* Guest post by Jonas Jacobson,  member of SOS.  Visit Jonas’ website at http://jonasjacobson.com/

Here’s a better question: who would you rather have work on your case? The partner who owns a law firm? Or an associate who works for the partner?

Nine times out of ten, I would, personally, choose the partner. After all, if the partner owns the firm, he is invested in the success of his business. He will go to great lengths to prove to you how successful he can be for you. The partner profits most if his firm succeeds, and fails if it does not.

An associate may work hard, and may be bright – but her focus will always be on impressing the partner. Your matter, to the extent it is important to the partner, will likely be very important to the associate, but it will not be the engine that drives the associate’s work, most likely.

After all, consider: associates are often directed to do many different tasks by law firm partners, and must therefore prioritize (and here’s the important point) what might be most important to the partner.

Consider for a moment why large law firms recruit out of our nation’s elite colleges and universities. Sure those schools are prestigious, and sure, there is a great likelihood that the smartest students, who ideally will become the smartest lawyers, will enroll. That doesn’t get to the real core issue of why they are hired, however.

They are hired because there are no guarantees as to how passionate an associate might be. The closest thing a hiring law firm has to a guarantee on an associates future passion for the firm and the law is prestige. “She ought to care because she went to Harvard.” Prestige is a kind of proxy for passion.

And while, to a point, there are arguments that can be made about success in law school being indicia of success as a lawyer, those arguments are only good to a point. Why? Because success in the law is directly correlated to the amount of work an attorney puts into a matter.

Well, hard work and the facts the client gives the attorney to work with.

Given equally valid arguments, the more time a litigator spends on a matter, the more likely she is to be succesful at trial. There is always more precedent out there, after all. Likewise, the more time your estate attorney spends with you, reviewing your plans, the more sensible an estate plan you are likely to have.

Thus for me, a solo attorney makes a great deal of sense. As a client, I want someone who will work extremely hard for me, and who will care about impressing me. I want someone who is beholden to me, and not some third party. At the end of the day, your lawyer should be someone you like, and trust, and if you go with a solo, you know who your lawyer is.