As an update to you, I am still watching these interminable videos.  I was sick on Friday and missed videos on that day. And, while still sick today, I must get through these videos and start getting cases. 

So, my girlfriend and I met with some of her out-of-town friends this weekend.  One is a current conflict public defender--a county office handling conflict cases (just like the public defender's office).  I imagine the following scene will be recreated en absurdum in the foreseeable future:

friend:  So, you bought a nice desk, huh?
Me:     Yeah.  I like it.
friend:  Does that make you feel like a real attorney?  Does that make your office seem more "lawyerly"?
Me:     Fuck off.

Anyway, one of the ongoing problems of moving from public defender to private attorney is the constant attack on one's motivations.  Namely, it is the assumption that it is an extreme expression of "lawyerly" narcissism.  So, every move you make will be seen in that light, including trying to buy furniture that is going to last because you don't have a county/state agency to replace broken shit every year. 

No one will assume that you're now a private attorney because you'd like to have the freedom to handle your cases the way you see fit, without the oversight of an extremely stodgy and conservative public defender's office.  Or, maybe you'd like to have fewer cases because, in this day of massive budget cuts, you feel that case loads are such that you are not spending adequate time on your clients' cases. No, they will not assume these things.  They will ALWAYS assume that you are now in it for the money, wine parties, and fancy schmancy smoozing.