I had done everything right. Passed the bar. Hung a shingle. Built a practice around the cases that matter most — the ones where someone's family is literally on the line. But no one told me that solo practice in family law is an exercise in radical isolation. The work is relentless. The emotions are enormous. And the bar association's answer is a CLE on "wellness" that costs $175 and comes with a certificate.
I started a Discord server with four people I trusted. We called it Counsel — not because it sounded impressive, but because that's what we were doing for each other. Actual counsel. The kind that comes after hours, without a billing code, from someone who's been in the same courtroom and survived.
Today, 2,400 attorneys have found that server. Family law practitioners, criminal defenders, immigration attorneys, newly barred associates who are terrified and brilliant. They come in at midnight with a procedural question. They leave with a referral, a template, and the knowledge that someone else has been where they are.