The story of a lawyer gone entrepreneur // Law and Entrepreneurship // Blog Network // University of Notre Dame

Lawyers are often juxtaposed against entrepreneurs as being “risk-adverse,” instead of “risk-taking.” That might be true. But I could also see being risk-sensitive as an asset to help build a better business, whether that means being more keen to accurate market reception or seeing roadblocks that might create problems down the road. However, getting overwhelmed by possibilities could possibly serve as a hindrance. The article below is a tounge-and-cheek personal story of how a JD developed her own business. She describes how she needed to overcome many doubts she had in her mind. However, her ideas were validated by people she deemed as being more “business-savy.” A big point of her article (to me) is to not get too caught up in the “what-ifs,” if you think you might be being lead to start a business. She also highlights how resourceful and and messy the path to success can be as evidenced by her experience. She has a comical tone throughout the article. The combination of entrepreneurship attitude and legal analytics could produce a dynamite business-machine. But it still takes courage.

Article Link:

“How, and why, lawyers can become great entreprenuers,” Carlota Zimmerman, HuffingtonPost.com. <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-and-why-lawyers-can-become-great-entrepreneurs_us_57e01405e4b04fa361d9a0cb>.

One thought on “The story of a lawyer gone entrepreneur”

Great post. In the spirit of quotes that the author enjoys using, I thought I’d offer two that I came across that parallel her position.

“Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive” I think this mirrors the author’s tone where she describes the mental block that can occur of feeling confined to what you are already “good” at. It can be very daunting to venture into the unknown when that means leaving the shelter and security of your career that you’ve spent years building already. But taking those skills and applying them to your own venture seems to be the most fulfilling path.

“there’s no reason to have a Plan B because it distracts from Plan A”- Will Smith. I think this quote is incredibly empowering. Especially as law students, we are trained (often forcibly) to overanalyze situations for all the potential alternatives. You see it in just the way we are told to plan our careers. Grades first, then firm, then in-house and if firms dont work out then public interest, then if that doesnt work out….” Always having a Plan B (or C and D etc) really does distract from the Plan A, which is what you’ve always known you wanted to do but let people and situations sway you from.

Nathan on February 13, 2018 at 1:43 pm said:

Great post. In the spirit of quotes that the author enjoys using, I thought I’d offer two that I came across that parallel her position.

“Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive” I think this mirrors the author’s tone where she describes the mental block that can occur of feeling confined to what you are already “good” at. It can be very daunting to venture into the unknown when that means leaving the shelter and security of your career that you’ve spent years building already. But taking those skills and applying them to your own venture seems to be the most fulfilling path.

“there’s no reason to have a Plan B because it distracts from Plan A”- Will Smith. I think this quote is incredibly empowering. Especially as law students, we are trained (often forcibly) to overanalyze situations for all the potential alternatives. You see it in just the way we are told to plan our careers. Grades first, then firm, then in-house and if firms dont work out then public interest, then if that doesnt work out….” Always having a Plan B (or C and D etc) really does distract from the Plan A, which is what you’ve always known you wanted to do but let people and situations sway you from.