Jessica Adelan-Langford, Principal Lawyer, Owner, Adelan Langford Legal Consulting (Canberra, ACT)

Having my own law firm allows me to do it my way. I am motivated by the idea of attracting like-minded clients and creating a culture based on my own values. I wouldn’t have that if I worked for someone else. 

The way to do great work, is love what you do
I founded my law firm in 2019. Despite people advising me to be a generalist, I decided to focus on Wills & Estates – an area that’s well suited to my personality.

From the beginning, I wanted to do things differently. So, I set out to reframe the conversation around Wills & Estates, steering away from the doom and gloom. 

I’m particularly interested in philanthropy, so I find out what my clients love about their lives and discuss how they can leave a legacy to something they’re passionate about. It could be an environmental cause – or even their local yacht club.

When you know, you know
Before founding my own business, I worked for a large law firm in Canberra. I had progressed and was doing well, taking over as special counsel with a team of paralegals and junior staff to manage. 

But something was lacking. All my appointments had to be in the office. I was back to back with client meetings. And due to the lack of flexibility, I could see that my clients didn’t feel at ease. Like me, they led busy lives and often had young families to juggle.

The emphasis was also on making money, which of course is integral to being in business. But when you get hung up on having to bill a certain number of clients to justify your cost to the firm, you start to base your self-worth on how many hours you bill each day. 

Before taking the leap 
It became clear that a large law firm culture wasn’t for me, so I started to plan an alternative. 

As a stepping-stone to starting my own firm, I worked for a friend as a practice leader for six months. This was a salaried role which make it the perfect ‘try before you buy’ experience. It also gave me the space to mentally prepare before walking away from the stability of employment. 

Thankfully though, when I finally took the leap, I already had an established referral network. This was largely due to my time at The College of Law where I completed my Legal Practice Management Course, a Nationally Accredited Mediator Training Course – as well as my Master of Laws (Applied Law) majoring in Wills & Estates.

Making my own rules 
As a parent with a young family, I wanted to stop and catch a breath after working long hours in previous roles. It’s easy to fall into bad habits in the traditional law model – relying on coffee, fueling on sugar at 3pm and restless nights.

I now think about what’s best for my family and for me. I always try to:

• Manage the workload: I only take on 10 matters at a time. This allows me to give my clients a personal service and an assurance that I’m not spreading myself too thin. It also stops me from burning out. Stress management was a key takeaway from my Legal Practice Management Course – so I always understood my wellbeing should come first.
  
  
• Create the context: I’ve determined what works for me and my clients. I’m not confined to an office, so we often go for walks around the lake to discuss cases and exercise at the same time. 
  
  
• Be selective: I love that I don’t have deadlines and am not at the mercy of the courts. I do everything possible to help families settle out of court and I don’t do estate litigation. Going to court means more time, more staff. And for me, it’s not worth it. 
  
  
• Present myself honestly: My clients know I am a full-time mum. They understand that I take on less over school holidays and that my family comes first.

I don’t buy into the idea of ‘work-life balance’ – it implies that you have to be on an even keel at all times. For me, it’s more about work-life integration.We’re not measured on a day to day basis, but rather over a lifetime on what we’ve done and contributed. Creating my own work culture allows me to achieve this.

Weighing up the pros and cons
All that aside, being a business owner still comes with its challenges. 

For starters, the buck stops with me. I’m responsible for everything from start to finish. If I’m missing a receipt the accountant is chasing me about what I spent my money on. Or if the clients aren’t coming through the doors, I wonder what I’m doing wrong. 

But my greatest challenge is still adjusting to a variable income with no safety net. 

However, the benefits outweigh the challenges. I have carved out a niche that fits my home life, priorities, values – and my raison d’être.

And if my clients walk away from their experience knowing they can rely on me and that I truly care, then hopefully I’ve given them faith in the legal profession. I couldn’t ask for more than that.