The Law Office of Michael R. Grossman: An Update
See related story: A Conspiracy of One
There’s a new bookcase in Mike Grossman’s law office. He bought the “lovely $99 model” to hold recently acquired books, publications, office supplies and client files.
Yes, client files.
Since opening day in September, Grossman’s client base has gone from zero to a respectable a handful of cases. “It’s going slow, but it’s where I anticipated being at this time,” he says. The cases are all referrals, with origin points evenly split between family and friends and networking events.
But the most significant change since then, Grossman feels, has been his decision to narrow his field of practice. When he started, he anticipated handling primarily estate-planning matters, with a bit of real estate, computer and Internet law and criminal in the mix. Now, however, he’s decided to focus only on “what I know and what I enjoy”—criminal law, which he practiced for nine years, and computer and Internet law, the area in which he received an LL.M.
With estate planning, he says, “I realized I didn’t really bring anything to the table compared to other practitioners who are CPAs, and the hurdles would be overwhelming, for marketing purposes and for purposes of being completely knowledgeable in the field.”
Making the change has been a bit of a relief. “I speak the language of those areas already, and to learn a new language takes a lot of time,” he says. “And because so much time is required to network and market, there aren’t enough hours.”
Grossman’s definitely been working the marketing angles. Since September, he’s done some speaking engagements, addressing a lawyer networking group and booking an upcoming presentation on tech tips for solos. He’s also doing some writing, including a monthly column on legal issues for a local computer club newsletter.
Above all, he’s happy. “I do wish I were making more money, but I expected I wouldn’t make a lot of money at this point,” he says. As to whether there have been any moments of regret, his answer is quick and simple: “No. None.”
