Q: Got any advice for someone just starting out as a lawyer?

— A.J., Manhattan Beach

A: Patience, integrity, determination, focus, courtesy, and creativity. It takes patience — with yourself, other lawyers, the courts and agencies, with the process, the laws, the changes to the laws, as well as with the clients. It is called the practice of law, and really does evolve over time. The law business is not static. Forms change. Judges change. Laws change.  Attitudes change. You may want to go into a different field of law than you first decided.

Integrity is critical as well. The best lawyers, whether litigators or nonlitigators, are people whose word is solid, people who can be relied upon. Not tricksters, not liars, not scorched-earth tacticians.

Determination and creativity are essential. There are tough times, losses and setbacks, frustrations, long days (even some long nights). Get back up and at it, but take care of yourself (and your loved ones). Think outside the box; it can work!

Finally, focus: It is pretty hard to be all things to all people. Be true to your objectives, and see if you can find your way to a niche in the law where you are most helpful to others.

Q: Sole practitioner? Doesn’t that limit you?

— C.L., El Segundo

A: Actually, it has opened things up quite a bit more. I was with a large firm and later a small firm. Decisions often were made for me by others. For a time, I also worked as a government employee; naturally, that involved bureaucracy. There are some real advantages to going solo, if it fits you; it is not for everyone.

For me, it has given me much greater autonomy. I can pick and choose more what I do with my time. I am not quite so beholden to others, except the clients and the judges (and the State Bar). If I want to lend a hand pro bono, then I will. Should I want to take on a case that others may think is not worth it, I can do that. I can work on different kinds of pay or incentives, if it is proper and sensible. If I want to try an area of law where I might not have as much background as some, but an area that I think I can handle competently, that’s my call. After all, it’s hard to fire myself.

More seriously, I can reach out to others for discussion, for assistance, for guidance, so it is not as if I am a sole tree in a big field. Think of it as being part of a forest, but you are your own gardener. You can thrive and find plenty of sustenance and sunlight. At the end of the day, it’s yours.

Q: You’d recommend someone becoming a lawyer, even now?

— K.B., Compton

A: A question many ask today: Is the investment in law school really worth it? It usually ain’t cheap. Are job prospects better now for young lawyers? I have read that as of October 2013, the legal industry employed more than 4,000 more people than it did the prior year. By the same token, I am aware of local courts having cut back (quite possibly to the nub) because of budget shortfalls. I still hear or read about some firms that are engaged in trimming staff. So, I can’t promise anyone who seeks to become a lawyer that he or she will get a great job, or find the practice to be rewarding.

I look at the folks I know — young and not so young — and by and large they are doing reasonably well, some very well, and most do not complain about their work. The bottom line for me has been, and remains, the many and varied opportunities for those who have a law degree — teaching, writing, litigating, counseling, using the skills in other business ways, public sector, private sector, in-house, researchers, teachers, in time possibly mediators, arbitrators or judges. It is hard for me to be negative about this profession, so, yes, I recommend it (in fact, one of my sons is going to give it a go, and I am keeping my fingers crossed).

Ron Sokol is a Manhattan Beach attorney with more than 30 years of experience. His column appears on Wednesdays. Email questions and comments to him at RonSEsq@aol.com or write to him at Ask The Lawyer, Daily Breeze, 21250 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 170, Torrance, CA 90503. This column is a summary of the law and not a substitute for legal consultation on any particular case.