Solo and Small Firms Lawyer Spotlight

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1. How long have you been practicing law? How did you begin your law career?

   "I’ve been practicing law for a little over 15 years. Before I went to law school, I was in grad school getting my PhD in Toxicology and trying to figure out what to do next. The law school option fell into my lap and the rest, as they say, is history. I articled and worked at Smart & Biggar, then Ogilvy Renault (now Norton Rose) and Deeth Williams Wall. About two years ago, I was looking for a change. Around that time, a law school classmate of mine, Neil Fineberg, approached me about joining forces. He had had a similar winding course through large firms and had recently set up his own shop. The constant throughout my legal career has been patent law, which has always been my practice focus, and continues to be the focus of Fineberg Ramamoorthy LLP."

2. What has your approach been to the ‘business of law’ side of the practice?

   "Neil and I have a very similar approach to the business of law. It’s two-fold: 1) a focus on client care and 2) being zealous advocates without forgetting the courtesy and respect that is a lynchpin of the legal profession. One cannot underestimate the power of a good reputation, whether it be amongst clients or colleagues. We focus our efforts in cultivating that reputation and not so much in daily blog posts."

3. What challenges are presenting themselves and how are you handling them?

   "As a solo or small firm practitioner will likely tell you, the running of a business is as challenging as the practice of law. We find ourselves dealing on a daily basis with any number of business-related issues like IT or accounting or HR. Since there are just two of us in charge, all issues fall to us both to navigate. The learning curve was steep but we’ve learned to rely on resources to help when needed (a good accountant or IT person goes a long way to managing most crises)."

4. What is a typical day like for you? What is the best part of your job?

   "A typical day involves some combination of substantive legal work and attending to business matters. Our legal work runs the gamut of opinion work, drafting and litigation. Though we’re pretty quiet workers, we readily bounce ideas off of each other. It’s not surprising that we find ourselves not often working from home. The best part of the job is knowing that we are in control of our practice and its success. For better or worse, the buck stops with us."

5. On a totally different note, how do you like to spend your time when you are not at work?

   "Despite a healthy fear of flying, I love traveling. Apart from the white knuckle ride to arrive at a destination, I enjoy visiting new (and old) places, experiencing new cultures and cuisines (and wine), and (attempting to) disconnect for a few days."

 

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