Law Times

Law Times • may 14, 2012 FOCUS ON Lawyer took risk in starting own practice Running Your Practice Going solo W BY KENNETH JACKSON For Law Times opened his own practice in Markham, Ont., a day after his call to the bar. It was 1994 and the son of ith the prov- ince stuck in a deep reces- sion, Andrew F e l ds t ein clerk; I was the receiv- able clerk; I was the fil- ing clerk. It was just me, he says, adding it was daunting at first. "But to me, if you're going to do something, you have to make a commitment to it. That' " a chartered accountant from North York had no interest in going to work for the firm he had been articling at for a year. They had him doing personal injury law, which wasn't some- thing he enjoyed. Those who knew Feldstein weren't surprised. People describe him as someone who' decisive and likes to make his own choices. Feldstein himself says open- s ing his own office was an easy decision to make. Still, he notes that doesn't mean it was an easy thing to do. "When you are starting out, client. "When I landed my first client, I was very concerned when I real- ized the buck stopped with me and I had to make a decision," he says. "When you article, Then he got his first s what I did." you're used to bring- ing all your work to someone else to review, approve, and they make the decision. I remem- ber a certain sense of panic and fear. you have no clients, you have very limited knowledge, and you have to take lots of time to do things," says Feldstein, 43, who runs the Feldstein Family Law Group. He rented out office space in Markham from his father. While the rent was free for the first three months, he had to pay fair market value for every- thing after that, even for postage to mail a letter. He notes his father always made him work for things. He hit the ground running and started marketing himself right away while waiting for files to come in. For a while, he was all there was at the firm. trying to get clients and find other lawyers to work at the firm while offering services in every- thing except criminal law. "I found more and more Feldstein spent long hours " people wanted to hire me as a family law lawyer, felt I needed to make a decision. Watching the way the world was becoming then, I could tell cli- entele wanted lawyers who did one area of law. The greatest reluctance I had of being hired by clients was they thought I was doing too many things." As time progressed, he start- " he says. "I ed to focus on two areas of prac- tice: corporate commercial and family law. Some time around the turn ing. He had moved into his current location on Crown Andrew Feldstein did everything at first, including the accounts and filing. Photo: Kenneth Jackson Steel Drive and has since gone from one unit to four pres- ently. He also has offices in Toronto, Vaughan, Whitby, and Mississauga, Ont. "We went from just me to including himself, as well as two articling students, three admin- istrative staff, and six clerks. Fellow lawyer and friend He now has 12 lawyers, " he says. of the century, he made the deci- sion to focus only on family law. By then, his firm was grow- Jordan Dolgin went to law school with Feldstein. He couldn't imag- ine Feldstein working for some- one else. "I think he had that in his blood to take that sort of risk," he says. "Working for someone would never have been satisfy- ing for him. In this world, either you work for someone and you're selling your time, which is great and a lot of people do that, or you work for yourself and try to build something. He' and he knows what he wants." s pretty decisive within four or five years I had my first associate and two or three clerks working for me, Feldstein comes from a family of chartered accountants helps him in family law because many of the cases involve financial statements. It helps to be able to discern when someone has manipulated them. "He' doing and he gets results, but what' Andrew is he's got a really won- Dolgin notes the fact that "I was the payable rewarding. When asked for the keys to his success, Feldstein doesn't take long to answer. "Number 1: you have to work hard. Number 2: you have to be able to take risks. "I remember when I used to have to look at my bank position before I wrote every cheque to make sure there was enough money to cover the cheque. That' the risk. Even if you're a professional, there is an element of being a risk- taker s part of own practice, having the entrepreneurial most stressful part of it all. "I remember I' Dolgin. "He knows what he's s really interesting about s a great lawyer," says derful business sense, which really comes from the fact he was the youngest of four boys. By the time he was in his teens, his father was a little older and he had a lot more face time with his dad as a teenager than most of us did. they went to school together, Feldstein has been a bit of a mentor to him. Dolgin opened his own office in 2009. For his part, Feldstein says family law is stressful but also Dolgin says that even though " 18 know any other way of doing it and can't imagine sitting in a partnership committee meeting to make decisions. "If you decide you want to Feldstein doesn't try a new advertising campaign, you make the decision," he says. "You don't have to go and persuade people." staff members for their input on some matters but then he makes the decision. "Succeed or fail — it' choice, your decision, and you have to live it," he says. s your LT Of course, he'll listen to key Looking back at the past years, '" to be very nervous that you're going to be able to do that." He says that was probably the because you have to meet payroll, you have to meet obligations, and you have wife and we'd be walking around a mall and she'd look at some- d go out with my thing for $20 and I say, 'We can't afford that now. to go start your spirit, PAGE 9 Heydary-1-LT_Apr2-12.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-03-28 4:13 PM

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