Little Hands, Big Plans - Motherhood and Business

The Lawyer-Mom’s Guide to Going Solo: How I Built a Flexible Firm

• Emilia Coto • Season 1 • Episode 23

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The Lawyer-Mom’s Guide to Going Solo: How I Built a Flexible Firm

In this episode, I’m sharing the honest, behind-the-scenes story of how I built a part-time, flexible immigration law firm while raising little ones.

If you’re a mother working in law and feeling stuck in a traditional workplace, or wondering whether starting your own law firm is even possible with young kids, this episode is for you. I walk through exactly how I structured my practice so that my work fits around my family. I talk about choosing flat-fee legal services, limiting case types, designing systems that allow me to work fewer hours, and keeping overhead intentionally low so the business supports my lifestyle.

I also dive into the financial fears so many moms have when thinking about leaving a firm, how I chose case types that were profitable and repeatable, and why I rely heavily on technology instead of a large team. I share why I’m grateful I kept practicing instead of stepping out of the workforce entirely and the sacrifices and trade-offs that come with building a firm around motherhood.

You’ll hear:

  • Why I chose part-time practice instead of full-time growth mode
  • How I structured my firm using flat fees and systematized case types
  • The financial mindset shift that helped me actually start
  • How to decide what cases to take (and what to say no to)
  • The importance of community, mentorship, and paid lawyer groups
  • How I used Google reviews, referrals, and simple marketing to get my first clients
  • The pros and cons of contract-lawyering vs. building your own client base
  • Why maintaining integrity and not burning bridges matters when launching your firm

My hope is that this episode gives you inspiration to imagine a different path,  one where you can stay in the workforce, contribute financially, keep your skills sharp, and still prioritize motherhood in this season. One where you don’t need to choose between being a present mom and being a lawyer. 

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to be a sole practitioner, a homeschool mom, and a business owner, this episode is for you. 

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with another mom who needs encouragement. Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and connect with me on LinkedIn.

For other episodes and resources, visit our website at https://littlehandsbigplans.co/pages/podcast

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Little Hands Big Plans, the podcast for moms who want to reimagine work after kids and build a life where family comes first without giving up your dreams. I'm Amelia and I know firsthand how much motherhood shifts our careers, our priorities, and our pace. But instead of seeing it as a setback, what if we saw it as an invitation? An opportunity to design a life with a little more freedom, a little more presence, and a little more fulfillment. Each week, we'll have honest conversations with moms who've shaped their work and business around what truly matters. Whether you're considering a career pivot, dreaming of a slower pace, or just wondering what's possible, you're in the right place. So grab a little something warm, settle in, and let's explore the possibilities together. And it was inspired by really similar conversations that I've been having offline with lawyer friends that feel stuck in their current career. A lot of firms in many ways feel incompatible with family life, especially for moms that want to really build a life around their children. And in some ways, it makes sense, right? Because law firms are a business, they have to maximize their profit, and they're not built around your own family. And if you want a workplace that is actually built around your family and your family's desires, your family's goals, then you should probably build it yourself because a lot of the times I think the frustration from the employers and from the lawyers comes from there's mismatch in vision. I wanted to talk about how I've done it, just to give you a little bit of background. I have two kids. I'm planning to homeschool them. I've started homeschooling my oldest. And a lot of people ask me how that's possible, while also having my own firm and building my own firm. And so this episode is not about maximizing revenue. It's not about the most aggressive growth. In this season of my life, my priority is to be a mother and to be able to be present for my kids. And I'm recording this episode to be friendly for people that want to build a part-time legal practice or for people that don't necessarily want to do it part-time. They want to do it full-time, but in a way that really aligns with family goals as well. And so the first thing that I would consider if I was starting over is the vision, because it what I started my firm before I had kids, which I think in some ways was easier because I put in a lot of the really heavy hours when I still had the time. But even after kids, the vision of really building around their lives wasn't clear right away. And so once I made that intentional decision that during their little years that was going to be my priority, it made a lot of other decisions easier because it's easier to build something when you know what the end goal is. And so to share a little bit about my vision is that I wanted to build a low volume, high-service firm, but it has to be low volume in order to support my family as well, right? I didn't want the service to clients to suffer because of this. I still really care about my professional reputation, doing excellent work and helping people. And it has to be done in a way that is compatible with also my personal goals and my family goals. And so, in order to do that, decisions about the type of clients that I wanted to work with, decisions about the how I bill, and every decision basically revolves around that. So a good starting point is to think about what your vision for the firm and your personal life is. And personally, I wanted to have a lot of time, flexibility, and so I didn't want a practice where I had to trade more time in order to make more money. And so I made the decision to only charge flat fees. I wanted to be able to work from home, and so that affects the type of clients that I work with as well. And I wanted income stability. So again, that also goes through to the decisions that I've made in regards to billing. And so some of the decisions that support those goals is flat fees is really foundational because I came from a firm where it was not flat fees. And what I quickly realized was that in order to make more money when you're not flat fee, you have to bill more hours. And that I didn't want to do that in this season. And so I would say 95% of the work that I do is in a flat fee model. And I believe that the flat fee model really incentivizes systematizing and thinking through the workflow so that you can produce more and high quality work in less time. And it protects your time, which is the most valuable resource when you're in the early years of motherhood. There are still some situations where I'll still do hourly work, but it is very niche, rare matters that would be difficult to price flat fee. Most of the things that I do, I can do flat fee. I also uh wanted to mention the practice area. So I practice immigration law, Canadian and US immigration law specifically. And the other thing is that I wanted to be competitive price-wise. So a lot of times when firms are low volume, they sometimes have to price at the very top of the range. But I wanted to work, you know, my ideal client wasn't necessarily the highest net worth. And so I my prices are I keep my expenses low in order to be still competitive when it comes to pricing. And the other decision that I made is that I didn't want to be full service in immigration law. So a lot of immigration firms will have full, you'll they'll do all types of immigration cases. And I practice two countries immigration, Canada and the US. So that was a lot of file types. And that's how I started. But that was sucking up my time from being able to really systematize because there were so many different case types that I was constantly having to build, build, build different systems. And it felt like a never-ending thing with new programs that came out and changes to existing programs. So another intentional decision that I made was to reduce the types of client files. And now I really focus. My niche is a cross-border practice. So a lot of the cases that I focus on are cases that apply in both Canada and the US. They're the cross-border types, and I focus on systematizing these things deeply. One of a per a personal interest that I have is I really love trying new technology. I love playing with different software. And so because I enjoy that, I enjoy building that part of my practice. And then also with having certain limited cases, case types that I take, I feel more confident in those because I really have taken the time to develop deep expertise in the types of cases that I take. It doesn't take me as long to prepare for client consultations as, and before it was taking me a lot longer because I was always seeing novel issues. Now I the foundation of the case types that I take, I know very well. And there's still complexities within those cases, but it's building on a strong foundation. And I feel good about this because it allows me to be very good at the case types that I do. I feel good about helping the people that I am helping with instead of, oh, I've never done this before. I have to figure it out. Even though I could, it's better for time-wise and profit-wise as well to limit those. And that is very hard to do when you're starting out and you're just happy to get some clients, right? So if you have the vision in advance, you can make those sort of decisions knowing what the end goal is and spending more of that free time at the beginning to really build the systems that you're hoping to achieve. So how I chose the different case types is that I analyzed case value, the required time of the cases, the overhead that the different case types took, and how many files per month I would need to meet my financial needs. And the financial aspect was one of the big things that I had to overcome when I was first going out on my own. I was scared of not having a steady paycheck. And I will say in business, it's definitely more variable than a steady paycheck. But something that helped me overcome it from a mindset perspective is that I identified how many files per month I would need in order to replace my previous income or to double my previous income, et cetera. And I realized that as long as I kept my overhead really low, it doesn't take that many cases to meet my needs and my goals, my financial goals. And so this really helped me overcome the fear of going solo. And so my target currently is I want from four to eight case files. And, you know, if if you're able, if you think about it, if you're able to make your average case value be four to five thousand dollars, that's a lot of income for working part-time or for working um a reduced schedule. Then I also thought about how I was going to manage part-time work. And something that has helped is having flexible childcare. And so because in a firm there's going to be nonlinear workload seasons, unfortunately, it's not that every month is the same. Some are a lot busier, some are a lot slower. And over the years, you'll start to realize that there's a seasonality to legal practice in most practice areas. So you'll be able to predict this easier. But at that beginning, it really helped to have flexible child care for my children. The other thing that I've had to learn over the years and that were, I would say, was a hard lesson to learn was the team size is something that some people really enjoy managing others. And it also perhaps if in your current firm or in your current workplace you have someone that would be interested in coming with you and you know they would be great, you know. But for me personally, I don't enjoy managing other people. I've had a hard time finding good people as well. But when I found someone and I have someone that I really enjoy working with right now and that is really great at their jobs, it makes a huge difference. And I so I enjoy keeping my team small. It's me and an amazing legal assistant. And probably, you know, for the foreseeable future, I only want to hire if I if the it feels like a really good fit. And if it's not, then I think I'm more at a point where I can say, this isn't working, and let's go our separate ways, because that having someone that it doesn't work with your vision or it doesn't work um with the team dynamics really is a drain on legal practice, life, etc. And so another decision that I've made, keeping that in mind, is that we will invest in technology a lot more. And I'm okay with the expense of technology significantly more than staff. And now with AI, there are so many things that can be replaced with technology as opposed to people. And it's easier to cancel subscriptions than to part ways with someone that you're working with. So that's another benefit. The other thing that I've learned with seasonality is using contract lawyers. And that's really helpful during busy seasons because you can get another attorney, another lawyer on your team without having to do full-on hires. And the challenging part is finding good fits, but it is a flexible way to expand temporarily. And again, this goes this has to be in line with your vision. Some people are gonna want to have bigger teams and grow and not mind the painful aspects of leadership and leading a team. It's just in mind this season right now. It's not something that I want and that I'm okay with, you know. So that's why I started with the vision piece and just sharing what is working for me in case you need ideas. The that I also want to talk about financial planning because I know, especially after kids, there is a real pressure to provide for your family. And you know, not everyone can depend on a spouse, or maybe you have student loans. Whatever the case may be, it's the main thing is overcoming the fear. And sometimes the fear is also good because it'll keep you motivated. And so the main thing that I've learned from that is someone told me once that it didn't matter if I was the best lawyer in the world. If I didn't have clients, I wasn't going to be able to help people. So figuring out how to get clients is one of the main things that you're going to have to do, especially if you don't have that pressure right now, if you're in-house or if you're at your own firm, that's the number one thing to figure out. So who is your ideal client? Who are they connected with? Who do you currently know? If you have that fear, if you start building those connections and coming up with a plan in advance, it will feel a lot less scary to take the leap. And, you know, depending on your depending on your comfort for risk. I was told to have six months of savings before I started. It could be six months, it could be eight months. It just depends on what your needs are, what your family's needs are, but most people will not burn through that. A lot of people will also use a maternity leave as a launch window. And so we'll start to network, build those connections, and it's a natural time to set those foundations if you have capacity. The other thing that I wanted to mention around that, because now I'm connected to both sides. So I'm connected to a lot of firm owners, and I'm also connected to people that are trying to become firm owners. And the ethical and practical tip that I wanted to give is to not burn bridges and that leaving your firm with integrity matters because from what I've observed and even personally experienced, when you're building your own firm, you shouldn't have the expectation of using your previous firm as a launching pad in order to build your own. The headaches, the break-in relationships, the harm to your reputation is just not worth it. And so I've seen people, for example, taking firm clients when they shouldn't. And the value of those clients is just not worth it, in my opinion, for the long-term risk and exposure and stress that you're going to be carrying with you. Same with colleagues that have worked for their previous firm and during firm time basically built their firm and employers have found out after the fact, right? And no one wants that because essentially you're using the time you're stealing from your previous employer to build your own. And instead, you could have built that relationship to be a good source of referrals. So in my Opinion, even though I understand that fear can motivate people to do that. And even if you say, well, I was the one that built this practice area at the firm, and I was the one that did that, you were still paid for that. Let it go. Build your reputation, your firm on your own. It's going to feel better. And those connections are going to serve you better. So one of the other things that I wanted to say is that having community support mentorship when you're a solo, in my opinion, is one of the most valuable things that you can that you can invest in. And these communities have really shaped my journey. They've created referral partners. I have learned far beyond what I could have learned on my own because of being a part of these communities. And so one of the first ones that I joined was Maximum Lawyer with Jim Hacking and Tyson Nutrix and Becca Eberhart. And they are really invested. They really care. So I've I've joined their group since the beginning. It's been amazing. They have a podcast, which is a wealth of information on running and launching a successful law firm. I'm also part of the community best era. And that's run by Ryan McKean, Allison McKean. And they're they're also extremely accessible. They plan great events. They have a Slack channel that helps people with all sorts of anything you might need with growing a firm, like what things you should be focusing on, vetting legal vendors, SEO tips, anything. So that's a really good resource as well. If you're an immigration, I have found the national immigration associations to be incredible. So in the US is the American Immigration Lawyers Association, ALA, and in Canada is the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association. They both put on continuing education. They have resources, precedence, mentorship available even through their organization. And so it's a really great opportunity to connect with others in your field, build referral opportunities, stay, it cuts down on the time that it takes to learn things and to figure things out in your own, especially with immigration, with all of the changes that have been coming. I wouldn't be able to keep up on trap of it all if it wasn't for having that type of support. And so, in my opinion, paid communities are worth it even on when you're trying to keep your costs low. They're going to save you time. You're going to get access to really good mentorship. They're going to help you stay updated on legal and practice changes. And they're also going to reduce a lot of the isolation and fear that can come from being a sole practitioner. So one of the first things that I would do when if I had to start over, is I would definitely leverage my existing relationships. So staying in touch, building genuine relationships, telling people what you're doing, who you're hoping to connect with, and asking for help. I would also, and I still continue to do this, focus on getting Google reviews. A lot of the firm's first client and continued client, Google continues to be a really good source. So getting Google reviews is very important, especially at the beginning. A website, I still do the website myself. I've realized that I definitely, this is an area of growth for me that I could use more help because it can get really technical. But I do still get a decent amount of traffic from building my own. So it's possible. And then continuing to build referral relationships by connecting one-on-one with colleagues. So um the that focus goes to what I was saying about the importance of getting those clients. And then the other thing is cutting back on the case type, so figuring out which types of cases would be my next step. But that's secondary to figuring out how to get clients. And the main thing that I've learned and continue to learn is that consistency is so important. And that's one of the mistakes that I continue to make and grow firm for when you have a limited amount of time. So when you stop marketing, you won't realize right away it'll come maybe months later, and then you have to work on it again. But it takes some time. And so building marketing rhythms that you can maintain part-time as opposed to trying to do everything is important. Um, I wanted to talk about also the practical side of okay, how does it work with childcare? How does it work with homeschooling? And so basically, for me, there's ebbs and flows, but generally speaking, I will work in chunks of three hours, and then I will spend a lot of time with the kids. And then if I have to work again, I'll work another chunk of three hours in a day, usually around their nap times before they wake up or after they're asleep. And so that's how, and that's how I do it. So for example, I would a chunk of three hours that I work very frequently is 6.30 in the morning to 9.30 in the morning. So they're still sleeping. And if they wake up, my husband is home and he can be with them. And then generally I'm always with them from nine till noon. Then they usually take another nap, you know, from let's say noon to three. So that's another chunk that I get. And then I can also get another chunk of work if I need to after they're asleep. But another thing is is to make sure that you still in those times make time for exercising and taking care of yourself because health is foundational, right? If you don't have your health, you can't do anything else. So that's that. The other thing that often works for people is doing contract work for other firms. So being less of a client-facing role, focusing less on getting clients, because you need less clients if you're working for firms that are generating the work. And so that tends to be a great bit. And I know many lawyer moms that are doing this and are very happy with it. So if building a firm is not for you, because I don't want to minimize the work and the difficulty that comes with carrying that load, then another alternative model that you could consider is being a contract lawyer for other firms. The benefits of that is it has less responsibility, no marketing, and it's predictable work. But the downside is there can be risks of conf conflicts of interest. And sometimes I find that it's more successful for people that focus on contract work versus trying to do both. Although I did that at the beginning and it was fine. It just depends on your practice area and if that's gonna work. So do informational interviews with firms that you would want to work with if you are exploring that pathway. And for closing thoughts, I want to say that it takes courage to take the leap. And I know that it can come with a lot of fear and overcoming, but I rarely meet people that take the leap and regret it. And you can test that for yourself. You can start having informational interviews with people that have started their own firm and figure out how they feel about it. Most people are so happy with that choice and just the freedom that it comes with designing life on your own terms and designing a life that you don't regret or don't feel as guilty about not being able to be present for your family. And this type of practice can really offer you the ability to financially contribute to your home, to have flexibility to be there for all of your kids' things to really be present for them when you're choosing to be present and purpose to still get to help others. So I would encourage you, if you are thinking about it, it's possible and it can be done. And I I want to also say that the one thing is that sometimes you will get people that are on their own and say that they're working many more hours than they were when they were an employee, and that's totally doable. I think one thing is that the work feels a little bit different. Sometimes it doesn't feel like work. But the other thing is that you have to keep in mind that maybe their vision is different. For some people, their vision really is to grow. They want to grow as big of a firm as possible, they want to make as much money as possible. There's absolutely nothing wrong with either of those, but it can just be that they're building something totally different. And so when you're interviewing people, interview people that are that you're interested in and that have a closer vision to yours so that it's relevant. Because if you interview one of these high-growth, high profit firms, they likely are working around the clock a lot more. It takes sacrifice, and that's I completely respect that. It's just different people have different priorities, and it's it's just gonna look different. And I think there is a misconception that you have to work that much in order to turn a profit or in order to be financially successful. I don't believe that. And I've met with firms that are shocked at the profitability and amount of hours that I'm currently working, and firms that I would consider very successful and good. So I would say that don't also limit yourself and think, okay, because I'm working part-time, that means I can only earn X amount. With technology, I really it's such an amazing time to be alive and to get to experience these changes. So don't limit that, but know that it does come with sacrifices and someone that is doing what I'm doing 45 to 50 hours a week, of course, they're going to be able to achieve more. And I am totally content with that, with not doing that, if it means that I can be more present for my children. That's my priority in this season. I love the little years. I don't want to miss any of it. So I want to miss as little as possible. And that's my happy place right now. And so I hope that this episode is encouraging. I'm always down to connect offline if you want to. And I love connecting with other moms that are looking to build similar things, and I would love to connect with you. That's it for today's episode. Thank you for spending this time with me. I know how valuable your time is, and I hope you're walking away feeling encouraged to dream a little bigger about what's possible for your work and family life. If this episode spoke to you, it would mean so much if you shared it with another mom who needs this kind of encouragement. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you want to keep the conversation going, connect with me on LinkedIn. Just search Amelia Koto. That's E-M-I-L-I-A-C-O-T-O. Until next time, remember, motherhood isn't the end of your dreams. It's just the beginning.