Meet Robert Simon: He's Sharing How To Start A Firm With No Prior Experience In 3 Simple Steps

Did you know that 50% of all businesses fail within 5 years of opening their doors? So it's no wonder why Attorney Robert Simon, founder of Justice HQ and the Simon Law Group, gets so many questions from lawyers looking to start their own private practices.

Simon is no stranger to starting and scaling a private practice. In 2009, a few years out of law school, Simon started his own firm. Now, it nets eight figures every year, and Simon has some advice for the newcomers.

What advice can you give an attorney who's looking to start his/her own firm?

Robert Simon: I have three pieces of advice for a lawyer looking to start their own private practice: Think scale, follow the 50% model, and care.

Here's what I mean by think scale:

Because we're in a service-based industry, we're trading our time for dollars. And there's only so many hours and work you can do in a day. So if you're looking to have more freedom and make more money, then you're going to want to scale. Scale your team and also focus on the 50% model.

The 50% model is a way to think about your cases to help you make more money while working fewer hours. Here's what I mean...

When you give up equity in a case, you can pull in more experienced attorneys, have more profitably and flexibility on the case, and help the consumer. I'm 100% okay with giving away equity in my case if it means that my client gets the best team available to them.

My last piece of advice for success in starting your own firm is to care! Caring should be at the center of everything you do. Truly care about other people and the work you do, and be willing to offer free help. It comes back to you ten-fold. I have gotten more cases because I've offered free help upfront. If you don't care, then I suggest you do something else.

Do you have any other advice?

Robert Simon: Don't be afraid to collaborate and network. When I was first getting started and didn't have a lot of experience or wasn't specialized in certain fields, I'd do a lot of co-counseling. I attribute that to my success because it was how I stood out from the crow! You don't only get to grow as a lawyer. Your network grows too.

If you're looking for a place to collaborate with other attorneys and find the best lawyers out there to co-counsel with, I suggest you get a membership to Justice HQ. With your membership, you get 24/7 access to a network of high-end attorneys, as well as physical and virtual spaces.