Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Thompson.
Hi Andrew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I graduated from Suffolk Law School in 2012 but felt a strong call to service. I enlisted in the army in 2013 and was stationed at Fort Hood in early 2015 where I stayed until my active duty contract expired. Near the end of my active duty service my wife and I wanted to develop a plan to help transition back into civilian life. We determined that it would be wise to put my law degree to use. I passed the bar here in Texas and became a licensed attorney in November of 2016.
I started looking at various legal opportunities and trying to figure out how best to to make the transition into the civilian world. When I was honorably discharged at the end of 2017, I was nervous about applying at the local firms because near the end of law school I had become very disenchanted with the practice of law and allowed my grades to slip. This, combined with the fact that I had been out of touch with the practice of law for over 5 years, made me feel like I wouldn’t be able to get hired.
I started exploring alternatives to traditional firms. In that process I met a local attorney, who was also a prior service member. He started his own law practice and he encouraged me to try going out on my own and opening my own practice. He introduced me to several other local attorneys and judges and helped me get on several of the court appointed lists in Bell county. I operated as a solo attorney for several months before catching the eye of a local firm who hired me to work in their family law department. I worked at that firm for nearly 5 years before I determined that I was ready to go back on my own.
In October of 2022 I struck out on my own again. I shifted my focus from family law to mediation, estate planning and probate, as well as transactional real estate.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have been fairly blessed in that my path has been fairly smooth and things have fallen into place when I needed them to. The hardest part was the first six months of opening my practice where I was trying to build the business and all of the uncertainty that comes along with that.
The other struggle I have had is learning the business side of the operation. My first year in practice wasn’t too bad since I was just getting things off the ground and only had a few months in practice. As a result I didn’t feel the tax consequences initially, but my second year, being established and turning a profit, I got hit very hard on taxes because I didn’t have my business side set up correctly. That was a very costly learning experience. I am still sorting out some of the business side, but since I have started working with a local CPA, things seem to be much smoother now.
The next hurdle I expect to cross is hiring my first employee which will likely happen in the next year or two as the business continues to develop.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Law Office of Andrew Thompson PLLC?
I am a solo attorney. I would consider myself “general practice,” but I focus on estate planning and probate, transactional real estate, and mediation.
My goal is to help my clients understand why I am doing the things I am for them, or why one course of action is better than another. I want to educate them and make sure there is no question in their mind as to what is happening and why. I strive to provide a personal and tailored experience for them. When they call, they reach me, or I return their call personally.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think taking risks is the best way to grow. I took a risk in just starting out on my own after leaving the military, but then played it safe by taking a job with a local firm. I did learn and get some benefits and mentorship from my time with the local firm, but I stayed there too long and got burned out on what I was doing because it was safe and easy.
I took another risk by committing to going out on my own again and into a new area of law relative to what I had been doing. I think within the practice of law it is important to get some mentorship and have a network of people that you can call on for assistance; there is so much that they don’t teach in law school, and you have to be willing to keep learning. If you go out on your own, that doesn’t mean that you have to be an island to yourself. I don’t know that I would recommend just hanging your own shingle straight out of law school, but if you are involved with your local community and have people in place that you are willing to learn from it can be a place to start. For anyone who has been in the practice for a bit and is thinking of what life is like on their own, I would absolutely recommend it.
It can be scary and difficult and you’ll almost certainly make some mistakes, but if you can live with those challenges and responsibilities, and you have the mental fortitude to operate without a safety net, it is very rewarding. I currently make more money than I did working for someone else, my job satisfaction is much higher, and I have much more flexibility and control of my schedule and the work that I take on. The other side of that coin is there are no more paid vacation days, there is no retirement matching or free healthcare benefits, if I’m sick, I don’t have a co-counsel to fill in for me; if I’m not working, no one else is picking up the slack. You need to be willing to operate without those safeties in place. I do hope to continue to grow my practice so that I can have a team around me and not spend my time off worrying about who isn’t being taken care of, but even if I don’t reach that point, it’s a small price to pay to have the freedom and pride of owning my own practice and being able to offer my services to my community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AndrewThompsonLegal.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawOfficeofAndrewThompsonPLLC/
Image Credits
Pictures by Manuel Thompson
