Today’s letter goes out to all the lawyers out their trying to open up their very own firm. Opening your own law firm can be tricky, but after years of law school, almost anything seems possible in comparison.
If you’re looking to go down a legal path, check out the basics you need to set up your own firm:
Where to start?
As every business does, you need to start with a business plan. Create long term and short term plans. Think about where you want to be located. Consider financials and market analysis. And once you do a great deal of planning, grab an extra set of eyes to look things over. That’s the beauty of law school- you’re surrounded by many like-minded people, many of whom will want to be, or will have done, exactly what you’re trying to do. Reach out to alumni, professors, friends, to give their two cents about your big plans. Next, focus in on one area of law. You may think you can handle anything a client throws on you, but it’s easier to become an expert on one thing rather than trying to cram in a lot of last-minute research all the time to try and accommodate different areas.
Incorporate
Once you have everything figured out on paper, it’s time to finalize those plans. We don’t have to tell you the benefits of incorporating. The prospect of saving on taxes, adding legitimacy to your brand, and protecting your personal assets is well worth the paperwork.
The Health of the Law Firm
Is this a healthy industry to get into right now? It’s one thing to get hired at a firm after law school, it’s a whole other deal to open your own. Thought the recession hit the industry pretty hard, as most industries, the realization that it’s smarter to focus on just one aspect of law, rather than all aspects emerged as a result. So the smartest thing to do now, post-recession, is market yourself as an extreme expert in one area- that’s the safest bet.
Interested in starting your own law firm? Need some help? Give us a call at 1-877-692-6772!