Have A Dedicated Website
Make sure that your law firm has a good web presence. First, create a unique website that has all the details of your law specialization. You must provide all the information regarding your expertise in a particular field of law.
People will look for your website as they would like to first have some information about the type of law services you provide. They will also get contact details from your website.
So, create a website for your solo law practice. The particularly should be user-friendly so that your clients can navigate the pages easily and they stay at the site to get all the information you want to deliver.
Update the site with your latest accomplishments. Make the audience aware of the new developments happening in the law field so that people see you as an expert on the legal issues.
However, make sure that your website design leaves a good first impression on the potential clients. The website should have a good mix of text and images for a better visual impact.
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Create A Unique And Memorable Logo
Do not forget to get a great logo design for your solo law practice to put it on your website, business cards and other marketing material. Get some advice from the expert designers on designing a law firm logo design.
Make sure that your logo stands out in conveying a message of your law firm about your expertise in your field of law practice.
Each element such as color should be in the logo to make a lasting good impression on your potential customers. Hire a pro for great graphic design services from Designhill.
Name Cannot Be Too Similar To An Existing Business
Once you determine what you can legally name your business, the next step is to determine what name is actually available. If your name is John Smith you might technically be able to name your firm Smith Law under California law, but due to the popular nature of the name, there is likely already a person or company doing business as Smith Law.
If you attempt to register a name that is too similar to an existing one, the Secretary of State will likely reject the application. If you operate under a name that is too similar to an existing one, even of that business did not register its name, you potentially open yourself up to the risk of trademark or trade name infringement.
When in doubt, you should try to select a name that is appropriate, available and unique. This phase of the naming process can require a little trial and error, and a lot of patience, since your first choice may not be available. In order to select an available name, the following are several advisable steps to take:
- Search the database of California business entities registered with the Secretary of State
- Search the database of Fictitious Business Names registered with the Secretary of State
- Check the USPTO for registered trademarks
- Perform a regular online searching using your favorite search engine
- Check whether the domain name is available
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What To Consider When Choosing The Best Practice Areas As A Solo Attorney
If you plan to become a solo practitioner, you need to consider the following:
Make Sure You Get Malpractice Insurance
I really dont know how so many lawyers do it. But I know plenty who do. They practice with no insurance coverage, assuming that the worst will never happen.
Heres the thing about that insurance coverage: Even if your state does not require it, you know that it is a good idea for yourself. The insurance policy will provide you with an attorney and some financial backing if crap hits the fan.
If you are new to practicing solo, shop around and check with your local bar. Many policies will have extremely discounted rates for first and second-year solo attorneys since you dont have the ghosts of old cases following you. Sometimes, state and local bars will have discount programs as well for young lawyers.
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Tips On How To Start A Solo Law Practice
Starting a solo law practice has many challenges. Your law firm has to attract potential clients from a crowd of similar firms. The success of your firm depends on how you project and promote your law expertise.
The thought of starting a law practice all by oneself may be scarring to some lawyers. They want to play it safe in order to avoid the risks involved. When you start a solo law practice, you are completely on your own.
This means that you will run your law practice more or less on the principles of running a business. Like a business owner, you will be advertising your services, expertise, and you will put a lot of effort for making contacts with potential clients.
You will also market your services just as a company does. This surely seems a daunting task for many lawyers and is the reason they prefer working as an employee in some company.
But do not be scared by the thought of operating your law practice as a business. The fact is that increasing number of law practitioners are going solo to make more money.
According to the stats provided by American Bar Association, of all the private practitioners in the U.S, 49% were solo practitioners in 2005.
So, do not be overwhelmed by the very thought of starting a solo law practice all by yourself. Like many successful solo entrepreneurs, you will gradually learn the tricks.
What Are The Best Practice Areas For Solo Attorneys
There are many different areas of practice from which to choose when you go solo, but the best area of law for you is something that you are genuinely passionate about or at least very good at doing! The best option is going to look different for every attorney, and you dont want to settle for something that you absolutely hate just because you think it will make you money. If you look at the average income across different fields of law, within a successful career, you will likely make within an average of $25,000 annually no matter which area you choose.
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Look For Referrals And Gain New Expertise
Do not rely on your existing list of clients, if you want to grow your law firms business. You should always be looking for opportunities to acquire new clients. To do so, tap into your network of colleagues. Cultivate referrals from your legal peers.
Besides exploring other lawyers, do not hesitate in asking your friends from other fields such as business and realtors. You can even have an occasional chat with your parking lot attendant, who may one day suggest you a client.
Sometimes a hearty face-to-face conversation with your friends and people around can give you some clue about the potential clients.
This way, you will start getting client referrals. Do not forget the importance of word-of-mouth publicity, which works well in the legal profession for starting a law practice. Also, think of expanding your legal expertise on fields other than your core legal field.
Do not be satisfied with your existing law firms business and list of clients. In legal profession, you must always be looking for ways to expand your legal expertise in other fields.
Since, you are running a solo law practice its earnings will depend a lot on the number of clients you get. If your expertise includes dealing with other legal areas such as crime, divorce, business related cases, etc, it will help you make more money on your own.
Hen F Diamond A Rebuttal
The following year, law professor Stephen Diamond , taking Professor Bartons methodology to task. Among the main criticisms are:
- The IRS data is polluted, in that it contains not only attorneys, but also legal services providers who earn much less on average than attorneys . This has the potential to bring down the number considerably.
- Additionally, the IRS data only includes sole proprietors, and not incorporated solo law practices. As incorporation of ones practice has become increasingly popular and an indication of the seriousness that an attorney may take their business activities , you can see how excluding these numbers can skew the data.
- Lastly, and the first one I thought of as a counterpoint, is that theyre using net income rather than gross income. In reality, there is a ton of stuff that solo attorneys can deduct from their gross income which are business-related expenses, but also benefit the attorneys personal life. Its a muddy picture, to be sure, but somewhere between the net and gross amounts is where a solo attorneys actual income lies.
By his own calculations, using self-reported American Community Survey data, shows that solo practice lawyers are making an average of $165,000 instead a big jump from the dismal $49,000 of Professor Bartons article!
Following this, Professor Barton published a rebuttal to the rebuttal, which you can read if youre interested.
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Joleena Louis is a matrimonial and family law attorney at , a rm she founded after leaving a boutique matrimonial rm in Brooklyn. Joleena is a client in Law Firm Suites start-up program in Downtown, New York. Her weekly blog series Things I Wish I Knew explores her thought process and experiences in her transition from small law rm employee to successful solo practice entrepreneur.
Elite Lawyer Managements Small Law Office Marketing Mosaic
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Being A Great Lawyer Is Not Enough To Make You A Successful Law Firm Owner
But being a great lawyer, in itself, will not make most solo practitioners successful in business. Many great lawyers have been forced out of business, or have endured unfulfilling lives as under-earning solos, because they clung to the belief that their legal skills and ethics alone would win the day. Unfortunately, being a great practitioner isnt enough, and hasnt been since the Supreme Court allowed attorneys to advertise. As frustrating as this is for many great lawyers who couldnt care less about business, if youre in this group youd do well to acknowledge the reality of the law practice ecosystem around you so you can build a consistently financially rewarding solo practice. And the good news is, as foreign, or scary or distasteful as the business side of being a law firm owner is to some great lawyers, once the basics are understood and put into practice, being great at the business of law demands little time away from being a great lawyer.
There are hundreds of business details that the average solo practitioner must deal with when starting or growing a practice. The sheer number can seem overwhelming. It can lead to analysis paralysis and a failure to launch or thrive. I frequently see new solos stuck on minor details such as choice of business entity, or what type of paper stock to use for business cards.
Lessons From My First 6 Months In Solo Practice
Last year was a year of major change for me. In addition to adding a second child to our family in March, I launched my estate planning practice as a solo practitioner in July. As the year drew to a close, I reflected on what I had accomplished, what I was proud of, and what I could have done better.
Now, with 2020 underway, Im sharing my top six lessons from my first six months in practice. If youre on the fence about whether to start your own practice, may they inspire you to make the leap! Its the best career decision Ive made.
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Myth : Solo Attorneys Dont Know How To Run A Business
True.and false.
You cant really be a solo attorney without some basic business skills. To be fair, however, the vast majority of solo attorneys did not go to business school and/or previously run a business.
That means things like running finances, designing a website , client intake , marketing/networking, etc., are all foreign concepts to most new solo attorneys. These are things that they Lawyerist teaches in Lab.
Learning how to interact with people and getting along with them is fairly innate. If you dont get along with people, the solo route is probably not for you.
Frankly, many solo attorneys outsource many of the business logistics to other staff or professionals they hire. For example, hiring an accountant to do the books, or hiring support staff to answer the phone, greet clients, work on marketing, etc. But outsourcing doesnt mean an attorney doesnt know how to do it, it just means they recognize the value in having someone else do it.
I guess that means every solo attorney knows how to run a business, but not all of them know how to run a business well.
Originally published 2013-05-13. Republished 2019-12-11.
Create A Law Firm Business Plan
Few businesses ever succeed when they are governed by the whims of entrepreneurs and fate. If you are launching a law firm with no plan, your odds of success are going to be slim. Every single day will bring many surprises, not of the good kind. You will have cash flow issues, technology issues, business identity issues, marketing issues, basically nothing but issues.
There is a reason why every single book on business tells you to start with a business plan: You outline your goals, realistic projections for revenue and expenses, overhead, market and marketing strategies, and more. The plan serves as a loose map to success, one that you are free to deviate from, but which will likely redirect you back to the course time and again whenever those issues threaten to derail you.
Agood business plan has to be realisticnobody should be expecting to turn a million in revenue in year two, after starting year one with a laptop and a law degree. The business plan should also contain a budget that incorporates your seed money, the profits you will withdraw personally as your income, and projected overhead for software, staffing, and marketing.
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Spend Time Working On Your Budget
Speaking of budgets, do you have seed money? A few years ago, I somewhat naïvely wrote that you could start a law firm with a laptop, a printer, and a law degree. Many people do. And you actually can. But if you want to turn it into a business , you will eventually have to invest in marketing, support staff, software that makes you more efficient, and all of the boring stuff that being a lawyer requires, like CLEs, malpractice insurance, bar dues, etc.
Take the time to budget all of those boring expenses. If you arent a tech-savvy nerd with a love of marketing , youll probably need to add in a budget for a law firm website, and possibly for ongoing advertising on Google and social media, or any other marketing you think will pay off. And dont forget budgeting for support staff! Answering your own phone every 15 minutes, while trying to focus on legal pleadings, really is a special place in productivity hell.
Starting A Solo Law Practice Series Intro
Starting a solo law practice is an exciting and scary time for lawyers. Some lawyers jump in without much thought or planning, while other lawyers spend years pondering but never acting.
If youre a lawyer or law student thinking about starting your own practice, let me first say congratulations. You are contemplating a venture that is rich with rewards and satisfaction, and that, in my opinion, can provide the best quality of practice and of life in the law. The journey to a successful solo law practice starts with a single thought, and if youre reading these words, youre likely well on your way.
Between that initial idea about starting a solo practice and a thriving and established law practice are many decisions, obstacles, pitfalls and challenges. I went through many of them myself. There were moments of doubt where I second-guessed whether I choose the right path. But looking back, I can say with absolute confidence that it was the right decision for me. I can also tell you with 100% confidence that there is nothing special about me. The fact that I was able to build two successful law practices, from scratch, in two different states is evidence that you can as well.
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