We recently connected with Donté Grant and have shared our conversation below.

Donté, appreciate you joining us today. When you were first starting out, did you join a firm or start your own?

The day I passed the bar I formed my business and filed my articles of incorporation with the Georgia Secretary of State. So the plan from day one for me was to always start my own law firm. But I’m a realist, so I knew I needed experience and more-so than anything I needed money. So the plan was to join a law firm, briefly, so I could learn how to practice. Law school doesn’t teach you how to practice law, law school teaches you how to pass tests. We don’t have a residency program like medical students have. That said, my thought process was to work for a firm for a little while so I could learn how to practice and save money to build my own law firm.

I worked for a small civil litigation firm that focused on personal injury, premises liability and negligent security cases. I hit the ground running in litigation there, the first week working there I had a damages hearing for a cases. Most firms don’t let new associates litigate cases so I knew this opportunity was perfect for me. I litigated hundreds of cases in that year and learned the tricks of the trade, recovering millions for my clients and generating millions in attorney’s fees for that firm too. They paid me a good salary and bonus there, but after generating that kinda money for someone else’s firm I was confident I could do the same for my own firm. I was also handling solo cases under my firm at the same time so I was working a lot but I knew it was all benefitting my end game in the long run. That job also helped me build up a reputation with insurance defense attorneys. They knew me as a plaintiffs lawyer that was aggressive in litigation and always ready to fight for my clients and I’d push a case to trial if need be. This in turn showed my clients that I was always putting them first which is priceless because being an attorney is all about earning the trust of your clients when they are going through a tough time in their life. Building that trust is vital, til this day those clients whose cases I handled always call to refer cases to me even after leaving that job.

So that job ended up being pivotal in my young career. I learned so much and made good money which allowed me to leave and focus completely on building my own law firm.

Donté, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a Georgia native and I’ve wanted to be an attorney since I was 8 years old. I took a non traditional route to get here though. I worked a lot of jobs after graduating college, trying to find my way. After having my son I knew it was time to go to law school and get my life together. Once I researched law schools and tuition costs, I had to figure out a way to pay for it. One of my best friends from college told me I could join the army and the GI Bill would pay for law school. Initially I dismissed that thought, no way I was joining the army. But eventually I came around to it because there was no way I was taking out 300k in student loans to pay for law school. So I joined the army and signed a 4 year contract which gauranteed me the full GI Bill once I completed the contract. As soon as that contract ended, I took the LSAT and started law school, six months later at St. Thomas College on Law in Miami.

I was in my 30’s at that point so my focus was laser sharp, I knew this was it for me, there was no plan B and I had no room for error. I immersed myself in the process and was very active on campus. I joined legal organizations like The Black Law Students Association and the Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar. Those organizations helped me network with other attorneys and land a few law clerk jobs at law firms as a law student. After graduating in 2019 I moved back here to Atlanta to sit for the Georgia Bar. Even though I loved living in Miami, the goal was to open my own practice here in Atlanta. This is my home and this was always the community I wanted to serve and help.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Building my clientele has happened organically thus far primarily through word of mouth and by doing right by my clients. What most young attorneys don’t realize is that being an attorney is all about customer service. We are in the customer service business whether they want to believe it or not. When we get good results for our clients they will always be a referral source for you. Many times they come to us when they are at the lowest point of their life and need us to help put the pieces back together. Throughout to process of handling a clients personal injury case I develop a rapport with my clients. Those relationships had led to hundreds of referrals from previous clients. Also networking and meeting other lawyers. Other lawyers that don’t practice personal injury are also great referral sources,

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I funded my firm with my previous job salary. The salary was favorable with a good bonus structure. I was blessed to make good money as a young attorney and I saved a lot of that money. I didn’t go out and make any big purchases, I didn’t buy a new car, or a new house. I was focused and locked in on my goal to start my own law firm. However, I did go on a lot of trips and travelled quit a bit, but other than that I saved most of that salary. My plan was to save enough so I would be able to pay all my bills for year after I quit my job to go solo.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brunsongrantlaw.com
• Instagram: @Attorney.DBG
• Facebook: Donté B. Grant
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/dontegrant
• Twitter: @AttorneyDBG

Image Credits
Used by permission of Brunson Grant Law Firm.