Last class, we talked about when choosing a law firm to represent you against an insurance company, some people felt more comfortable choosing a larger law firm. With a larger law firm comes more resources and manpower behind it. If you were trying to fight an insurance company for a major claim, you might choose these larger firms over a smaller firm. Although smaller firms may have just as much experience and be fully capable of representing you in a lawsuit, some people are apprehensive of choosing them.
This idea made me think about the public perception of smaller firms and, specifically, solo firms. When I was telling my mom about how lawyers now can run an entire firm off of their iPhone or tablet, she seemed to think that firms that run this way were not as professional as other firms. She said she would more likely pick a law firm that has a physical office than someone who operates over Zoom. This may be a generational thing or just a personal preference.
And this is not the only disadvantage that solo firms have when dealing with public perception. An article in Above the Law talks about how the public may think that lawyers who open their own firm did so because they couldn't find a firm to work for. Of course, there is the other side of this that you get to be your own boss when you work for yourself and you can create your own rules and schedule. This is most likely the reason lawyers actually decide to go solo. Another public perception is it isn't as prestigious to be a solo lawyer as it is to work at a firm with a reputation attached to it. I think this one depends on the client and whether they are in a field where whether you have a prestigious law firm really matters to them. Plus, people who went to prestigious law schools and had prestigious careers became solo lawyers, as the article points out.
Overall, depending on the person, they may not feel confident or comfortable hiring a solo lawyer, especially one that is fully digital. It may also depend on the area of law and the type of case they have. Is it a catastrophic personal injury with a million dollars on the line, or are you trying to get out of a traffic ticket? Just like any profession, there are misconceptions about areas of it, and this is one area of them. What are your thoughts on these perceptions?
Source: https://abovethelaw.com/2019/04/many-people-have-flawed-perceptions-about-solo-practitioners/
For most people, their only contact with the legal system will be through a family law or a criminal law matter. Between these two categories, they comprise more than 75% of all cases in the court system, if not more in some localities. Family law alone is half of all civil cases. In some jurisdictions, it is even more than that.
ReplyDeleteThese areas are served almost exclusively by solo and very small firm lawyers. If there is a bias against solo attorneys, it can't last long if the vast majority of people with legal problems will have no choice but to hire a solo or small firm lawyer.