solo attorney

Leukemia strikes new solo attorney

For the past year, Greg Stewart's struggles as a new attorney have been the subject of a series of stories in Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Like many attorneys who venture out on their own, Stewart, 46, has worked to get clients, puzzled over the real-life practicalities of the court system and dreamed of opening his own office.

Now his career has been cruelly interrupted. Stewart fell ill two [...]

A twinge of guilt after the interview

I had an interview last week – my first since law school. I found the hardest part of the interview was telling the guy that gave me my start as a solo that I had an interview. I walked into the room and immediately made a connection with the interviewers. I was at ease, and […]

Solo attorney reaches turning point in first year

Solo attorney Greg Stewart was stunned. A Montgomery County judge had just sided with him and his client, denying a permanent order of protection sought by the client’s ex-wife. The short proceeding in May was Stewart’s second trial as a new attorney. “I feel I did enough right or else I wouldn’t have won,” he […]

Starting the attorney-client relationship on an ethical path

Not long ago, I dropped a traveling coffee mug in my car as I was backing out of my garage. Reaching over quickly to limit the spillage, I backed into the garage door and broke the side-view mirror. Off. It was the most expensive cup of coffee I ever had. In a similar vein, when […]

Unauthorized practice of law bill falls short

Solo and small-firm attorneys hoping for a stronger statute to pursue those who practice law without a license will have to wait at least another year. Rep. John Burnett, D-Kansas City, succeeded in getting an unauthorized practice of law provision tucked into a broad judiciary bill in the House. The language would place the unauthorized practice of law under the state's Merchandising Practices[...]

Venturing out solo

Attorney Steve Clark enjoyed certain advantages when he left Husch Blackwell Sanders to open his own St. Louis-area firm. For one thing, Clark left his business and commercial ligation practice voluntarily. For another, he was an established attorney who was accustomed to analyzing complex issues. But even with that edge, Clark had pitfalls in common with far less experienced lawyers who’d[...]

Best Solo Practitioner: David Ransin

It was a tough road 19 years ago, when David Ransin set out to start his own law practice in Springfield. Back then, there wasn’t the strong network of solo and small firm attorneys that exists in Missouri today, he said. “So you make your own mistakes day to day, learn from them and try […]

Buffaloed

Solo attorney Greg Stewart signaled his young client to join him at the front of the courtroom. The pair stood before Associate Circuit Judge Brenda Stith Loftin in St. Louis County Circuit Court to defend a small property damage suit. But the judge was a bit confused about the property in question. "I'm here to collect damages for my buffalo," said Betty Gourdine, the South County woman who[...]