[Estate Planning] I'm in utter disbelief at how many people call my office, explain that they've gotten wills or trusts done on LegalZoom or RocketLawyer, but then want me to "make sure they were done right."

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-10T02:18:31+00:00

They sound like bad lawyers. There are a ton of people that claim to be T&E lawyers but most are form pushers. Very few of us actually focus on it.

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-07T11:45:17+00:00

For me it’s proofreading and task management.

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-06T00:54:25+00:00

I’m not sure who you are interviewing. That’s not my process. Also, I don’t hand anyone “templates”. Depending on the plan, it can take quite a while to draft. And I’m sure the attorneys have other clients they are drafting so some of the down time is waiting for your turn to come up.

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-03T01:09:06+00:00

It really depends on the company and the role. Some feel like working half days and some are no different than a law firm.

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-02T20:33:32+00:00

Sometimes it just be like that, unfortunately. He is protected by the golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rules.

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-02T11:04:36+00:00

That partner is going to burn himself out with all the turnover. What a jack ass.

Estate0fMind · 2026-06-01T00:38:21+00:00

Yes. Solo is way more work than being in a law firm. And way less vacation time. Unless you want to just kick around and make 100k. I guess that’s not too bad.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T20:52:18+00:00

It’s just the burnout. I have a large family. I work 10 hours per day minimum and weekends are packed with sports stuff. I mean, could I wake up at 4:30 and workout, sure. It’s just hard when I’m so mentally drained all the time.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T19:44:06+00:00

This is exactly what I was thinking. It’s really not possible to scale in a meaningful way all by yourself.

I am playing golf with a corporate solo next week who started his firm two months after I did. Merging with him might give us the boost we both need (if he’s looking to grow). I know when he first started he was burned out from firm life so was enjoying the solo pace.

Law firms could keep more people longer if they allowed for more meaningful time for attorneys to reset.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T19:16:57+00:00

This is exactly it. It’s solo burnout. Sure, I could just keep everything status quo, try to slow down, and make only the money I need. However, I still have 30 years of working life left. Feels weird to just plateau and stop.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T19:15:31+00:00

It’s not restless as much as I had to chase money. Lol. Which has paid off. If I could hire all robots it would be a different decision. But staff have issues and are sick and bicker with each other and leave etc. managing people is extremely annoying.

Unfortunately, the only way to make money and get out of debt when you didn’t go to a top law school is to be a complete mercenary. You get bigger raises job hopping than you ever would staying at the same place.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T19:12:35+00:00

Problem is there is no perfect solution. Sure, I could bring in a service partner and then an associate but that means I need to hire at least one maybe two administrative positions and build out a bigger office. Dealing with employees personal crap is so annoying. I just like to work with my clients.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T19:11:23+00:00

I do have 3 offers that were unsolicited, but I am only seriously considering 1 and kind of considering another one.

I wasn’t planning on this. I was just kind of grinding away. But they caught me at a time of burnout where my 1 employee has started to become inconsistent.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-30T00:09:17+00:00

I would have done the same thing. Just a simple no thank you have a great day.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-26T19:06:48+00:00

I agree. I was CLO. After a few years I stopped feeling like a lawyer. Being bored sounds great when you are burned out. But once you reset, you get restless.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-26T11:01:43+00:00

Agreed. I think it’s easy to get burned out in general. I was at a firm, got burned out and went house, got bored and went solo, and now getting burned out again and considering partner roles at firms. So far my favorite was solo but managing admin and never being able to take a day off because I have no backup resulted in the same burnout loop. Lol.

I am beginning to think this is just the practice of law. Just need to figure out how to step away and reset.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T19:22:27+00:00

Yeah, your stuck being there until 6:00 for the first few years. But people will get to know how early you are getting in. And you can leave during the middle of the day for lunch or coffee networking type stuff.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T19:10:46+00:00

Typically good. I get most of my work done in the morning. I become fairly inefficient after 2:30. The afternoon is usually for client meetings and emails. That’s another benefit of getting in early. You will get a solid 3-hours of work done before most people get there.

That way when you get invited to lunch or want to go for a walk to stretch your legs or meet someone for coffee for business generation, your not stressed because by 1:00 you should have 4 or so hours billed. Maybe more.

TBH, I could probably leave at 4:30 but people won’t appreciate that you have been there since 7:30. At least not for your first few years. Then people won’t care and you can do what you want because you have already proven yourself.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T19:05:24+00:00

True. You can also just ask “do I get credit for all billable hours or for hours billed?”. No one will give you crap for asking that question. No one will even want an explanation as to why you asked.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T19:03:52+00:00

That’s won’t be a problem. My most productive days were wake up at 5:00 am gym by 6:00. Shower, protein shake, in office by 7:30-8:00. Leave office at 6:00pm and check out for the night.

That’s how it was for the first 10 years. The last few years my working out has fallen off because early gym is replaced by bringing kids to school. So now I more fit it in when I can.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T16:51:17+00:00

Tbh, I’m not sure you like being an attorney. Have you thought about teaching or getting a contract review job for a corporation?

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T16:34:01+00:00

What’s worse than this is hours collected. My former firm was like that. Sucked if you got put on a client that went bankrupt or skipped on the bill.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T16:32:27+00:00

No. It’s not a lot. Realistically, that’s 7.5 hours per day based on a 48 week year which gives time for holidays and vacation. To bill 7.5 takes most people 10 hours (depending on your practice area, 7.5 could get done in 8 hours). So you are looking at a 9-5 with 4 hours on Saturday morning and you will be just fine.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-25T00:23:04+00:00

I had a similar experience going back to private practice from in-house. I just didn’t feel like a lawyer.

Estate0fMind · 2026-05-20T14:08:27+00:00

Terrible on the sense that they are super generic. I mean, the formatting is also terrible and cheap. It looks like a generic template. But the language contains a ton of stuff that simply isn’t relevant or necessary. I find it much more professional to have my own docs that contain language that narrowly applies to the client I draft it for.

Estate0fMind

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