The Skiver

OK, let us begin with some basic details. I'm male, late 30s and a solicitor based in the south of England. At the moment I'm a full partner in a rather disfunctional firm of solicitors. Over the Easter break I have decided that I've had enough of the bitching and backstabbing that goes on there, especially as it comes from my supposedly-mature partners rather than the staff that we employ. This is therefore going to be, essentially, the story of my attempts to set up my own firm, although I reserve the right to go off ranting in some other directions if the mood takes me.

I've started off in a rather modest way today, contacting various property agents. I have a very clear idea of where I want my office to be, because I have a very clear idea of what sort of firm I want it to be and the sort of services we are going to offer.

Registering with these agents is easier said than done. The number of them who have no website and who don't advertise their fax number is astonishing. As there are at least two dozen of them covering the areas I am looking at, I simply don't have time to chat to them all. Frankly, I'm wondering what sort of service I am going to get from a firm whose whole communication system seems to be stuck in the 1970s.