero.jpg[/img][/url][/b]

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:38 AM  

  • hi ppl. I'm really into shoes and I had been digging for that particular model. The prices as regards the sneakers are about 320 bucks on every page. But definitively I base this site selling them for the benefit of half price. I absolutely love these [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]prada sneakers[/url]. I will probably order them. what can you say about it?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:50 AM  

  • Hello. And Bye.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:00 PM  

  • hello people. I'm honestly into shoes and I have been searching as far as something that exact make. The prices seeking the sneakers were about 320 bucks everwhere. But for all I base this site selling them for the benefit of half price. I really like those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will probably order these. what can you say about it?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:16 AM  

  • good morning ppl. I'm honestly into shoes and I had been looking for the sake of that meticulous make. The prices for the velcros were around 220 bucks everwhere. But finally I found this location selling them for the benefit of half price. I absolutely want those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will definetly buy those. what do you think?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:13 AM  

  • Your sense of humor is really worth appreciating. You have a great communication skill. Your plans of starting something on your own is really great. I like the way you have expressed your thoughts and hope in future your ideas will enlighten a million minds and fill their lives with happiness.

    By Anonymous Alex Dumpfree, at 11:53 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home