While there have always been lawyers who leave Big Law to be their own boss, highly credentialed millennials like Lee "are jumping off the ledge into unknown territory because they want to—not because they're forced to," said legal recruiter Raj Nichani of the RMN Agency.

The dotcom bust of the early 2000s, then the financial crisis and, to a lesser extent the pandemic, forced a lot of lawyers in earlier generations to hang their own shingles, but for millennials now, it's more by choice, Nichani said. "You're going to see more and more young lawyers doing that. It's just a matter of time."

And at a time when law school students protest outside law firm offices for representing fossil fuel clients, the millennial generation is more vocal about their values, guiding the direction of their practice and which clients they take on.

Risk-Takers

Earlier cohorts of lawyers have been more wedded to Big Law jobs because they value the security and prestige—and fear they can't afford to risk starting their own shop, said Shannan Rahman, a legal recruiter with The Partners Group.

"Gen Y lawyers define themselves less by their work than past generations. Being an attorney is only part of their identity," Rahman said. "They are more risk-takers. They're willing to put themselves out there and do something non-traditional—and see if that works out."

A lot of associates at big firms tell Rahman they would only leave "for something completely different that gave them more flexibility, without the pressures of a Big Law environment," she said, adding that some, like Lee, have started their own shops. "They're no longer wedded to Big Law. They've tried it and it's not a fit for their personality or the lifestyle they want."

Lee launched Your Ad Attorney in late February after about eight years in practice—first working at two established Atlanta firms, Rogers & Hardin and Morris Manning & Martin, and then in-house at Southern Co. and Mailchimp, handing marketing, tech and trademark law. That was after earning a law degree at age 21 from Vanderbilt University.

Lee said she enjoyed working at Southern Co., where she oversaw matters for its Georgia Natural Gas subsidiary, handling marketing and transactional law. She did well, earning a promotion to senior counsel—but almost five years in, Lee said she felt a growing conflict between her personal concerns about climate change and working for a company that sells natural gas derived from fracking.

"I felt that I was contributing to potentially irreparable harm to the environment," she said. "I wanted to work for a company where I believe in what I'm selling."

She was attracted to Mailchimp's mission to give small businesses access to the online marketing resources they need to flourish and joined as senior corporate counsel in 2020. But several months in, Lee, who is Asian American, learned that she was paid less than white female lawyers with the same or fewer years of experience, she said, which catalyzed her decision to open her own shop.

After starting Your Ad Attorney in late February, Lee was one of about 30 current and former Mailchimp employees who participated in a March 15 Business Insider report on the high departure rate for women and people of color at the Atlanta-based company because of pay disparities and other issues. (Mailchimp told Business Insider it paid above-market salaries overall but had identified some underpaid employees. A Mailchimp representative did not return an email seeking comment for this article.)

Lee wanted to work with small and medium-sized businesses, especially women-owned ones, which can't afford high-priced firms, "to help them thrive," she said. And she wants to run her practice, advising companies on marketing and tech law, on her own terms–by charging flat rates, for example.

She said she started Your Ad Attorney because she saw "a need for something no one else was doing–and I wanted the flexibility to be able to charge how I want and not have to ask for permission or be held to arbitrary standards."

Her clients include several marketing companies and entrepreneurs who call on her as needed to draft contracts, review marketing campaigns, and advise on IP issues. She's also serving as a fractional general counsel, particularly for tech startups in e-commerce.

Lower Barriers

One major reason millennials feel emboldened to leave Big Law to go solo is that the barriers to entry have diminished. And in a pandemic era when working remotely is the norm in Big Law, solo practitioners fit right in.

"People from smaller-sized shops are bidding and getting the work with companies that might not have considered them before," said Nichani of RMN Agency. "The legal market is getting a lot more competitive. It's more about the talent and what you bring to the table and less about the old-school reputation [of a firm]."

"They don't have the costly overhead anymore," Rahman added. "They can work out of their house or a shared workspace or a beach in Mexico."

It required a lot more capital in 2007 when Stephanie Everett left a big Atlanta firm, Powell Goldstein (now part of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) to co-found her own firm, Bloom Sugarman Everett, which later became The Bloom Firm.

"You had to buy servers, a phone system—and you had to have a fancy office downtown with a Peachtree Street address. That is what it meant to have a firm," said Everett, who currently coaches small firm lawyers at Lawyerist. "Now the young lawyers I work with all work from home with just a computer and a few cloud-based subscriptions."

That's exactly what Lee is doing. "I have very few expenses," she said. She's also married to another lawyer, Alex Meier, who's a Seyfarth Shaw associate.

That said, burdensome student loans can be a deterrent from going solo. "Some associates say they hate Big Law, but they have to stay to pay down their loans," Rahman said. But Gen Y lawyers often have less overhead than earlier generations, she noted, because they're waiting longer to buy houses and have children.

Flat Fees and Social Media

Gen Y lawyers' tech and social media skills also give them a real advantage in going solo over earlier generations, said legal industry observers.

Older lawyers often "are not as comfortable advocating for themselves with a strong social media presence and following" for their marketing efforts, Rahman said, adding that solo millennials are taking advantage of low-cost venues like LinkedIn to connect with potential clients.

Meanwhile, Everett said a lot of lawyers, like Lee, start their own firms because they want to offer flat fees and subscription services. "They're figuring out new business models. When you bill by the hour, it doesn't encourage efficiency."

Lee charges flat fees for about 85% of the work she does, which she feels very strongly about. "Billing by the hour—essentially telling clients you don't know how much the job is going to cost—is very poor customer service," she said. "If they can provide me with a clear scope, I can provide a flat rate."

Lee acknowledged that she might make more money charging by the hour, but, "I want my clients to stay with me for years and years and refer me to other people." Lee does not work on retainer, so the pre-payment is for the entire matter, which she said helps with cash flow for her new venture.

To Lee's surprise, LinkedIn has been one of her main sources for clients, along with personal networking and referrals. It turns out that her name pops up when people search on LinkedIn for a marketing and tech lawyer, she said, in part because she's connected to well over 500 people.

"Attorneys aren't very good at social media, so you don't have to do a lot to be a social media master," she added wryly.