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April 18, 2005
Going ‘Solo’?
Steve Nipper had a posting a couple weeks ago entitled "Quit Flying Solo." In reviewing what worked and what did not work over my first year of solo practice, I thought a little bit about whether I was actually going solo. Truth is, I have had a much better support network as a solo practitioner than when I was at a law firm.
I made the leap to solo practice while taking Carl Oppedahl’s Advanced Patent Law course, and I cannot thank Carl enough for his support while I was thinking it through. When I first asked for his thoughts about leaving my previous law firm, he spent a considerable effort trying to talk me out of it and making sure I knew what I was doing. After surviving that round, he introduced me to a couple people who are doing the solo gig, and he was kind enough to spend some time with me from time to time when difficult questions came up.
Along the way, I discovered the blogosphere, which has been a tremendous source of encouragement and answers. It is great to have a constant barrage of the latest patent law on a wide array of patent blogs, as well as reading tips and tricks of private practice.
The best part of it all is the people I have ‘met’ virtually or otherwise from this connection. Having the day to day contact with people in the same business with such a wide variety of viewpoints and experiences is absolutely priceless. Being able to spend the time to get to know them has made this experience much more than I could have ever hoped.
Am I working solo? In the technical, legal sense of the word I am. But in the practical sense of it, I have a bigger team and a bigger connection than I have at any place I have ever worked.
Posted by krajec at April 18, 2005 04:49 PM
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