Five years ago today, I formed Willow Legal Advisors. My plan was to be a transactional attorney in my home state of West Virginia and to provide corporate legal services to locally owned businesses, as well as private equity sponsors across the country. To my knowledge, there were no other attorneys that had built such a practice, and I confidently believed that I was “filling a hole” in the industry. When I look back on my business plan, list of goals and the numerous iterations of each, I’m surprised by how bold I was. I had never practiced in West Virginia, only Texas; I had never been responsible for sourcing my own work; and, I had spent many years enjoying a “Big Law” salary. Yet, not once did I write words of doubt or failure.
Instead, I used Excel spreadsheets to set various annual salary targets for myself and work backwards to evaluate different revenue goals and operating budgets and, from there, work even further backwards to determine my hourly rate and the average number of billable hours required to make my budget work. I also re-visited my past annual performance reviews and listed my most cited strengths and weaknesses in another file. I used this information to understand and develop my brand and to develop specific accountability practices. This early exercise of defining the quantity and quality of my offered services was imperative to my ability to wake up each day with a sense of direction.
In starting my practice, I was fortunate to have good relationships with clients I supported in Big Law who were confident in my ability to assist them on my own. I was also able to offer lower hourly rates, flat fees and other alternative fee arrangements, while being determined to maintain the same best-in-class level of service to which they were familiar. I believe this early commitment to client care and Big Law standards was the primary driver of the success that followed as it supported better professional habits, more trusted client relationships and word-of-mouth referrals. I learned to be both a business owner and an attorney, both of which are necessary in a small practice.
In short, it worked. However, the firm has grown in many ways I didn’t envision 5 years ago. I have a full-time associate, Daniel, that has been with Willow for over 2 years. In Daniel, I have an exceptional young associate and an ambitious colleague who will undoubtedly support Willow’s continued growth and excellence into the future. We represent businesses coast-to-coast across a variety of industries and are constantly developing new areas of expertise and expanding our offered services to fit our clients’ needs, well beyond my first drafts of Willow’s business plan. This growth has been entirely organic, and we are so grateful to our amazing clients for always supporting our small firm.
I almost let this 5-year milestone pass without acknowledgement. I formed Willow with long-term expectations, so it almost feels inevitable. However, I realize that it wasn’t inevitable. It took courage, dedication and a lot of hard work, and I am so incredibly proud of this firm, my associate Daniel, the clients we serve and the work we perform. The legal industry is changing – from AI and cloud-based services to remote work and fee structures, and Willow will continue to be a small but mighty leader at the forefront of this evolving profession for many years to come.
The past 5 years represent the best professional experience of my life, and I am so excited to see what we build and accomplish over the next 5 years. I have no doubt that it will be a thrilling ride.
Thanks for reading.
~Sarah
