Ten Rambling Lessons Wrangled Out of Ten Years

By Elisabeth Edwards and Holly Wanzer, Wanzer Edwards PC

It’s hard to fathom that ten years have passed since we put two computers and two phones into a temporary office and officially opened the doors on our law firm.  Suddenly Wanzer Edwards, PC is turning ten, and we are definitely ten years older.  Occasionally we reminisce about the relative simplicity of the earliest days where we were very much like cartoon characters who ran off the side of a cliff but didn’t even know enough to go crashing down.  Somehow, we have muddled and lucked our way through a decade, and we like to think we have learned a thing or two along the way.  Here are ten things we know now that the younger versions of ourselves who started this great adventure had yet to fully discover.

1. You don’t know what you don’t know.  One of the overwhelming things about starting any business is treading into areas which are unknown like website development and bookkeeping.  Ten years ago, when we were tentatively putting up the capital needed to get our bare bones operation off the ground, we wanted a bargain on everything that could be bargained.  What we have learned in ten years is that some things are worth the cost, and these include services designed to market your practice effectively and to keep you in compliance with rules, regulations and tax codes.  Be willing to invest in help when you are getting into areas outside your wheelhouse.  For example, a well-built website which pops up in customer searches will pay for itself with revenue.  And you will likely pay your web designers less than your hourly rate to do a much better job than you ever thought about doing.  We realize you can go cheap on some things, but others require the investment and end up paying you back.  Buy used furniture until you can afford otherwise but hire the pros when it counts.
2. Choose your partners and co-workers carefully.  After ten years as business partners, we continue to put significant effort into our “work spouse” relationship.  We have as much money, blood, sweat, and tears tied up in this union as we do with a “home spouse”.  Long gone are the days when we believed that “making partner” was a trophy to be won and displayed.  Business partnership should not be entered casually, and the deeply trusting relationship we have with one another is something we actively cultivate all the time.  The last year and a half has also brought into sharp focus how important it is to have co-workers that you believe in and who support you.  As a team we have leaned on each other significantly.  It’s a privilege to go to work everyday to collaborate with the exceptional human beings we call colleagues.  This is easily as important to your happiness as the type of work you are doing. 
3. Technology saves the world.  Remember those ancient days when everything you filed had to have an original plus three copies, accompanied by pre-addressed, stamped envelopes for service of orders?  That was the way of things pretty much forever.  Then came e-filing, which initially seemed like it might be clunky and strange.  But just think of what devastation this pandemic would have wrought in our practices had the Indiana courts not implemented e-filing when they did.  And virtual hearings, while not convenient in all circumstances, make SO MUCH SENSE for things like pretrial conferences, 15 minute settings, and short, low exhibit proceedings.  May they never go away completely.  If the last few months have shown us anything, it’s that technological advances in the law were needed and essentially saved the justice system when the unthinkable happened and daily life fell into pieces around us.  What we are taking from this powerful experience is that we need to resist the urge to get too comfortable in the way things are done.  Technology will continue to advance how we practice, and that is a good thing.  
4. Striving for excellence isn’t a catchphrase.  There’s nothing we hate more than finding a typing error in our legal work product after it’s already been filed.  It happens.  But it should be rare.  Mistakes are inevitable, but for as much as clients are paying for our time to prepare their legal filings and other documents, we owe them a read through for proof reading.  The best legal argument looks less convincing when the client’s name is spelled wrong or there are multiple grammatical errors.  Some clients will never appreciate the value we provide to them, but hopefully it’s not because our work product look like an afterthought.  When we remember that what we file can have grave consequences, AND it will be around long after we have stopped practicing, every word matters.  We even proofread one another’s work because we want it to be right.  Don’t let your ego get in the way of doing the very best job possible.
5. Some clients are not for you, and you are not for them.  It’s admittedly hard to turn away business when you are just starting out.   However, if the 2021 versions of us could talk to the 2011 versions of us, we would have a list of cases that were simply not worth it.  This includes any client who failed to follow even the simplest of directions from us, was rude or demeaning to us or to our staff, had wildly unrealistic expectations that couldn’t be shaken with law or reason, or didn’t pay for services rendered.  Don’t even get us started on the ones who wanted us to do something that wasn’t on the up and up.  Get outta here with that!  Over time, it’s easier and easier to spot the clients that don’t fit with your practice style or who will cause more trouble than is acceptable.  It’s ok to say no.  It’s not even just ok.  It’s necessary to say no sometimes.  Remember: a good lawyer will take the case; a great lawyer will say no.   
6. Be a legal advisor.  The wizard role is beyond you.  Slightly related to No. 5 above, always remember that you have a role in every case you take.  It is as a legal advisor and advocate.  This does not, however, mean you are obligated to deliver a “win” regardless of a horrendous set of facts over which you have no control.  It also does not mean that you should tell clients what they want to hear so that they will hire you.  If a client has no case or stands to suffer a major loss at trial because the law is against him, don’t waste time searching for the magic wand to miraculously change that.  Just tell that client the truth.  People can get the “you’re always a winner” pep talk from their best friends or moms.  They have hired a lawyer to get legal advice whether they like hearing it or not.   It’s bad lawyering and bad practice to take someone’s money on an empty promise that a pie in the sky outcome is achievable.  As much as you want to be a wizard, you’re a muggle.  
7. Make a clear plan for billing and collecting.  Years ago, we heard the story of a well-regarded attorney who suddenly and sadly died.  This lawyer’s spouse was not an attorney and did not know what to do with the hundreds of thousands of dollars of fees representing years of work which had yet to be billed to clients and the huge list of accounts receivable for which no collection effort had been made.  Chances are that a large portion was never collected.  Billing and collecting is not the unimportant side work of the practice of law.  It’s the business part.  Consider that you are selling your time as a product.  If your local grocer only occasionally charged you for the groceries you took from the store, it would be inevitable that a box of Twinkies would get missed here and there.  Or maybe you would move away and forget you still owed the grocer for a year’s worth of weekly supplies.  This is why businesses require you to check out before you leave. You need to establish a clear and consistent procedures to allow and require your clients to pay for your services.  
8. Practice self-care like you matter.  We read the statistics of attorney suicide, substance abuse, and mental health challenges, and after ten years of running a law firm, we can see the difficult and demanding side of what we do.  We solve other people’s problems for a living while someone else is trying to defeat our efforts.  That’s hard stuff.  Every week we each take an hour and see a therapist who specializes in lawyers.  It’s made a big difference.  We also set boundaries for our time, have hobbies, get spa services, and take vacations.  That’s all important.  But real help dealing with the daily stresses of practice that build up over time is the most important thing of all.  We encourage you to feel no shame, no hesitation, no self-judgment and to allow no amount of being too busy or needing to bill one more hour keep you from engaging in regular and real help with your mental health.  There’s no reason to wait until you are struggling to get started.
9. The law is a relationship business.  The longer we practice here the more we know that we are privileged to practice in the Indianapolis legal community.  It is large enough to keep things hopping and interesting, but small enough to really get to know other lawyers.  This last year has tested everyone’s networking acumen.  We have all had to be creative to meet new people in our community.  Hopefully, you are finding value in the Zoom coffee meetings or lunches, which seem awkward at first but are actually kind of fun.  While we will all be back in the same room soon, getting comfortable with distance networking has the potential to greatly expand your circle if you keep up with tech-based meetings.  While bridging the distance with technology can be so positive, hiding behind technology to be rude and non-collegial is crummy.  It’s easier than ever to fire off a nasty email or to turn off your sound and camera when someone else is talking.  Let’s take care of each other now more than ever and take advantage of opportunities through the Bar association to get out there and mingle.    
10. Cultivate joy because it’s not going to happen spontaneously.  The last ten years – and perhaps the last year particularly – have changed us.  We have been through a lot personally and professionally, and we know you have too.  One of the most powerful lessons we have learned as lawyers, as friends, as spouses, as work spouses, as parents, as colleagues, and as humans is that the act of being joyful is an intentional one.  Happiness does not get delivered to you, and it is rarely spontaneous.  It’s a choice and requires actions designed to implement that choice.  Don’t wait for joy to arrive in your practice of law.  Choose to cultivate joy.  For us that includes celebrating small things with flowers, cards and Clustertruck, laughing about dumb things, and embracing gratitude.  It’s hard work actually.  But all the loss and pain we have seen recently leaves no doubt that it’s worth it.  Your practice is as joyful as you choose to make it.

The last ten years have been such a gift and for everyone who has played any part in that, we thank you.  The good news is that you’re off the hook from our ramblings for another decade.  Fair warning that it’s probably going to go fast.

If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Family Law Section, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.

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