That is exactly the route that Sarah Feingold of Etsy.com, an online retailer of handmade crafts, took. 

You can read more about her career path and the responsibilities she has in her current role here.

If you’re a lawyer with an entrepreneurial streak, this website was created for you.

Whether you’re looking for the latest innovative business ideas, niche practice areas or opportunities to join companies, you can find it all here.

In the coming weeks and months our team will be adding articles to help other entrepreneurial lawyers start businesses, join companies, find niche practice areas, learn from other lawyers who have become successful entrepreneurs and much more.

We welcome you to contribute by submitting your ideas and sharing your comments.

Warren is the founder of CakeLove bakery, awarded the best bakery in Washington, DC in 2005 and 2006.  Warren was also recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Small Business Administration in 2006.  He has recently taken his venture to the next level, expanding to Maryland and Virginia

You can learn more about his transition from lawyer to baker here.

The ABA recently approved the outsourcing of legal work, and provided guidelines for firms and lawyers wishing to do so.  It will be interesting to see how the official recognition of this business practice effects the legal profession.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of legal outsourcing, it is exactly what it sounds like:  Law firms farm out some or all of the legal work they have to third party contractors.  The work that is outsourced usually consists of “leg work” such as legal research, due diligence and standard document preparation, however it can extend to more complex work.  In addition, this work is usually shipped overseas to low cost markets such as India, but this is not always the case.

While some lawyers understandably see this as a threat, we view it as an opportunity to set up legal outsourcing companies within North America.

For example, business minded lawyers might take this opportunity to develop networks of lawyers who wish to work remotely from home or on a part time basis.  The organizing lawyers would be responsible for attracting clients, recruiting network members, outsourcing work and reviewing finished work product. 

If done properly, this model could be a win -win situation for legal outsourcing network organizers and participants.

It discusses the process you should go through when examining business opportunities, and the importance of balancing runaway enthusiasm with healthy skepticism.

Not surprisingly, the author, Christopher Pearsall, is both a lawyer and an entrepreneur, giving him particular insight into the balancing act between the risk taking enthusiasm of entrepreneurs and the risk averse nature of lawyers.

While I would agree that this is true in many cases, there are a number of lawyers who are actually quite skilled in this area, and an even greater number who have the underlying ability to perform these activities, but simply haven’t learned how to use these skills yet.

So, when I came across this article that discusses how lawyers can bring out their inner entrepreneur, I thought I would bring it to your attention.

Although it’s not a “magic bullet” that will instantly turn you into a legal entrepreneur, it is a good start to help you get into the mindset you need to have if you want to be successful in your entrepreneurial activities as a lawyer .

Synergy will offer brokerage, leasing, advisory and investment services to its clients.

This is yet another example of a lawyer utilizing the skills and knowledge they acquired in their legal practice, in this case real estate, to launch a business venture in a related field.

You can read the full article here