Yesterday marked Sullivan Legal Writing Services’ first birthday. This is the [short] version of how the firm started..

On April 15, 2024, I was dressed for work and placed my laptop in my backpack. My former business partner, whom I’ll refer to as E.T., sent me a message via GChat, stating that we should talk about a new project. I told him I’d be in the office shortly, so we’d chat face-to-face. He replied that he preferred to speak before I arrived.

E.T. and I were both attorneys in the criminal justice system in Philadelphia. He was an assistant district attorney, and I was a defense attorney. Our paths infrequently crossed, although I remember arguing one motion against him. I remember thinking, “That dude is a pompous pr*— typical prosecutor.” (The judge ruled against my client.)

A mutual friend introduced E.T. and me, and we three bonded over adult beverages after the workdays. Our buddy moved from Philadelphia, though E.T. and I remained buds. We sat at a coffee shop near City Hall when he pitched me on starting a law firm together. I agreed and in January 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc upon the world, we opened our firm that specialized in offering legal research and writing services to trial lawyers.

Our firm endured the pandemic as well as the fits and starts of most startups. In April 2024, I was earning more than I had in any job. But then the sky fell.

Tax Day 2024 was our firm’s last day.As I readied to walk to the train to take to the office, E.T. called me and told me that he had accepted employment elsewhere and could not continue to work on our venture. I was floored by this info. and frightened about my future. I thought, “What the hell am I going to do?”

Sullivan Legal Writing Services opened that day, and the firm’s first year has been solid. My firm writes persuasive briefs and memoranda of law for busy litigators, helping them to focus on what they do best and to win more cases.