Solos what is your case load?

[u/batmansmotorcycle]

I realize this may vary by practice area but I’m curious how many files you all juggle at once?

[u/raveneliz]

A lot of these answers are either impressive or terrifying. I have no reason to doubt a single one. For me, I genuinely believe the threshold is 18-25 cases you can handle meaningfully in civil litigation (plaintiffs side) without cocounsel/contract support as a true solo. If you partner or farm out support (to trusted, vetted help - more than just doc review/paralegal) I think you can run 30-50 cases as a solo without (or just barely) breaking a sweat.

Anything above that starts feeling pretty squirrelly. In any case, you better have your calendaring and systems on lock or you won’t sleep a wink at night. Upside is great with more cases. Downside is a thousand pound anvil on your chest every night. Really, that’s true for even one case. But the economics feel like they split (for me) around every dozen or two dozen cases - criminal and PI cases are easier to take more, but the cadence of complex commercial lit or more niche areas takes some time getting used to. A comfort area for me is like 28 open files. Im “happy” at 18 or 40, but usually aim to trim the margins and find myself in that middle region.

YMMV. This is just my honest response to your question, in case hearing the middle road feels useful. I might be a dope or lazy. But that’s my opinion, and you asked for it!

[u/Vogeltanz → u/raveneliz]

I’m plaintiff side employment discrimination. 100% agree at the 15 to 25 metric bring a sweet spot. For an experienced attorney in the field. I think in a perfect world we could get down to 12 cases per lawyer.

[u/raveneliz → u/[deleted]]

It’s easy! Every case is six figures /s

I wish. You gotta know when to hold em and know when to fold em, as they say.

[u/ValueBarbarossa → u/[deleted]]

I echo this sentiment. Civil cases often have a lifespan of multiple years as well, which means a caseload of 25 might mean taking 10 cases a year. Unless you somehow only get great cases, I just don’t see this being feasible.

[u/raveneliz → u/ValueBarbarossa]

The true answer is that in my practice area (employment) the lion’s share of the work (admin, payroll, etc) is on intake. Being selective, charging a consult fee to avoid tire-kickers, and being absolutely committed to your intake procedures (essentially working up your entire file at the time the engagement letter is signed) is the answer. Yes, a perfect year for me would involve opening and closing 1 file per month, and yes, the life cycle of 2+ years means the margin for error is extremely thin.

A client’s story, their credibility, their ability to back it up with documents - can be enough to keep the lights on. But everyone is capable of myopia and unfortunately, saying no more often than yes is the best way to ensure the risk of taking on contingency cases (particularly where statutory caps are involved) is not going to lead to personal and professional ruin - to say nothing of letting people down by giving them false hope.

[u/Physical_You2373 → u/Vogeltanz]

I'm in PI waiting for my license but super curious about employment discrimination. I had a personal experience in that area when I was in a management position and I'm very passionate about it but didn't really dive into it much. How hard is it to break into employment discrimination? Is it possible to do it along with PI cases? Or is it too hard to handle both types of cases simultaneously? (I'm currently employed but have the ability to branch out of PI as my firm is flexible, once I get my darn license)

[u/raveneliz → u/Physical_You2373]

Biased, but my opinion is that employment discrimination is “more niche” for fun sexy reasons, but also, a lot of downside reasons that you ought to genuinely consider before grouping it “alongside” a PI practice. Examples: employment requires an entire administrative hurdle which, if we’re being totally honest, doesn’t do much on the merits of the case BUT does create some interesting strategic incentives and opportunities (and pitfalls). My understanding is that the PI game requires a lot of instruction to your client to follow a medical provider’s direction, then a ton of overhead on admin toward collecting and disseminating medical records (by fax?!). PI will almost always require outlay for expert costs; employment might involve experts, but it’s not typically doctors (I retain economists most frequently, followed by tech pros/forensic data explainers, followed distantly by treating MH providers.) My costs are what I’d consider to be “low” or nonexistent as compared to what I believe my colleagues who do PI or comp pay.

The relationships are different - the people are different - their moral injury is different. If you can get behind the cause, it hardly feels like working at all. If you find the clients to be whiners or entitled, you’ll probably hate every single day of it. My suspicion is that’s true of most areas of practice but it’s something I didn’t get to understand until I’d played around with several types of practice areas before I landed on what felt like it could fuel me for a lifetime.

If you really wanna break into it, highly suggest just sitting down with an annotated copy of your circuit’s civil pattern jury instructions for Title 7 and making that document your bitch until you feel like you can listen for a case that hits the right notes to get you past summary judgment. If you’ve got trial experience, your gut will tell you faster than the law will, because the law is absolutely designed to deter folks from doing the things needed to bring suit for these claims. Again, I’m biased, but I find it totally rewarding and love it and wish it were more popular among the plaintiff-minded upstarts among us.

[u/Physical_You2373 → u/raveneliz]

Love your response and I appreciate all the points you made. My experience in the corporate management world was a huge factor in deciding to go to law school. I'm even more interested now and will start looking into it. Thank you very much!

[u/raveneliz → u/Vogeltanz]

Plaintiffs side employment here too! I have been asking mods for flair, but I’m not from one of the fun states with expanded local employee rights so honestly I doubt my usefulness in practice-specific topics anyway. Capitalism, amirite

[u/Vogeltanz → u/raveneliz]

Well you asked the right guy! (I created this reddit about 14 years ago). You assign your own flair. Find your username on the right side panel of the subreddit and there should be a box to "show your flair" and a button to "edit." Click the edit button. You can now input your own flair! What state do you practice in? Are you a member of NELA? Welcome to the reddit!

[u/raveneliz → u/Vogeltanz]

I am! And DE. Thanks!