Host: Robert Royer, President of Building Brands Marketing
Guest: Rashelle Fetty, Attorney & Owner w/ The Fetty Law Firm
Welcome to the Building Brands Podcast and the Legal Leaders series! Host Robert Royer introduces the podcast, which explores the journeys of industry leaders who have successfully built a brand, offering strategies, challenges, and insights for listeners. Today’s special guest is Building a Law Firm from the Ground Up & Strategic Growth with Rashelle Fetty, owner and practicing counsel with The Fetty Firm, who shares her experience building her law firm from day one.
Building a Law Firm from the Ground Up & Strategic Growth with Rashelle Fetty started her practice immediately after law school, rather than working under another firm first.
The biggest challenge early on was learning how to practice law itself, which was more difficult than acquiring clients.
This required a “feet in the fire” approach and learning as she went.
Running your own firm means wearing many hats, including attorney, paralegal, marketing, bookkeeping, and office management. This isn’t for everyone, as some lawyers prefer to be attorney-only.
Rashelle discusses her thought process behind stabilizing the growth of her solo practice after having been bigger with more attorneys and support staff.
Hiring is a difficult decision, and attorneys often wait too long. Bringing on staff can increase collections almost immediately as the owner can focus on billable work.
However, simply growing in size doesn’t guarantee increased net profit and can increase stress. While gross revenue might increase, net income for the owner may not, and the added stress might not be worth it.
As the owner, you remain responsible for the work product, and maintaining high service standards becomes harder with more people under your brand.
Scaling back her firm size allowed Rashelle to increase her satisfaction with legal work and have less stress.
She could dedicate more attention to individual cases and tasks, making the practice more enjoyable.
While she still handles back-office tasks, she finds them enjoyable and appreciates the ability to practice law in her preferred way, without feeling overwhelmed.
A significant portion of The Fetty Firm’s client base comes from legal insurance programs offered by big companies as an employee perk.
Attorneys can sign up as participating providers and receive referrals directly from the insurance company.
This method has zero out-of-pocket acquisition costs, eliminating the need to “pay Google” for leads.
* Clients from these programs are typically ready to hire immediately, leading to a higher conversion rate and fewer “tire kicking” consultations.
Participating attorneys may offer discounted hourly rates or be paid directly on a fee schedule by the insurance company.
Rashelle has expanded her practice to include mediation, which has become a significant part of her work.
She enjoys the low-stress nature of mediation and the ability to see a case from a “30,000 ft view,” helping parties reach a resolution.
A personal benefit is that parties are usually not upset with the mediator, leading to positive interactions.
Mediation is seen as a “neat mental exercise” involving understanding the facts and guiding everyone towards a logical solution.
The Advantage of Starting Early:
Rashelle believes launching her firm early was a major advantage.
Fresh out of school, her personal overhead was low (used to a modest lifestyle, paid-off car, no dependents), and her time was unlimited, allowing her to work long hours.
It’s more difficult to take the risk of starting a business later in life when one is accustomed to a certain income and has more financial obligations and dependents.
Reflections on Career Choices:
When asked if she would do anything differently, Rashelle stated “Big picture? No,” though she might have considered a different area of law. She doesn’t regret starting her own firm early.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs:
For those contemplating going out on their own, Rashelle’s advice is to “grip it and rip it. Just do it”.
Especially for those already in management positions with experience, she recommends trying entrepreneurship for a predetermined time (e.g., a year or two). If it doesn’t work, it’s an easily explainable gap on a resume.
The worst that can happen is not liking it or failing, but either way, you gain clarity and avoid the “what if” question.
Rashelle advises caution when considering significant scaling, such as doubling company size and adding employees.
The decision depends on the type of business, the extra work involved, and the realistic increase in profit.
Bigger is not always better, and there’s a law of diminishing returns. An increase in gross revenue doesn’t automatically translate to a doubling of personal income or enjoyment of the business.
It’s possible to scale back if the changes don’t work out.
