Professional News

My experiences in law firm partnerships have not been good. Prior to my going back out on my own at the end of March 2007, I was involved in three different partnerships, and each was a really bad experience for its own set of reasons. The last one was an economic disaster, and, as I announced here on April 4, 2007, I had to do something different. I spent some time (about six months) trying to figure out what to do with myself, including possibly going back to school to obtain an MBA. In all, I spent 18 months as a sole practitioner, at first trying to figure out what to do. Then, once I figured out that I was going to stay in the practice of law, I then spent about a year looking for the right way to do it, as I had no desire to remain a sole practitioner for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the lack of resources.

This past summer, I made arrangements to relocate to the firm of another attorney whom I have known for years and for whom I’d always had a great deal of respect. Our discussions began last summer after I referred one of my clients to him. I moved into his building on November 1, with the idea being that I would continue to run my practice separate of his until we decided whether we should merge our practices and create a law firm. No matter what, we figured we would make that decision by April, as both of our malpractice insurance comes up for renewal in April.

Because of a couple of major cases that came in, we had to work together a great deal very quickly, and things clicked. In fact, the relationship has worked well enough already that we are in the process of merging our practices now. For now, the firm will continue to be called what it’s always been, which is Ricketts Co, L.P.A. However, I am considered to be a principal in the firm, and the plan is to change the name later this year, when my name will go on the door. There are three of us, and we will all be partners in the venture. It has already been a very good thing for me, as I now have full resources available to me and lots of additional work to supplement my own practice. In addition to taking care of the needs of my own clients, I am going to be responsible for managing the firm’s litigation practice. It’s a very good fit with my skill set.

In short, I believe that I have finally found the arrangement that I’ve been looking for for more than ten years, and it’s nice to be somewhere where I am both wanted and respected.