Clio：2023个人律师事务所的法律趋势报告 Legal Trends for Solo Law Firms

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TableofContents

INTRODUCTION

4WHATDISTINGUISHESASOLOLAWYER?

6Adistinct—andevolving—legalexperience

7Solosversusnon-solos

8Datasources

PART1

9AWIDENINGGAP

11Stateofthelegalindustry

12Keyperformanceindicators

17Thegapinsoloandnon-solohourlyrates

19Hourlyratesarerisingbuthaven’tkeptpacewithinflation

20Wheresolosfallshort(andwheretheysucceed)

21Dosolosprioritizefreedomandflexibilityoverprofit?

PART2

22SOLOSWORKINMORETHANONELOCATION

24Solosmakeupavitalportionofthemarketforlegalservices

25What’sthebenefitofsolopractice?

28Legalworkhasgonevirtual

29Thefreedomtoworkanywhere,anytimerequiresbalance

withpersonallife

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PART3

30PROSANDCONSOFFLEXIBLEWORKSCHEDULES

32Soloworkgoesbeyond9-to-5

34Solosvalueflexibleworkschedules

37Manysolosareatriskofpoormentalhealth

38Aneedforbetterbalance

PART4

39MAINTAININGACOMPETITIVEEDGE

41Leadersintechadoption

47Cloudenablesmoreflexibleworkstyles

49Everyonebenefitsfromcloudtechnologies

51Futureinnovationofsolopractice

52Stayingattheforefrontofinnovation

APPENDIXA

53APPDATACOLLECTION

APPENDIXB

56SURVEYDESIGN

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Introduction

Whatdistinguishesasololawyer?

i

4|LegalTrendsforSoloLawFirms

Introduction:Whatdistinguishesasololawyer?

Sololawyersmakeupastrongandvitalcontingent—onethatrepresentsauniqueformofpractice—withinthewidermarketforlegalservices.

Formanysolos,practicingontheirownoftenmeansprioritizingleaneroperationsandagreaterdegreeoffreedominhowtheywork.Atthesametime,theypridethemselvesonofferingmoretailoredclientexperiencesrootedindeeper,hands-onrelationships.

TheLegalTrendsforSoloLawFirmsreportlooksatwhatdistinguishessolosfromlargerpractices.Sincethereisnoone-size-fits-allmeasureofsuccess,thisreportprovidesinsightintokeytrendsacrossmultipleperspectives—includingfinancialperformance,personalandprofessionalwell-being,andclientrelationships.

Byanalyzingtheseinsights,weidentifywheresololawfirmsoftenfacetheirgreatestchallengesandhowtheycanworktowardovercomingthem.

Sincethereisnoone-size-fits-all

measureofsuccess,thisreport

providesinsightintokeytrends

acrossmultipleperspectives.

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ADISTINCT—ANDEVOLVING—

LEGALEXPERIENCE

Thereisnodenyingthatowningandoperatingasolopracticecomeswithitsownchallenges.Whilesololawyersoperateoutsideofthe

organizationalprocessesandconstraintsthatcomewithworkingatalargerfirm,theyalsofacetheburdenofbearingsoleresponsibilityforeverydetailoftheirpractice.

Sincesoloshaveonlythemselvestorelyon,they’vealsobeeninnovatorswhenitcomestoimplementingnewformsoflegaltechnologytohelpmanagetheirfirmsandfindnewefficiencies.Infact,theuseofcloud-basedlegalpracticemanagement(LPM)softwarehasbecomealmost

universalamongsolopractitioners.

Butwhilesoloshaveenjoyedasignificantadvantageintechnology

adoption,largerfirmshaverapidlyadoptedcloud-basedtechnologies

sincetheadventoftheCOVID-19pandemic.1Thisadoptionhasenabledlargerfirmstocreatemoreefficientanddistributedworkenvironments—thelikesofwhichsoloshavebeenpioneeringformorethanadecade.

Technologiesarestillfast-evolving,andwiththemclientexpectationsforfast,efficient,andseamlessexperienceswiththeirlegalprofessionals.

Tostayattheforefrontofinnovation,soloswillneedtofindnewwaystodistinguishthemselvesfromlargerfirms.

Tostayattheforefrontofinnovation,

soloswillneedtofindnewwaysto

distinguishthemselvesfromlargerfirms.

1Part4providesmoreontechnologyadoptionamonglargerfirms.

The2021LegalTrendsReportalsoprovidesdataonwiderindustrytrends.

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SOLOSVERSUSNON-SOLOS

Forthisreport,we’vecomparedsololawfirmstothecategoryof

“non-solos,”whichcaptureslawfirmswithgreaternumbersoflawyersandsupportstaff.It’sabroadgrouptocompareto,butindoingso,

we’vebeenabletoshedlightondistinctworkpatternsamongsolos.Whilenofirmsizeisobjectivelybetterthantheother,thereisno

denyingthatasthestructureandmakeupoffirmsdiffer,thecontextandcircumstancesforthosewhoworkinthemdifferaswell.

However,theprinciplesandvaluesfollowedbysololawyersarenotonlyapplicabletothem.Thereport’sfindingscanalsobeuseful

forfirmsthatoperatesimilarly,withlowoverheads,remoteworkarrangements,andlessmanagerialsupervision.

We’vebeenabletoshedlightondistinctworkpatternsamongsolos.

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DATASOURCES

Thisreportusesarangeofmethodologicalapproachesanddatasourcestodeliverthebestinsightsaboutthestateoflegalpracticeandstrategiesforfutureimprovement.

CLIODATA

We’veanalyzedaggregatedandanonymizeddatafromtensofthousandsoflegalprofessionalsintheUnitedStates,segmentedbasedonfirmsize,toobservedifferencesinusagepatternsamongsoloandnon-sololaw

firms.Thisdataprovidesimportantinsightsintohowfirmsofdifferentsizesareusingtechnology,anditsimpactonperformance.ThisanalysisincludesdatacollectedbetweenJanuary2019andDecember2022.

SURVEYSOFLEGALPROFESSIONALSANDCONSUMERS

Wesurveyed1,134legalprofessionals,segmentedbasedonfirmsize,todistinguishandcompareresponsesbetweensolosandnon-solos.

Additionally,weconductedsurveysof458professionalsfromother

industriesand1,168consumerstocomparetrendsbeyondlegal

professionals.Theconsumersincludedinthissurveyrepresentthe

USpopulationbyage,gender,region,income,andrace/ethnicitybasedonthemostrecentUScensusstatistics.Weconductedallsurveysin

AprilandMay2022.

LOCATIONDATA

WeusedaggregatedandanonymizedIPaddressdatatoanalyzewherelawyersareworkingfromandhowthishaschangedovertime.Wealsosegmentedthisdatatocompareusagepatternsbetweensolosand

non-solos.ThisanalysisincludesdatacollectedbetweenJanuary2019andJanuary2023.

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Part1

Awideninggap

1

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Part1:Awideninggap

BylookingataggregatedandanonymizeddatafromtensofthousandsoflegalprofessionalsusingClio,we’vebenchmarkedmajortrendsinbusinessperformancethroughoutthelegalindustrysince2019.

Forsolos,thisdataprovidesvaluableinsightintounderstandinghowtheirbusinessescomparetoothersintheindustrywhileidentifyingkeyfactorsforassessmentandimprovement.

Whilesoloshavemaintainedastable

levelofbusinessinthelasttwoyears,

theyareseeingonlyasmallfraction

ofthegrowthincollectedrevenues

comparedtolargerfirms.

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Part1:Awideninggap

STATEOFTHELEGALINDUSTRY

Likealllawfirms,solopracticessawthedemandforlegalservicesdrop

duringtheemergenceofCOVID-19in2020.Whilecaseloadsfell,however,solosmanagedtokeeptheirrevenuessteady.Demandforlegalservices

bouncedbacksignificantlyin2021,whichsawsolosgrowrevenuesbeyondwhattheycollectedevenpriortothepandemic.

Non-sololawfirmssawsimilarchallengesin2020yetincreasedtheir

caseworkevenmoresubstantiallyin2021.Theincreaseinoverallbillablehourscombinedwiththeincreasesinhourlyratesresultedinnearly

doublethegrowthinoverallcollectionsfornon-sololawfirmscomparedtosolosduringthatyear.

Demandforlegalserviceshassinceleveledoffin2022forbothsolosandnon-solos.However,non-sololawfirmshavestillmanagedtosignificantlyincreasetheirbillablehoursandachievenearlydoubletheoverallrevenuegrowthassolos.

Inotherwords,whilesoloshavemaintainedastablelevelofbusinessinthelasttwoyears,theyareseeingonlyasmallfractionofthegrowthincollectedrevenuescomparedtolargerfirms.

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Part1:Awideninggap

KEYPERFORMANCEINDICATORS

Keyperformanceindicators(KPIs)provideinsightintohowabusinessisperformingtowarditsgoals.LawfirmsseekingtoimprovetheirrevenueshouldpayattentiontothreeKPIsinparticular:

•Utilizationrateisthenumberofhoursputtowardbillableworkasmeasuredagainstaneight-hourworkday.

•Realizationrateistheproportionofbillableworkthatgetsbilledtoclients.

•Collectionrateistheproportionofbilledworkthatgetscollected.

EachKPIsignificantlyaffectsthenext,andwhenlookedattogether,theyshowhowwellabusinessisperformingintermsofitsearningpotential.Forexample,firmswithalowutilizationrateonlyputasmallamount

oftheirworkhourstowardsbillablework,whichlimitsthenumberofhoursthatcaneventuallybebilledandcollected.Lowrealizationandcollectionrateshinderafirm’searningpotentialfurther.

Eventhoughsolosmayfindthemselves

workingjustasmuchas(orevenmorethan)

lawyersatlargerfirms,lessoftheirtimeis

puttowardsactualbillablehours.

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SOLOSWORKFEWERBILLABLEHOURS

Soloutilizationratesareabout11%lowerthannon-solos,whichlikelymeanstwothings:

1.Manysoloshavestruggledtofindthetimetoputtowardstheclientstheyhave,whichcouldbeareflectionofhavingto

balancetheirdayswithasignificantamountofnon-billableadministrativework.

2.Manysoloshavestruggledtobringinclientstotheirfirms.

Ineithercase,eventhoughsolosmayfindthemselvesworkingjustasmuchas(orevenmorethan)lawyersatlargerfirms,lessoftheirtimeisputtowardsactualbillablehours.

Forexample,in2022,theaverageutilizationrateforsololawyerswasjust25%,whichamountstojusttwohoursofbillableworkeachday.Incomparison,non-solos,withautilizationrateof36%,putinanaverageof2.9hoursofbillableworkeachday.Forthe240workingdaysin2022(assumingatleasttwoweeksofvacation),lawyersworkingatlarger

firmsputin211morebillablehoursthansololawyers.

Evenminorimprovements

toproductivitycanhave

significantbenefitsoverthe

medium-to-longterm.

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Part1:Awideninggap

Evensmallgainsinutilizationcanadduptosubstantiallylargerearningsonanannualbasis.Bothsolosandnon-solosincreasedutilizationratesbyonepercentin2021and2022,whichamountstoanadditional19hoursofbillableworkforeachyear.Whenlookingataveragehourlyrates(below),thiscanresultinsubstantialgainsinannualrevenue.

Evenminorimprovementstoproductivitycanhavesignificantbenefitsoverthemedium-to-longterm—andfindingnewefficienciesinafirm’sprocessesandworkflowsshouldopenuptimetofocusonworkthat

mattersratherthancreatingmoreworkoverall.

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SOLOSFALLSHORTONREALIZATIONANDCOLLECTION

Realizationrateshaveremainedrelativelyhighsince2019—however,theyfellslightlyin2022.So,whilefirmswerebusierintermsoftheiraveragebillables,theyhavenotrealizednorcollectedonthatworkasefficientlyasinpreviousyears.

Soloshaverealizationratesthatare1%to3%lowerthannon-solosand

collectionratesthatare2%lower.Theselowerrealizationratesmeanthat,incomparison,soloshaveahardertimebillingfortheirtimeandcollectingonwhattheyareowed.

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Part1:Awideninggap

Giventheamountofeffortrequiredtomanagetheadministrativeworkinbillingandfollowinguponclientpayments,especiallyatscale,largerlawfirmsmayhavetheadvantageofdedicatedstaffwhocanfocusmoreexplicitlyonthesetasks.Sololawyers,whomustdothisworkthemselves,mayneedtofindbetter,moreefficientwaystomanagetheseprocessesthemselvesiftheywanttoimprovethem.

Part4looksathowthemajorityofsololawyershaveadoptedcloud-basedLPMsoftware,whichfeaturesrobustworkflowsandautomationsto

handlevirtuallyanytypeofbilling.ClioManageinparticularhasseen

substantialenhancements,featuringnewcapabilitiesforcreatingand

sendingbillsinbulk,sendingoutautomatedbillreminders,managingandapplyingtrustdepositstopayments,andautomatedpaymentplans—allofwhichcanhelpimprovehowlawyersbillandcollectpaymentsfortheirwork.

Perhapsnotsurprisingly,thereisastriking

differencebetweenhowmuchasololawyer

chargescomparedtoanon-solo,withsolos

chargingamuchlowerrate.Since2019,

non-sololawyershaveconsistentlycharged

approximately20%moreperhour.

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Part1:Awideninggap

THEGAPINSOLOANDNON-SOLO

HOURLYRATES

Perhapsnotsurprisingly,thereisastrikingdifferencebetweenhow

muchasololawyerchargescomparedtoanon-solo.Since2019,non-

sololawyershaveconsistentlychargedapproximately20%moreper

hour.Eventhoughtheychargemore,however,runningalargerpracticetypicallyrequiressubstantiallyhighercosts,andalargerportionofa

lawyer’shourlyrategoestopayingforthem.Realestatecostsalonecanbeamajorcostforlargerfirms,aswellasthesalariesofsupportstaffwhooftendon’tcontributebillableworktothefirm.

Solostypicallyrunleanerbusinesseswithloweroverheadandfewer

partnerstopayout.Inmanycases,thesesavingscanbepassedonto

clients,allowingthemtoprovidemoreaffordablelegalservices.Charginglowerratesmayallowsolostomaintaintheircompetitivenessinthe

marketforlegalservicesanddifferentiatethemselvesfromlargerfirmsthatoftenhavemoresophisticatedoperationsandgreaterbrandpresenceinthemarket.

Giventhatsololawyersputlesstimetowardbillablehours,thefactthattheyalsochargelessmeanstheybringinmuchlessrevenuetotheirfirmonaper-lawyerbasis.Buthourlyratesalsodon’tequatetotake-home

income.Whilesololawyersappeartobringinlessmoneytotheirfirms,theamounttheypaythemselvesmaysometimesputthemaheadof

lawyersworkingatlargerfirms,whichtypicallypaytheirassociatesafterconsideringsubstantialoperatingcostsandpartnershare-outs.Butwhilesomesolosmaycomeoutaheadinsomecases,thisdoesn’tmeanthatthemajorityarehappywiththeirearnings.

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Part1:Awideninggap

Whilesololawyersappeartobringinless

moneytotheirfirms,theamounttheypay

themselvesmaysometimesputthemahead

oflawyersworkingatlargerfirms.

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Part1:Awideninggap

HOURLYRATESARERISINGBUT

HAVEN’TKEPTPACEWITHINFLATION

Sincethestartof2020,hourlyratesforbothsolosandnon-soloshavesteadilyincreased,likelyinresponsetothechallengesoftheCOVID-19pandemicandcostsresultingfromrisinginterestratesandinflation.Withinthefirstfewmonthsof2020,hourlyratesforsololawyers

increasedby4%.Bytheendof2022,theywere11%higher.

Non-sololawyershaveincreasedtheirratesonlyslightlymorethansolos.Theaveragerateforanon-sololawyerin2022wasjust12%higherthantheywerein2019.

Still,sololawyerhourlyrateshaven’tkeptpacewithinflation.Theaveragecostofgoodsandservices,asmeasuredbytheConsumerPriceIndex(CPI),increasedby16%duringthistime.Basedonaveragehourlyratesin2022,bothsolosandnon-soloswouldneedtoincreasetheirratesby$12perhourtokeeppacewiththeCPI.

It’sworthnotingthatwhilesolosandnon-solosarecollectingmoreoverall,withoutactualgainsincasework,thenetdifferencemaynotbeimpactfulforactualpurchasingpowerandprofitabilitysinceeverydollarearned

buyslessthanitdidjustafewyearsago.

Sololawyerhourlyrates

haven’tkeptpacewithinflation.

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Part1:Awideninggap

WHERESOLOSFALLSHORT

(ANDWHERETHEYSUCCEED)

Overall,lawyersatlargerfirmsaremorelikelytobehappywithwhere

theystandfinancially.Theyare40%morelikelythansolostobehappy

withtherevenuetheyearnfortheirfirmand23%morelikelytobehappywiththeirpersonalincome.2Non-solosarealso15%morelikelytohavegoodtimemanagement,whichmayplayintohigherutilizationratesthatresultinmorerevenuefortheirfirms.

Solos,ontheotherhand,appeartohaveanadvantageinotherareas.Theyare24%morelikelytoreporthavingpositiverelationshipswithclients,

whichspeakstothetypeofhands-on,personalnatureoftheservices

thatmanysolospridethemselveson.Solosarealsoslightlymorelikely

tobehappywiththeirprofessionallives(8%more)andtheirmentalandemotionalwellness(13%more),whichmaybecircumstantialtothetypesofworkingarrangementstheyarefreetocreateforthemselves.

2Percentagesdiscussedinthereportarerelativecomparisonsofsurveydatafindings.

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Part1:Awideninggap

DOSOLOSPRIORITIZEFREEDOMAND

FLEXIBILITYOVERPROFIT?

Theoverarchingdifferencesbetweensolosandnon-solosaren’tinherentlybad.Everylawyershoulddecidewhattypeofpracticetheywanttoworkfor,whetherit’stheirownorsomeoneelse’s,basedontheirpreferences

andwheretheyareintheircareers.

Forsolos,thereisabenefittobeingabletochoosewhereandwhenoneworksandhowmuchworktheywanttotakeon.Atthesametime,toworkasatruesoloistoaccepttheconstraintthatthereareonlysomanyhoursinadayandthatonelawyercanonlydosomuch.

Leveragingtherighttechnologiescaneasetheburdenofwearingmultiplehats,andhelpsolosputmoreoftheirtimeintotheirmostvaluablework—whilealsomaintainingthefreedomofaflexibleworkschedule.Many

soloshavealreadyfoundwaystoleveragetechnologytoextendtheir

capabilitieswithoutoverextendingthemselves,andPart4looksatwayssoloscancontinuetoexpandtheircapacitywhilealsoconsolidatingcosts.

Thefollowingsectionswilllookatsomeoftheunderlyingdifferencesinhowsolosprefertowork,whichprovideinsightintoboththeadvantagesthatsoloshaveinbuildingrelationshipswithclients,andhowtheymaystruggletobalanceprioritiesbetweenworkandtheirpersonallives.

Leveragingtherighttechnologiescaneasetheburdenofwearingmultiplehats,andhelpsolosputmoreoftheir timeintotheirmostvaluablework.

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Part2

Solosworkinmorethanonelocation

2

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Part2:Solosworkinmorethanonelocation

Aslawyerscontinuetoprioritizebetterwork-lifebalance,solopracticehasthepotentialtobecomeanevenmoreattractivepursuitformany.The

freedomtochoosewhereandwhentoworkisespeciallyvaluabletosolos,whoembracemoredistributedworkhabitsenabledbycloud-basedvirtualtechnologies.

Aslawyerscontinuetoprioritizebetter

work-lifebalance,solopracticehas

thepotentialtobecomeanevenmore

attractivepursuitformany.

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Part2:Solosworkinmorethanonelocation

SOLOSMAKEUPAVITALPORTIONOF

THEMARKETFORLEGALSERVICES

Akeytrendidentifiedinthe2022LegalTrendsReportwasthatnearlyoneinfivelawyersleftajobearlierinthatyear,coincidingwiththe“GreatResignation,”atermcoinedtoreflectthenumberofworkerseither

changingjobsorleavingtheworkforceduringthattime.

Infact,31%ofthelawyerswhoquittheirfirmslefttostarttheirown

solopractices.Andwhilethosenowrunningasolopracticewerenearlyaslikelytohaveleftapreviousrole,theyaremuchlesslikelytoleave

theirfirmtoworkforsomeoneelse.

oflawyerswhoquittheirfirmsstartedtheirownsolopractices

31%

Thisinfluxofnewsolopractices,combinedwiththelowerattritionrateforsolos,indicatesthatthemarketforsololawyersisstrong—ifnotthriving.

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WHAT’STHEBENEFITOFSOLOPRACTICE?

Inthe2022LegalTrendsReport,whichlooksatdatafromlawyersworkingatfirmsofallsizes,betterpayandwork-lifebalancetoppedthelistof

reasonswhylawyerseitherleftorwereconsideringleavingtheirroles.

Forthoseseekingbetterpay,solopracticecouldbeaviableoptionfor

manyassociatelawyers.Workingforoneself—withouthavingtopayintoalargerfirm’soverheadandpartnershares—canbepotentiallymore

profitableforindividuallawyerswhowanttoworkontheirown.ButaswesawinPart1ofthisreport,mostsolosaren’tsatisfiedwiththeirearnings.

Intermsofwork-lifebalance,however,solopracticeoffersmorecontrolinhowlawyersmanagetheirpersonalandprofessionallives—andbeingabletoworkaflexiblescheduleiskey.

Notsurprisingly,62%ofsololawyerspreferworkingathomeoveracommercialoffice.

Sinceoverheadistiedcloselytothepersonalincomeofsololawyers,

workingfromhometoavoidspendingmoneyonacommercialoffice

offersaprimeopportunitytooperatemoreprofitably,resultinginmoremoneyintheirpockets.Forsololawyerswhowantmorefreedomand

work-lifebalance,workingfromhomealsooffersmoreopportunities

tobalancecommitmentsintheirpersonallives.Newinnovationsin

technologymakethesetypesofworkingarrangementsincreasinglymoreseamlessandconvenient,forbothlegalprofessionalsandtheirclients.

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Aslongaslegalprofessionalsstriveformorework-lifebalanceandtheflexibleworkarrangementsneededtoachieveit,withthehelpoftechnology,solopracticewillcontinuetobeavitalcomponentofthemarketforlegalservices.

SOLOSWORKINMANYLOCATIONS

Datashowsthatsolosdon’tjustpreferworkingfromhome.Theyworkfrommorethanonelocation,atrendthat’sonlyincreased—aftera

sharpdeclineatthestartoftheCOVID-19pandemic—since2021.

Soloshavealwaysworkedonthego,traditionallyworkinginthreetofourdifferentlocationseachmonthpriorto2020.Now,solostypicallyworkacrossfivelocationseachmonth.Inotherwords,evenamongsolopractitioners,legalworkisbecomingmoredistributed—andtheflexibilityandmobilityoflegalworkismoreessentialthanever.

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Wherearelawyersworking?Anywheretheywant.Lawyershave

traditionallyhadtomakecourtappearancesorhousecallstomeet

clientswheretheyare.Digitaltechnologies,specificallycloud-based

technology,allowlawyerstoworkmoreeffectivelyoutsidetheofficebygivingthemaccesstoalloftheresourcesandinformationtheywouldhavehadaccesstointheiroffice.

Whethercheckingtheircalendarorpullingupdocumentsstoredin

theirvirtualdrive,lawyersarenolongertetheredtoasinglelocation.Beyondwherelawyershavetraditionallyworked,cloud-basedsolutionsallowlawyerstoworkfromvirtuallyanywhere,whetherfroma

temporaryofficeinacoffeeshoporwhiletravelingabroad.

WhenlookingatdifferencesinthedevicesusedtoaccesstheirworkinClio,muchoftheincreaseinthelastyearhasbeenthroughalaptopordesktopbrowser,suggestingthatlawyersarebringingacomputertomorelocationstodotheirwork.

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LEGALWORKHASGONEVIRTUAL

Thetrendofworkinginmorelocationshasbeenenabled,andlikely

influenced,bytechnologyinnovations—especiallycloud-basedsolutions—overthepastdecade.

Phone,email,andtextinghavebeencommonmediumsforclient

communicationsforquitesometime,butvideoconferencinghasbecomenearlyuniversal—ifnotpreferred—onlyinrecentyears.Amongsolos,

50%nowprefertomeetclientsvirtuallyinsteadofinperson.

Oneofthepotentialbenefitsofvirtualcommunicationsisthattheyopenopportunitiestoworkoutsideoftheimmediatemarket.Forexample,

two-thirdsofsoloswanttheoptiontoworkwithclientsinotherstates.

Fromabusinessperspective,beingabletoworkwithclientsinother

statescouldopenupnewmarketopportunities.Onamorepersonallevel,italsoallowslawyersthefreedomtotravelwhilemaintainingcontinuitywithclients—whetheritbewhilevisitingfamilyandfriends,vacationing,orenjoyingachangeinsceneryduringaworkresidencysomewhereelse.

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Part2:Solosworkinmorethanonelocation

THEFREEDOMTOWORKANYWHERE,

ANYTIMEREQUIRESBALANCEWITHPERSONALLIFE

Solosneedtoconsiderhowtheycanprioritizetheirworkwithinthescopeoftheireverydaylives.Thisconsiderationisespeciallyrelevantasmorelegalprofessionals—andsolosinparticular—workoutsideoftraditionalworkspaces.

Asthedatainthenextsectionsuggests,workingthroughoutthedaymaybebeneficialtobuildingstrongclientrelationships.However,workingoutsideofatraditionalworkscheduledoesn’tnecessarilytranslateto

betterrevenue—andcanalsobeadetrimenttolawyersinotherways.

Solosneedtoconsiderhowthey

canprioritizetheirworkwithinthe

scopeoftheireverydaylives.

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Part3

Prosandconsofflexibleworkschedules

3

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Part3:Prosandconsofflexibleworkschedules

InPart1,wesawthatsolosfarebetterintermsoftheirrelationshipswithclientsandslightlybetterintermsoftheirprofessionallivesandmental

andemotionalwell-being.We’vealsoseenthat

sololawyershaveastrongpreferenceforworkingremotelywithclientsnearandfar—andare

exercisingtheirfreedomtoworkinmorethanoneplacethroughourresearchoutlinedinPart2.

Asweseeinthissection,solosaremuchmorelikelytobeflexiblewith

theirtimeandwhentheyarewillingtomeetwithclients.Wealsosee,

however,thatthosewhocanalsoputlimitsontheirtime—asin,thosewhocankeeptheirworkwithintraditionalworkinghours—aretypicallymuch