While waiting for bar exam results and scouting out other attorneys and law firms in Minneapolis, I realize I have some hard decisions to make before starting a law firm.
My wife, son, dog, and I are currently running our little family-base-camp out of Cannon Falls, MN. She is a new doctor in town and I am currently a stay-at-home-dad and part-time blogger. About the only thing I can do right now is reasearch and blogging for my chosen practice areas.
So, as part of my research into office spaces and specific areas where I can set-up shop, I realize I have A LOT of choices to make.
Some of my tough choices include: which county is the best for my family law/estate planning practice? Is a specific metro area better? Should I try and have an office in a smaller town but advertise for the bigger town market? Is there a median income range I should be going after for family law? Does any of this matter?
In the effort to answer those questions, my wife an I are also trying to find a permenant home for our little family. Cannon Falls is probably not an option as it is small and only has two deeply entrenched attorneys in town. Plus, I don’t want to be a small-town attorney.
But, there is this wonderful little community close by called Northfield. There are about 20,000 citizens, but there are also two fairly large liberal arts colleges in town: Carleton College and St. Olaf. It is also only about 30 minutes from the big city.
Fairfield is very pretty and has a cool eclectic mix of small town charm with the big city (Minneapolis/St. Paul) only minutes away by highway.
Another interesting (bad?) thing: Fairfield appears to have A LOT of attorneys. I counted over 25 attorneys in this small, 20,000 person, town. Is it over saturated? I don’t know.
Fairfield does have two campuses which likely means some criminal defense work. There are also several nice manufacturing businesses in town, including the cereal-giant Malt-O-Meal. These companies surely need attorneys. I also noticed several general practice and family law specific practices.
Fairfield also sits on the border of Rice and Dakota counties in Minnesota. Cannon Falls (15 miles from Fairfield) is in Goodhue County. To me, this means that Fairfield has the potential to have a practice area of three different counties – which is a good thing.
So, at the moment, in my research into specific metropolitan areas where I can start a law firm, I have a new option: Fairfield. I like university towns. They provide culture and interest in ways other towns do not. Plus, I’m a sucker for liberal arts – I’m an English major by heart.
I’ll be sure to keep this blog updated on my decisions, but Northfield is definitely an option for starting a law firm.