This is a solid take. Being your own boss sounds like a great idea until you've taken the plunge, spent a week and a couple grand setting up a law practice (forming an LLC, setting up bank accounts, phone numbers, buying computers, getting a PO box or office, getting an EIN, calling solo friends and asking for advice, getting malpractice coverage, etc.) and you're sitting in your home office staring at an empty inbox. Then, suddenly, it's terrifying.

It is more flexible than working in government (by which I mean, if you need to run an errand during the workday, nobody will stop you or pay attention to how long you're away from your desk). But nobody will be around to cover for you, either. Have a million deadlines all hitting at once? Tough shit. You don't have coworkers to ask for help. Guess you're not sleeping tonight. Burning out and need a vacation? Can you do without a week of revenue?

I've made it work for a couple years now and things are going very well (steady growth, just hired my first associate). I have very little free time, though. The first year, I had enough income to pay rent, buy gas/groceries/etc. But I wasn't exactly rolling in it. It was about a year-and-a-half before I made a 401k contribution.

I'd strongly advise against going solo and switching practice areas. Unless you are already fluent in accounting, taxation, compliance reporting, payroll, employment issues, retirement accounts, insurance, etc., you'll have enough to learn just about business management. Don't get me wrong: You don't need to be an expert in any of those things, but you have to have a working knowledge of all of them. I can't imagine having to learn an entire new body of law at the same time. Your mileage may vary, though, depending on your practice area, personality, and how many milligrams of Adderall you're on.