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Why former partners make good sole practitioners
If one can handle the running of a bigger firm, they can run a sole practice, says Kirsty Salvestro.
Jerome Doraisamy
Prior to launching Flourish Family Law, which she operates in Cooma, NSW and is the principal of, Kirsty Salvestro was a partner in Blaxland Mawson & Rose Solicitors for 13 years. Moving on, she mused, allowed her to set up her own “special niche” and better focus on attracting her ideal clients and thus being able to do work most befitting her personal and professional needs.
In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Ms Salvestro said that being a partner in another firm for more than a dozen years put her in good stead to then branch off by herself, as the experience garnered from partnership meant that she was well placed to operate a solo practice.
“After being a partner in a firm, I was exposed to and managed to gain a vast range of experience in all areas of business management. Managing staff, accounting, marketing, business administration, just to name a few. I was able to use those skills I had developed on a larger scale and nurture them into my sole practice,” she said.
“I have never looked back. As much as I loved my firm, I love being able to be flexible for myself, my family and for my clients, I love my work and the personal satisfaction gained as a sole practitioner has been so much greater.”
The advice Ms Salvestro offered to other partners who might consider such a change in vocational direction is simple: “Know your why”.
“If you do, you can create greater client satisfaction and set yourself up as the best in your field. Be passionate about what you are doing and why,” she explained.
“If you can do one thing and do it really well, then you will be giving that client your best, they will have a wonderful experience and they will refer other people to you, so will your colleagues.”
This is especially pertinent as the post-pandemic marketplace looms, Ms Salvestro stressed, as better homing in on one’s area of focus will help separate them – both fiscally and professionally – from the rest of the field.
“At the moment I feel it is all about just trying to be good at one thing and be REALLY good at it! Stay focused on it. Do not try and do everything you are asked to do. If you can charge more for doing the work you are really good at, this is much better than doing greater volumes of work that you are not so great at,” she advised.
“When you get work that is not your ‘ideal work’, refer those clients to colleagues who can do this work and know this work well. In turn the same will come back around for you.”
Ms Salvestro’s comments followed her arguments, together with those of fellow boutique practitioners, about the business benefits that come from publishing a book.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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