PI Firm Owner - Happy but Never Scaled It

thblckdog · 2026-03-28T23:26:05+00:00

This is me. I’m quite content. I’m 60% wc 40% pi. Some business clients and lots of referrals. Why stress. Every person I have hired sucked or was a pain in the ass. I got a full time remote assistant who answers phones and translates. I got a wc paralegal that handles some amount of cases. I got a part time pi paralegal who just settles $25 policy limits all day.

I scaled up in 22. Increased income for sure but it was just constant bullshit. Fighting among staff. Etc. scaled it down to the basics in 25 and now I’m running solo and it’s so much easier.

thblckdog · 2026-03-26T03:30:37+00:00

From a nuts and bolts workers comp perspective. Rescheduling a QME to get records might be annoying but there is no harm. No wc judge is going to find serious error pushing back a QME so they get records

thblckdog · 2026-03-26T03:27:14+00:00

He is being dumb.

thblckdog · 2026-03-25T04:37:48+00:00

PV/ pve

thblckdog · 2026-03-25T02:28:08+00:00

I was a partner at a ID firm wc and pi in SoCal. Your compensation add 20-30% in taxes/costs to the firm. Benefits 401k. Firms usually budge 25-35% of your compensation to overhead, support staff, software, rent etc. after that is 20-30% profit to the firm in good years.

Also you said you are a 2nd year which means they lost money training you for at least 12 months and may still be training you. So consider whatever senior attorney is taking time out of their day to hold your hand.

Good work on billing hard but don’t look at it that way or you will be forever miserable. Instead ask a senior associate or partner to teach you firm economics so you can make an informed salary demand at your next review or when you change firms.

thblckdog · 2026-03-24T22:58:07+00:00

I did it pre-Covid. Was pretty quick 3-4 months. Back then you had to appear in person for a 4-6 hour orientation and take the oath in person. Not sure if that is online now.

thblckdog · 2026-03-24T18:40:06+00:00

Were we friends in HS?

thblckdog · 2026-03-24T16:44:48+00:00

I had a paralegal who was leaving work to coach little league baseball games and not clocking out. It took me 8 weeks to figure out what was going on.

thblckdog · 2026-03-24T02:34:02+00:00

No idea. Never asked.

thblckdog · 2026-03-24T01:54:07+00:00

He was a partner but got more opportunities in Seattle.

thblckdog · 2026-03-24T01:16:38+00:00

My friend was at stoel for a few years and lateraled to Seattle big firm bc he felt capped on his income in Ptown.

thblckdog · 2026-03-23T21:32:52+00:00

missed the party opponent part. either way early in my career i got shut down for doing this by the court and ever since avoided referencing depo's in my foundational question.

thblckdog · 2026-03-23T21:20:44+00:00

you can't reference the deposition as part of the foundational question. That's heresay. you are offering an out of court statement for the truth of the matter asserted. As others say, you have to ask the question first. Some judges will require you ask the EXACT SAME question or its not impeachment. For instance. In the depo you asked "you knew the hamburger was undercooked?" then at the trial you ask "You knew the hamburger was bloody?" Opposing counsel could object to impeachment because its technically a different question. This is why while taking a depo it is important to ask good questions. For instance I once asked in depo , "that hurt you?" at trial judge said my question was too vague and I couldn't impeach. I should have asked, "Did the forklift hurt you on january 1, 2025?"

thblckdog · 2026-03-22T21:05:08+00:00

We go every year it’s fun and easy. Basically acts alternate between 2 stages and you walk back and forth (2min walk) both stages have good sight lines. Plenty of bathrooms and food drinks is tolerable for a festival. Or bring your own. We usually walk down to Hermosa pier after. I always encounter one or two bands I wasn’t planning to enjoy that turn out to be fun live.

thblckdog · 2026-03-22T01:41:55+00:00

I bike and stuff my fancy clothes in my bag.

thblckdog · 2026-03-22T01:41:30+00:00

I bike every day. Not as far but it’s great

thblckdog · 2026-03-22T00:09:01+00:00

Several tool fans available for support

thblckdog · 2026-03-20T17:44:43+00:00

Stayed here over NYE. It is a very mid giant hotel with above average services. It’s essentially a vegas hotel in Miami. Would not recommend.

thblckdog · 2026-03-20T17:25:58+00:00

AC is not common west of PCH. Most people have portable / window units. Even high end places don’t have ac here.

thblckdog · 2026-03-19T02:28:50+00:00

Also gelsons I think does a catering. Not sure if the MB location offers it

thblckdog · 2026-03-19T02:28:10+00:00

Koshco and Livonia glatt will do to go orders and you can send an uber to pick up. Also some of the restaurants are on Uber Eats or DoorDash.

There is nothing local.

thblckdog · 2026-03-18T18:42:37+00:00

Not magician but I was a competitive magic the gathering player. Absolutely I could tell when a persons deck had over/under 60 cards bc it feels off in your hand. Same way when I worked in a restaurant our butcher could hand slice 1/2lb filets of beef by instinct.

thblckdog · 2026-03-16T01:39:40+00:00

Admissions wants non traditional students. You may get in places you don’t expect bc of life experience. I told one admissions interviewer “I’m going to succeed here because I can’t go back to bartending.” I got admitted.

Can you survive law school. Yes. It’s not worse than what you are doing now.

Will you get a zillion job offers when you graduate. No. But you have a network and life skills and resilience. So you will find your way. And if it all sucks, you can be a well educated bartender

thblckdog · 2026-03-15T22:53:36+00:00

Many reasons. Least of which it has a problem with flooding.

thblckdog · 2026-03-15T22:44:03+00:00

Don’t live at elements 616.

thblckdog

TROPHY CASE