The Lawyers Weekly - December 23, 2011

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
December 23, 2011 | 21

BUSINESS
CAREERS

About a decade ago, Michael Crystal was a former public defender working at a downtown criminal law firm when he decided to do what many of his colleagues only dream about: Launch his own private practice. He’s never regretted it.

“I enjoy the marketing, I enjoy
the clients,” Crystal says now. “It is
like Christmas every day when
you get a new case.”
Ten years later, the 50-year-old
criminal lawyer at Crystal Cyr
Barristers in downtown Ottawa
met Arghavan Gerami, 35, who
had just completed a clerkship
with Justice John Maxwell Evans
at the Federal Court of Appeal
and was looking for an office.

“I felt I wanted and needed to do more,” she said, which is saying something indeed. While Gerami and her husband raised their young family, she also articled with the Constitutional law branch at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, served as counsel at the Department of Justice and completed her Master of Laws at Osgoode Hall.

With daughter Serena and son
Solan at school age, she decided it
was her chance.
So began an association
between two sole practitioners
under the same roof. Gerami, well-
versed in constitutional law, is co-
counsel with Crystal on her first
murder trial, which she predicts
will be “a tremendous learning
experience for me because I was at
the right place at the right time.”
At Crystal’s office she found
that, along with a new space to
launch her private practice—she
officially opened Gerami Law PC
in October —she also had files to
work on.

so busy, he asked ‘When can you
start helping me?’”
Ten years separates the two
lawyers’ choice to go it alone.
While their motivations are simi-
lar, the marketplace Gerami
entered has changed greatly. But
Jordan Furlong, a lawyer and con-
sultant with Edge International in
Ottawa, says it’s “a great time to go
solo or start a small law firm.”
Furlong spoke in November at a
Toronto conference entitled Busi-
ness Basics in Changing Times for
Small, Solo and General Practice
Lawyers. His segment was called
Rising to the Challenge, and
addressed how sole practitioners
can respond to “extraordinary
change” in the marketplace.
“Solos and small-firm lawyers
have never had so many tools at
their disposal … especially on the
web,” Furlong said. “And you’ve
never had the ability to really
deliver a powerful leverage mar-
keting message through applica-
tions like social media, which I
think is one of the great
levelers between a sole practice
and a large firm.”
Furlong said lawyers thinking
of going solo have an opportunity
See Solo Page 22

TIPS FOR GOING SOLO

knowledge of “best practices.” Gerami
suggests researching areas such as IT
and marketing, and when hiring help,
hire part-time or on a contract basis.
Online
presence:

“I would say that anyone thinking about
this should spend a year…and start
first of all to interact with the private
bar and talk with people for networking
purposes,” Arghavan Gerami says.
Indeed, consultant Jordan Furlong adds
it would be “foolhardy” to open a law
office and hope for clients to arrive.

Lay your
foundation
Technology
is your
friend

Cloud-based content management
software such as Clio is giving solo
lawyers an advantage, says Jordan
Furlong. The software, which lets
you access database software
virtually, brings cost savings “from
having all of your practice
management features in one
location, managed by
professionals,” without the
sometimes prohibitive costs of
purchasing the hardware and
software to run it.
“I cannot imagine how a solo or
small firm law practice can survive
in 2011 without a strong online
presence,” says Furlong. What do
you need? Furlong says a good
website, a good blog focused on
what is (hopefully) your niche in
the market, and a distribution
channel such as Twitter for the
content you create.

Educate
yourself
Before you open your office and get
busy, Gerami says you will want
“If you believe you are going to make it
and you are going to do it right, put
aside the fear and say these are my
reasons,” says Gerami.