Opportunities 

Apart from a couple of paralegals, there are no other lawyers employed at Ms Favre’s firm. A key opportunity that has arisen for Ms Favre is seeing her capabilities and resilience rise in line with the work she’s been required to do. 

“When you need to survive in your own practice, you really push yourself to new heights,” she stated. 

“I’ve had a lot of cases where I couldn’t brief counsel, and the clients were relying on me to run their hearings,” she explained. “I’ve had a lot of cases where I’ve run my own hearings, cross-examination, the like, and that’s really built my skills as a lawyer.”

Being out on your own and not under the control of an employer, there are opportunities to build up your skills and qualifications, explained Ms Favre. 

“You can take up the opportunity to study more,” she noted. “I recently completed an accreditation to become a mediator.”

When first starting out as a lawyer, it feels like you’re just representing a client — you’re the pit bull that gets them what they want, but she explained that sole practice has changed the way she views her role: “I’m constantly reflecting upon my duties and my role in the judicial system.”

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“Your main duty is to the court. I’ve constantly had to remind myself of that just to not get too emotionally involved in my client’s cases, which is something that happens quite often when you’re dealing with family law or criminal law matters,” she explained. “That’s helped me run cases in a more efficient way.”

Challenges 

One big challenge is accepting too many cases, or heavy cases, all at once — this means you’ll stretch yourself very thin, Ms Favre submitted. 

This can be exceptionally draining and take a toll on mental health to keep up with the cases, she noted; the way to manage is by choosing what to sacrifice, “either you give up weekends, you give up sleep, or take the healthier option; you might have to brief counsel [or] you might have to refer the client onto another law firm.”

Non-negotiables

There are some non-negotiables for sole practitioners, which are especially important to consider before opening up shop, Ms Favre illuminated.

Firstly, it’s really important to have good software to manage your time — practice management software, file notes, and letters. If you’re going to create manual spreadsheets, which can be tempting to minimise costs, it’s going to waste a lot of your time, she explained. 

“Another non-negotiable practical step to take before going out on your own is carefully planning your website. 

“I can’t begin to explain how many people visit a website to have a look at your background to see what you can offer. That’s the first step to really getting your name out there,” she said. 

When building a website or advertising on social media, or whatever promise might be made in consultation, it’s important to deliver on it, she emphasised. 

“I’ve had a lot of clients come to me from other law firms who say, ‘I’ve had this consultation with the lawyer, they said that they’ll get me off on the criminal charge,’ and then later down the track, they’re given completely different advice, and that really does bother clients,” she stated. 

“I’ve made it really important in my meetings with clients to set their expectations and make sure that if I have said anything about what I can do for them, I actually deliver on that.”