Should I start my own firm? It’s a thrilling yet terrifying prospect for anyone, but as barriers to entry ease, it’s also an increasingly popular alternative to climbing the career ladder within someone else’s organisation.
So, what does starting a firm actually look like? We caught up with James D’Apice, who has committed to documenting the messy, behind-the-scenes reality of building his own firm, Gravamen – including releasing his profit and loss statements for public critique and feedback.
From messy, crunchy beginnings…
“Gravamen’s biggest selling point is who we are,” James says. “We are specialist lawyers who practise in accordance with our values, and who enjoy doing it.”
A far cry from the high gloss polish of curated LinkedIn profiles and slick law firm websites, James has sought to distinguish himself by his authenticity.
“That story of who we are includes the messy, crunchy background of how I began the firm,” James explains. “It’s not going to appeal to everyone to hear that the firm began with a 4-year-old iPhone and a 5-year-old MacBook. It’s pretty rare for a firm to share its financial statements on LinkedIn and Instagram. But, crucially for us, that authenticity and openness are going to appeal to the right people – whether as colleagues, referrers, clients, or members of the community.
“Bundling the ugly background in with the pretty foreground allows us to reach our people more deeply. Plus: it’s fun, and much less exhausting than trying to pretend everything has been perfect from Day One!”
Forging a brand, one ‘Coffee & A Case Note’ at a time
If James seems a little familiar to you, it’s probably because you’ve been catching up for a virtual coffee for almost a decade. James started Coffee & A Case Note back in 2018, as a video project.
“It threaded together a few strands of thought: (i) marketing to people while having a coffee is good, (ii) law firms like telling war stories to generate work, and (iii) back in 2018, it was unusual and interesting for lawyers to record videos,” says James.
Like all unlikely endeavours, the project began speculatively. “I hope this works and I think it might…!” says James.
“In time, it has developed into one of the threads that shape my personal brand, and Gravamen’s brand as a firm. We are always trying to be approachable, and we are always trying to be rigorous. Having a nice filter coffee, or a cheeky piccolo, while talking about how s 467(4) of the Corporations Act interacts with s 461(1)(k) has been my (and our) way of showing that approachability and rigour at once.”
How to market yourself while staying credible
By its very nature, the law is a profession that values discretion. Marketing yourself can feel absolutely anathema to this, and it’s often a hurdle new law firm owners struggle to clear.
To this disquiet, James is direct.
“Beware the false dichotomy!” he declares. “While I publish marketing material that is fairly widely distributed, there is almost no material online about my private life, family arrangements, or the like. And there is certainly nothing about my clients, not even anonymised anecdotes.”
Marketing should reflect who you are, and that is always within your control.
“When creating marketing material – self-promotional or otherwise – don’t forget you are in control of the content,” James says. “If you choose to be indiscreet, that is a matter for you. You might invite me to get ready with you in a reel, giving me an insight into your waking hours, your dietary choices, and your impressive physique. That’s fine, and that is not inconsistent with success as a lawyer marketing their practice online. Just ask the amazing James Diamond @aussielawyer!”
“But it is also a choice. Not all online marketing needs to be revealing to be effective. As I say: beware the false dichotomy and decide for yourself.”
The $50,000 lesson in patience
Transitioning from being a lawyer to a business owner comes with many hidden icebergs. For a profession famous for its perfectionists, the most successful are often those who know they’ll take a wrong step. We asked James what advice he wished he’d known when he first started – and his response was surprising.
“More patience,” James says. “When you are running your own show, you can reach out and touch all of the buttons and dials at all times. Anything you want to fiddle with, you can. Do you have a new idea? Guess what – you can just do it! This can be dizzying, but it can also lead to excessive tinkering.”
In the firm’s first two years of operation, Gravamen spent over $50,000 on branded merchandise, seeing it as an opportunity to leave good quality reminders of the Gravamen brand with potential clients.
“Our merchandise included rugby jerseys, hoodies, bucket hats, rugby balls, t-shirts, pens, etc,” explains James. “While some of these moves were a great success and will travel with us for years – we love our Gravamen jerseys! – what we invested in bucket hats and stickers might have been better applied elsewhere.”
“Patience also applies to the financial side,” James reflects. “It is easy to be seduced by projections of the future, and to forget that you need to lay the foundations for that in the present.”
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