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Wed, 22 Oct 2025 02:48:26 -0700
Andy from private IP, post #19869109
👍
/all
Be your own boss, they said 😂
This is my life for the last thirteen years since I left my last W-2 employment in 2012, nine of which I have been running my own actual law firm since 2016. I
have several self-hosted on-premise bare metal servers and a custom LAMP web application for our internal portal, hence the combination of lawyering and
programming/systems administration:
> coding.
> designing.
> writing.
> client support.
> 150 emails a day, 75 replies.
> 20-30 inbound calls a day, 20-30 outbound.
> constant "jump on calls" and Zoom invitations from clients, vendors, and anyone else you can think of.
> H.R.
> accounting.
> legal (obviously).
> operations.
> psychologist to people around me.
> wake up at night if everything is down.
> manage the bank.
> collect bills.
> run payroll.
> administer all of the software.
> conferences.
> strategy.
> networking.
> marketing.
> continuing education.
> actually practicing law.
Running your own law firm is not for the faint of heart. Payroll for both our W-2s and our 1099s every two weeks is a huge boat anchor around my neck and never
ends. The law firm is a machine. Half the time, I'm just keeping it going for reasons I can't even explain. I wouldn't trade it for anything else right now,
because it certainly is a lot of freedom. That freedom comes at a price, which is financial challenges and many obligations just for the firm itself, not to
mention supporting my family. I feel like this is somewhat like being the producer of a movie: everyone is looking to you for decisions and results/outcome--
and money. I wish there were a way to make it easy. There isn't.
#LawFirm
Wed, 22 Oct 2025 03:33:33 -0700
2tierreality from private IP
Reply #11791283
👍
You should set a goal to hire out one essenrial business element/task per quarter, or even one per year, just to see whether you can relieve yourself of some of
that burden.
I recently started my own firm. I think the main reason I do it is because I now have the creative freedom I have always wanted. At a traditional firm every
creative idea seems to suffer a "death by partner meeting". Now I get to see it move from brainstorm in my head to something we do, without friction.
In a traditional firm environment you would never see the Trial Labratory get built - "waste of time and money" they'd say.
Wed, 22 Oct 2025 06:27:20 -0700
whiteguyinchina from private IP
Reply #12846603
🤣
You forgot to add
-security
@19869109 2604:2d80:ea8e:4700:b12b:2673:6572:f74a 👍 @12846603 Andy 🤣 @11791283 Andy 👍
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