Here’s the scenario: Lawyer opens a practice. Things get going. Lawyer is feeling successful.

We have lunch to chat about how it’s going. I really enjoy the lunches where the discussion is about how well things are going. It’s way more fun to talk about success than it is to talk about failure.

Our food arrives, and we start talking. Once I’ve heard about how well it’s going, we get to Q&A time.

First question: When can I hire an associate?

I’ve talked about this issue before and provided my answer to the question. I’ve actually got a general rule that I suggest you follow before you hire anyone.

Today, we’re not going to revisit the specific answer to the question. We’re going to talk about the question I like to ask in response to the hiring question.

Here you go: “Why do you want to hire someone?”

I get knee-jerk answers, and I probe harder.

What’s it really all about? Why do you feel like it’s important to hire another lawyer?

Usually, we get into a serious conversation about work-life balance, expansion, types of work, etc.

As we go back and forth, we start to explore some of the downsides of adding a lawyer.

Downsides?

Yes, downsides. Hiring a lawyer is not all peaches and cream. Hiring a lawyer adds complexity to the operation of your business. Hiring a lawyer means you’ve got to learn a whole new skill set: you’ve got to learn to manage a lawyer.

Managing a lawyer may be as hard or harder than starting a successful practice. Managing a lawyer is a nightmare.

Once you start figuring out how hard managing a lawyer will be, you’ll begin to rethink the idea that a lawyer will be the solution to all of your problems. You’ll begin to realize that having a lawyer working for you may not free up your evenings and weekends. Hiring a lawyer may simply give you a new, second job that you didn’t really bargain for or want.

Think about your life as a lawyer-manager before you jump in. Think about what it was like to manage you. Would you really want to have been your boss?

I’ve known lawyers who have been very happy and successful growing a practice from zero to huge. I’ve also known lawyers who have been miserable.

The lawyers I’ve known who stayed small—very small—have also been very happy and successful. Of course, some of them have been miserable as well.

There’s a lot of ego on the line in our profession when it comes to having additional lawyers on your team. It’s not unlike owning a fancy car.

The key here is to think before you make the leap. Don’t assume that bigger is better. Bigger is merely bigger, and in many instances bigger earns you less money, makes you unhappy, and has you spending time doing things you’d rather not be doing.