An amazing 89 percent of all law firms comprise one to 10 attorneys, according to the American Bar Foundation’s 2000 Lawyer Statistical Report. When the evaluation is expanded to include law firms of up to 20 lawyers, the percentage increases to 95 percent. Even though solo practitioners and small law firms constitute such a significant part of the legal profession, there traditionally has not been as much training and support as one would expect for solo and small-firm practitioners.
Take Page Tyran, an attorney who recently started her own law practice in Napa, Calif., and found it a hard first six months. “I feel overwhelmed trying to get it all done,” she said, responding to an informal survey. “This reminds me of first-year law school and the deer-in-the-headlight syndrome. I survived that experience and I am going to overcome this, but what a road!”
