Too me anyway, checkers is a much easier board game than is chess. Although checkers requires some strategic thinking it is a quick game and does not require the advanced logical models and understanding of future moves that chess requires to be a good player. But, that is just my opinion.
It is also my opinion that it is this analogy to chess that keeps too many good lawyers from pursuing their own practice area, or a new practice area, especially right out of law school. They get stymied by needing to figure everything out first. They believe they need to have a mental understanding of the entire board and all of the possible counter moves that can be made against them, and be able to conceptualize how exactly they need to respond.
Checkers is a more relaxing game because just a basic understanding allows you to play. You can start out and learn quickly along the way, all the while having fun.
It is a mistake to believe you have to have everything worked out before you take the leap into the private practice of law, or into a new practice area, because the dirty secret is that you will never have it all figured out. If you wait until you have it all figured out, you will never ever do it. You are never going to be as proficient as you feel like you need to be before you move your first checker.
Besides, I would like to remind everyone that checkers and chess do have a skill component, but they are both, to a great extent, games a chance. And, such is life and the practice of law.
There are a few things you can do in setting up the board for a game of checkers. You can have a good, strong preliminary plan to find and attract clients. It is the one thing that most everyone ignores while they worry and fight about their proficiency of the law. Remember, you do not need to essentially sell yourself. You need to be able to sell your product -- your practice area. By this you do not need to be able to sell the technical stuff which the law might represent as much as you need to be able to sell the solutions required. Do you know the of the groups, people and organizations of which you can become acquainted that will help you achieve referrals? If you concern yourself at the outset with whether you can move your checker backward, as opposed to finding someone with which you can play, you will never get a chance to play.
You can get a very general understanding of your niche of interest. When I started out doing bankruptcy representation in the 80s I could of course read the Bankruptcy Code and law books. All helped me with technical issues, but nothing helped give me a more global understanding of the practice area. So, I went to a book store and bought all of the "popular" or consumer books on consumer bankruptcy. The problem all lawyers have is that they get so much into the pathology that they ignore the points of interest -- selling points. What is the solution for which people and companies are looking. My Dad learned about this problem in his specialty many years ago. He was an eye surgeon. Someone from the hills of Arkansas would come down because of a vision problem. To get Medicare approval the doctor would be asked what is the reason for the surgery. The physician would write "the patient suffers from bilateral cataracts". The procedure would be denied. Why? That was the medical reason. The reason that Medicare was looking for was something like "I can't read the Bible any longer", or "I can't read the newspaper". Your general understanding of the board need to be from the perspective of those you are trying help. The will or desire to do a good job will come. The patient was no more interested in bilateral cataracts as was Medicare. Only the doctor way. The patient was concerned in reading the Bible or the newspaper. The same is true for law.
And, you need to keep your overhead and expenses minuscule. This crap that it takes money to make money will do you in before you even get to play the game of checkers. It will stop you from even trying to play the game. I am not saying that you do not need a few hundred bucks to start a practice, but I am saying (1) all you need is a few hundred bucks to start a practice, and (2) the main problem you will face is overhead while you are making your way across the checker board. You can build your practice, and learn your practice area along the way, for a few hundred dollars a month other than your typical costs of living. In this regard, stay out of debt.
With the checker board set up, you are ready to play. Do not think you are ready? Of course you are. Do you want to be red or black?
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