“I left an in-house counsel position at a large bank to start my own practice at a time that the bank was being prepared for a merger and my position was likely to terminate. I had no clients and only a sketch of a business plan in my head. I linked up with a couple of life insurance agents who were giving living trust seminars to prepare the documents for their customers. I was paid separately and had the clients sign a separate engagement agreement. I didn’t know enough about what I was doing and needed a big jump start. I saw an ad for the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys and began to do a lot of due diligence. I borrowed the necessary money for the membership and to hire a very competent secretary, took the training, read the materials and started to do seminars almost immediately.

I now have a partner, an associate and a former partner who is of counsel with my firm. We are keeping 11 full-time and 2 part-time employees busy and manage to bring in close to $2M in revenue each year.”

Brad A.— Reno, Nevada Member