Corporate transactional lawyer has grown his practice through relationships and collaboration

Rehan Hasan

Independent attorney Rehan Hasan

Rehan Hasan describes himself as a “corporate transactional lawyer with a tax expertise,” and his more than 15-year career has taken him from Nevada to New York – and from big firms to solo practice.

Hasan earned his law degree in 1999 from California Western School of Law. After several years in practice in Nevada, he realized litigation wasn’t his passion and returned to school for his LL.M. degree in taxation from New York University. Hasan and his wife moved to Denver to be near family after she completed her medical residency in Los Angeles, and Hasan worked for some of Denver’s most well-known firms.

Evolution of a law practice

When he made the decision to leave one of those Denver firms, he said he left on excellent terms with the partners after a great experience at the firm. It was just time for him to try it on his own.

“It was literally the natural evolution of my practice,” he said.

In starting his independent law practice, he was seeking greater work-life balance and the ability to be in more control of his time and his relationships with clients. He says solo practice fits perfectly with his entrepreneurial and relationship-driven style.

“How I view work-life balance is to be able to do things on my terms,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I work any less.”

He describes being able to take off an afternoon to attend his children’s school plays, but working a bit later that evening to meet his clients’ needs.

[As a solo lawyer], I have a much deeper appreciation for what I do and how it impacts clients,” he said.

Business growth and culture

When he launched his solo practice in 2009, the economy was still recovering from its slump, and his former colleagues were worried about his prospects. They told him the corporate work had dried up and that his options looked grim.

In spite of the economic climate and his colleagues’ warnings, Hasan’s new practice took off. Now, five years later, it is thriving and growing. He recently hired his first associate, which he again reports is a natural evolution for his business. That hire has increased his bandwidth and has allowed him to take on bigger projects and more work.

During the early phases of building his law practice, Hasan also co-founded a local co-working space that catered to tech start-ups: Galvanize. He was the only attorney who worked in that space, and the experience led him to become a self-described evangelist for the co-working concept.

“I couldn’t go back to the traditional work environment,” he said. “I had fundamentally changed from the traditional law firm culture.”

Collaboration and abundance

When he made the decision to leave Galvanize, he worked from his home office for a summer. Just as he began to look for new office space, he received an e-mail from LawBank about its new co-working and office space designed exclusively for lawyers.

“The universe has listened,” he told himself.

He toured LawBank and signed up immediately, making a conscious decision to work in the open co-working space at the facility rather than a private cubical or office. As a believer in collaborative thinking and design thinking, Hasan says he believes “co-working is the next evolution of officing” and that it lends itself to “rapid ideation through collaboration.”

He describes the atmosphere at LawBank as one that is “building community with integrity” and where everyone participates in an “environment of abundance.”

“Everyone else’s success adds to your success,” he said, adding that it is in stark contrast to other office environments that tend to foster a dog-eat-dog, competitive vibe among employees.

“I am such a huge supporter, and I feel such an integral part of the community at LawBank,” he said. “I think this is the future of lawyering.”

In his legal practice, Rehan Hasan focuses on corporate and business transactional law and covers the full life-cycle of a business from entity formation to day-to-day contracts. He holds an LL.M. in taxation from New York University and a J.D. from California Western School of Law. Learn more about his work at www.hasanlegal.com.