很多法学毕业生，宁可在大所卷的、累的、苦的到哭，但也不愿意去小所呼吸一点自由的空气，去小所下班也许还能看到当天的太阳，难道不香吗？
当然这与打工人具体从事的业务领域，比如诉讼还是非诉，民事还是刑事等，都有一定的关系。
其实对于很多诉讼律师来说，职业的尽头可能是成立自己的律所，但创业最好基于一个直接需求——比如先有了大量案源，然后再成立律所去承接。否则可能会出现成立了律所，但找不着案子，最终不得关门或者低价转让的尴尬局面。
但是成立了自己的律所，可能并不代表有了自由，反而是给自己上了一道无形的枷锁，因为是自己的买卖，要赚钱，要以成为大所或者精品所奋斗。
以下分享一个大所律师由于压力太大，崩溃逃离选择去小所寻找自由的故事，在小所一番打拼后，选择出去单干成立自己的律所，这名律师是如何在小所打拼？又是如何创业成立自己的律所？一起来看看：
一、在红圈所的你，是不是曾经有那么一刻，感觉精神崩溃想逃离
作为世界知名红圈所的一名公司债券律师，每年工作4000个小时——早7晚10，中午12点到13点仍然是账单时间，只能草草的在办公桌旁，凑合吃点垃圾食品，平时又没时间锻炼，身体能不胖吗？能不垮吗？
重要的是，你媳妇还天天催着你要孩子，关键哪有时间搞那事啊，难道这个也要计时给客户出个账单？
工资虽然高，每年30万美元，关键你每年工作4000小时，有时间花吗？
长期在这样的工作环境下，身体垮掉是一方面，精神垮掉崩溃也是早晚的事。
可能突然有一天早晨，当你进入高大上的大厦里，看着衣冠楚楚僵尸（the well-dressed zombies）一样的人川流不息，那一刻你扪心自问：我工作的价值和意义到底是什么？这种压抑的感觉，促使你想尽快逃离这个让你窒息的地方。
只要离开这里，去哪都行。
The elevator rocked and hummed, then stopped at the eightieth floor, Rogan Rothberg territory. Three lawyers got off, three faces David had seen before but didn’t know by name, which was not unusual because the firm had six hundred lawyers on floors seventy through one hundred. Two more dark suits got off at eighty-four. As they continued to rise, David began to sweat, then to hyperventilate. His tiny office was on the ninety-third floor, and the closer he got, the more violently his heart pumped. More somber exits on ninety and ninety-one, and with each stop David felt weaker and weaker.
…………………………
When the elevator began its descent, David Zinc started to laugh.The spinning and nausea were gone. The pressure on his chest vanished. He was doing it! He was leaving the sweatshop of Rogan Rothberg and saying farewell to a nightmare. He, David Zinc, of all the thousands of miserable associates and junior partners in the tall buildings of downtown Chicago, he and he alone had found the spine to walk away that gloomy morning.
二、这也敢叫“boutique firm”，Are you kidding me?
律所一共三个人，一个自称高级合伙人，一个自称初级合伙人，还有一个是行政主管。
高级合伙人曾经因为袭警，律师证差点被吊销。
初级合伙人离过四次婚，整天在街边能看得见的地方，打小广告，曾经因为性骚扰秘书，差点被起诉。
His junior partner—and Oscar was prone to say things like, “I’ll get my junior partner to handle it,” when trying to impress judges and other lawyers and especially prospective clients.
行政主管属于不请自来，因为律所的两位律师，代理人家的案子，给人搞砸了，本来要起诉这两位的，后来答应让她来律所工作，才放弃诉讼。
另外，律所还养了一只狗，名字叫AC（Ambulance Chaser），这正是这个律所的主营业务——到交通事故现场或者医院去寻找客户。
就这样的所，也敢对外声称自己是“boutique firm”，真是“misnomer”。
虽然你从红圈所崩溃逃离，但是让你加入这样的律所，你愿意吗？
Except for its size, it was none of these things. Finley & Figg’s scam was hustling injury cases, a daily grind that required little skill or creativity and would never be considered cool or sexy.
Profits were as elusive as status. The firm was small because it couldn’t afford to grow. It was selective only because no one wanted to work there, including the two men who owned it.
三、红圈所做非诉律师，不如两人所做诉讼律师？
当大卫从红圈所精神崩溃逃离至酒吧，喝的酩酊大醉，坐上出租车不知去哪，恰好看到了两人所律师打的小广告，指示出租车司机去那里。
误打误撞进入两人所，大卫宣称自己以后就来这上班了，两位发蒙的合伙人，声称本年度没有招聘计划。
大卫酒醒之后，重新思考了自己的人生，毅然决定去两人所。两人所给大卫开出的薪资是每月1000美元，大卫欣然接受，虽然钱少了，但获得了自由，可以有时间欣赏办公室风景，每天按时回家，准备怀孕了。
这是不是好多红圈所授薪律师的终极追求？
作为一名公司债券律师，大卫从来没进过法庭，到了两人所第一天，初级合伙人带他去法庭熟悉离婚案件，大卫见识到了真正的法庭，法官和律师分享着当事人的黄色笑话，当事人因付不起律师费，法官拒绝处理案件，这完全颠覆了大卫的三观。
两人所想对一个巨型医疗公司发起集体诉讼，大卫与初级合伙人去挖掘起诉者，并同意起诉者如果提供第三人线索，奖励500美元现金。这天一个起诉者声称可以提供线索，但要先给500元现金，大卫和初级合伙人搜遍钱包，只找出284美元，无奈两人写下了欠条。
大卫回想自己上周还在处理印度政府的15亿美元债券，如今却为了几百美元打欠条，真是人间闹剧。
四、媳妇给介绍一个案源，但两人所不愿投入成本，大卫决心自己做
媳妇朋友5岁的孩子因为铅中毒，成为一个植物人，想找律师维权。大卫接下了这个案子，经过一系列调查，发现是一家玩具公司生产的恐龙牙齿玩具，铅严重超标，因为孩子整天含在嘴里玩，导致中毒。
摆在大卫面前的问题是，起诉玩具公司需要垫付前期成本，但两个合伙人觉得无利可图，不愿参与。大卫决定以此为契机，锻炼提升自己的诉讼能力。
另一方面，巨型制药公司花巨金聘请大卫曾经所在的红圈所诉讼律师团，对抗两人所起诉的集体诉讼案件，面对曾经的老东家，大卫勇敢出击。
五、最终赢得150万美元和解，并决定自己成立一家诉讼律所
大卫通过自己的聪明才智，最终迫使玩具厂商同意以150万美元和解。大卫不计前嫌，同意与两位合伙人平分150万，但前提是：其加入律师成为合伙人，日后三人所必须走向正规化，不再做Ambulance Chaser，不再做缺德事。
在经历了诉讼律师的磨练后，最终大卫决定自己成立一家诉讼律所，专门做产品责任案件，代理受害人一方，为受害人赢回应有的权利。
六、《The Litigators》给法律人的启示
1.如果实在受不了红圈所的压榨，为了获得自由，小所也是不错的选择
红圈所虽然办公环境好，都在高楼大厦，关键你有时间欣赏风景吗？而且律师助理、初级律师基本都是格子间，连窗户都没有。
去小所，虽然苦点，起码能获得个身体和精神自由，下班也能看到太阳了，不香吗？
David cleaned for the next hour. He wiped dust from the desk and chairs. He found an old Hoover in the kitchen and vacuumed the plank floors. He filled three large bags with trash and put them on the small porch out back. He stopped occasionally to admire the windows and sunlight, something he’d never done at Rogan Rothberg. Sure, on a clear day the view across Lake Michigan was captivating, but he had learned during his first year with the firm that time spent gazing out from the Trust Tower was time that could not be billed. Rookie associates were placed in bunker-like cubicles, where they toiled around the clock and, with time, forgot about sunshine and daydreaming. Now David couldn’t stay away from the windows.
2.非诉律师转型诉讼律师，要经过阵痛才可能成功
“Have you really never seen the inside of a courtroom?” Wally asked as they walked quickly, their shoes clicking along on the worn marble tile.
“Not since law school.”
“Unbelievable. What have you been doing for the past five years?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I’m sure you’re right about that. This is us,” Wally said,pointing to the heavy double doors of a courtroom. A sign said:“Circuit Court of Cook County—Divorce Division, Hon. Charles Bradbury.”
3.对于很多诉讼律师的终点，可能就是成立自己的律所（个人或者合伙）
The new firm specialized in product liability law. When David settled two more lead-poisoning cases, it was clear to him and Rochelle and their expanding staff that the practice was about to become quite lucrative.
