What do all lawyers have in common?
Well, besides the fact that all lawyers graduated from law school, it’s fairly right to say that they all want to start their own law firms. After all, who doesn’t want to be their own boss?
Sure, you might be content with working at a big law firm and banking your paycheck every month, but sooner or later you’ll develop the urge to move into private practice. But if the time to answer this call has come, you might be wondering how to start a new law firm.
If that’s the case, you’re in the right place. Read on for the basics you need to know when starting your law firm.
Solo or Partnership?
This is one of the most important decisions you have to make when you’re planning to open a new law firm. Should you go in solo or partner up with one or more lawyers?
You’ve probably seen several law firms with managing partners, meaning they aren’t being run by one attorney. While this is a popular choice, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right one for you.
A lot depends on your personal preferences. If you want to be fully in charge of the new firm, start a solo practice. Having a partner means they’ll have an interest in the day-to-day management of the firm.
Another thing that will help you determine whether you’ll go solo or partner-up is the capital requirements of starting a law firm. Partnering with a lawyer potentially means you’ll share the costs of starting and running the firm, which is easier than going solo when you don’t have adequate funds.
Location and Law Firm Registration
A law firm isn’t the type of business you can run from home. This means you need to find a suitable location and set up your law firm offices. Choose a location that offers you great access to your target market.
Next, settle on a name for your law firm, choose a legal structure, and proceed to register the business in your state. This enables you to obtain the necessary licenses and permits required to open and run a law firm. You will also need to obtain an Employer Identification Number before you can start hiring staff.
Setting up a law firm office isn’t much different from setting up an office for another practice, but if you have the budget, you can hire a professional that specializes in law office setups to give your office an elegant look.
Promoting and Marketing Your Law Firm
Setting up a law firm office is the easy part. Getting clients that start steaming into your office is the hard part.
Thankfully, you can get clients by investing in proper law firm promotion and marketing strategies. In today’s world, you have to set up a law firm website that’s optimized for search engines and implement other digital marketing techniques, such as PPC and social media advertising.
Consider hiring a digital agency, such as this, to take care of all your digital marketing needs as you focus on doing what you do best: helping your clients.
Starting a New Law Firm Is Easy
As long as you’re a licensed lawyer and you have enough capital, starting a new law firm is easy. Just follow the basic steps fleshed out in this article and the firm will be ready to start receiving clients in no time.
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Matt Hoffer is a crypto enthusiast and gamer. When he's not de-constructing the blockchain, you can find him chilling with some lemonade in the shade or playing a round of golf.
