Are flexible, part-time working hours and having your own legal practice mutually exclusive?
In today's article, we are taking a closer look at the experience of Irene DeJesus. Married 27 years, mother of 2 grown children, and now a grandmother - law is Irene's second career, after spending 30 years in the healthcare industry as a nurse.
Irene went to law school because she needed a change, and she wanted a terminal degree that would allow her to do work that was as meaningful as nursing.
Straight out of law school, Irene's first experience with law firm life left her unhappy and unsatisfied, in fact, she hated it so much that she stopped practicing after one year, opting to revisit the career she had wanted to leave behind and went back into nursing in an executive role.
However, she still wanted this change of industry and was determined to find a way to capitalize on her hard-earned law degree and be able to practice law in a way that she loved and enjoyed. Irene set out looking for a way to start her law firm and build her practice that was proven, tried, and dependable.
Irene knew that she wanted to practice as a part-time lawyer and work from home.
"When I was looking for a way to have a law practice that I loved and really enjoyed, that's when I stumbled across NLBM. I was looking for full flexibility both with my time and the place where I practiced.
Based on that, I knew I needed structure and processes that would allow me to provide exemplary service efficiently and maximum success in a relatively short space of time.
I wanted standardized processes and to have meaningful relationships with potential clients and find my work fulfilling. I wanted specific, step-by-step guidance on starting a law firm that had meaning to me."
Irene has since started DeJesus Law Group, LLC and has implemented the systems that allow her to have complete control over her schedule, receive an average fee of $4,500, and have a part-time and virtual law practice that spans FL and TN.
Here's how she got there...
When Irene started with NLBM, she had zero experience in estate planning.
Irene invested in herself and the future she wanted, devoting her time, energy, attention, and money to gaining the knowledge and experience that would enable her to reach her goals - and went all-in to build her new law practice.
In her first two months with NLBM, Irene completed the Legal Life Planning Bootcamp along with the Business Practice Bootcamp, learning how to service clients over the long term with next-level estate planning and small business counsel.
Irene then joined membership with NLBM, which includes marketing modules as well as mentoring from highly successful lawyers who are practicing the New Law Business Model way. Not long after that, she took advantage of the website and automation programs that we offer, and she was well on her way to achieving her goals.
It took Irene 3 months to get her practice up and running.
Irene was able to do this in 90 days as she did not try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, she was diligent with following the program and the processes as they were laid out by NLBM.
"I had no experience in estate planning - and In FL we have very complex homestead laws, and tenancy by the entirety laws - I followed the boot camps, doing it module by module, step by step; not only was I learning the theory, but I got a ton of CLE's that NLBM had set up through the state of Florida. Besides that, part of what I was doing was homework.
It's actually quite genius the way they have it set up. Not only was I learning theory, I did my own plan and was implementing what I was learning, At the same time as I was learning general estate planning, I was also learning my state laws."
Irene has gained high confidence in practicing estate planning and is thoroughly enjoying her work.
In addition to gaining the skills and confidence to practice estate planning as a part-time lawyer, Irene is now:
- working just 25 hours per week
- engaging 98% of the people whom she meets with that need her services
- receiving an average fee of $4,500 for her legal services
- seeing 4 new clients a month
- and earning an average $18,000 monthly revenue
Already inspired by Irene’s story? Speak with a Law Business Advisor to find out how you can get these results, too!
The evolution of Irene's part-time, virtual law practice
There have been many changes for Irene over the past two years. Besides starting her law practice in Florida, one of the most significant changes was that Irene and her husband Hector decided to move to Tennessee and purchase their dream home.
When making plans to move to a new state, Irene found out that she would not be eligible to practice in TN unless she waits for a period of 3 years, or sits for the bar there, neither of which would satisfy her immediate plans or help her keep generating the income that she enjoys bringing in with her part-time law practice.
So, even though she no longer lives in Orlando, Irene decided to maintain her boutique practice there, which meant she needed to create a solid plan for practicing virtually.
"My coach has helped me navigate moving from one state to another. I did the Money Map to Freedom, working with my coach, and I set the goal of 4 clients per month. Without my coach, I don't feel I would have figured that out on my own as successfully in such a short space of time."
Now Irene has a law practice in Florida where she goes once a month, for one week at a time. She spends the time there seeing her four new clients, meeting with her existing clients, and educating her community. In doing this, Irene reaches the financial goals she has for her part-time law practice in just one week out of the month.
Irene's thought on practicing as a virtual and part-time lawyer
"I don't actually call it a 'part-time law practice,' except with other attorneys. I describe it as 'a very specialized boutique service, where I determine whom I work with, and it's a limited number that I serve each month… not only do I get the privilege to work with them, but they also get the privilege to work with me.
I feel the same happiness in my career as I did during my 30 years as a nurse because I am impacting the lives of my clients in real, meaningful, and far-reaching ways.
NLBM has allowed me to put my own family as a priority and I regularly spend quality time with my amazing husband, my grown kids, and my grandchildren so that we can all have experiences and memories together. Through implementing the New Law Business Model in my practice, I get to experience life at its fullest, earn a good living, and experience the joy of being a lawyer in true service."
At the end of the day, Irene not only has the marketing support, technology support, website support, legal-technical knowledge, and systems to serve her clients - but equally as important...
She has confidence in her skills, believes in the value of what she delivers, AND has built a law practice that works for her life.
More and more, what we are starting to see is if you can conceive it, you can create it, just like Irene has. With the right support, you will be able to shortcut that process dramatically.
If you are ready to step into practicing law in an entirely new way, and you want to do this with a model that is proven and tested and tried and true, book a call to speak with a Law Business Advisor today. We will help you to gain clarity on precisely what kind of law practice you want, and exactly how to make it happen based on your unique situation.