Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

It’s the Holiday Season

By: dmc-admin//December 22, 2008//

It’s the Holiday Season

By: dmc-admin//December 22, 2008//

Listen to this article

Attorney Carl R. Edenhofer looks forward to the holiday season.

Not because of egg nog or tree trimming, but rather it is one of the few times a year he sees a slowdown in business.

Despite being a solo practitioner, Edenhofer typically closes his office for the majority of the week between Christmas and New Years Day.

“In my experience doing this for nearly 26 years, between Thanksgiving and mid-January, there is a lull for the general practitioner,” said Edenhofer, who divides his practice between estate planning and personal injury in Salem.

But for solo Jeffrey J. Guerard, who is less than two years out of law school, taking extended time off at the end of the year is not a feasible option.

The Milwaukee attorney opened his own general practice law office in 2007 and, because business is strong, Guerard said he cannot really afford to take more than the national holidays off this time of year.

“It’s definitely more of a concern for me than for someone who has been doing it for 20 years,” Guerard. “They know how to take a week off and not kill themselves when they come back.”

“I don’t know how to do that yet,” Guerard said.

So how can Edenhofer afford to travel and spend time with his family at the end of the year?

“You have to plan for it,” Edenhofer said. “If I know that dip is coming every year, I just budget for it and make sure there is enough cash flow to cover salaries and overhead.”

Attorney Jessica J. Tlusty said that the area of practice can also contribute to how busy a small firm or solo practitioner is this time year.

Tlusty, who practices at the five-attorney firm, Tlusty, Hittner, Kennedy & Freeburg LLSC in Schofield said the holidays usually generate the same, if not a higher volume of calls from potential clients.

“One of the areas we do is divorces, so you can imagine the number of placement issues that arise with regard to children over the holidays is quite a large quantity,” Tlusty said.

In fact, Tlusty noted that although the firm is closed on Christmas, it is not necessarily a holiday.

“Because it’s an extra day, we are even busier when we come back,” said Tlusty, who noted the firm is open on New Year’s Day.

Edenhofer said he typically checks the local court calendar before deciding what days to close and still makes himself available when clients call.

This year he said he expects to close Dec. 24-26 and Jan. 1, with a half day on Dec. 31.

“I look at is as a blessing and not as a negative,” Edenhofer said. “Especially since solos are usually spread pretty thin between family, social activities and community involvement.”

But at this point in his career, Guerard views any time away from the office as lost income.

“If I go down to Florida for the week and spend money, I’m not only spending that money, but losing the money I would have made if I were at my office,” Guerard said.

“There are no paid vacations.”

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests