As a new crop of lawyers receive their successful bar exam results this fall, they will focus on the obvious — finally putting that law degree to use with a steady paying job. The end goal is not, however, to simply obtain a job and collect a paycheck. Young lawyers dream of that particular kind of success that might not come for decades — being called "senior partner" or "attorney general" or maybe even "your honor."
For those, like me, who focus on the success that can come out of private practice, you will find there is more to reaching your goal than billing hours and winning arguments. In fact, all of the bigwigs that I have talked to (and trust me, I am not shy) have given me one consistent piece of advice: Build your own book of business. "When people start referring to you as the go-to guy," they tell me, it allows you to become a leader in your firm and the legal community. For many, it allows them to be their own boss or, at the very least, write their own ticket.
