You’ve Decided to Go Out on Your Own. Now What?
There is no shortage of voices out there offering tips to attorneys who are looking to go out and start their own firm. Unfortunately, with so many lengthy articles, e-books, webinars, and other resources circulating, it can be hard for attorneys to narrow down this information into practical, actionable items they can take to help make their new venture a success.
Here at LawPay, we’ve worked with countless attorneys over the past decade who have taken the leap and started their own firms, and here are a few pieces of advice that we have heard from them time and time again.
#1 Make a Plan
Whether you worked in a larger firm or you’re fresh out of law school, starting your own firm is going to come with a host of responsibilities you’ve never dealt with before. Lots of attorneys who start their own firm realize very soon that while law school taught them to be excellent attorneys, it didn’t teach them how to run a business.
As such, you should make a detailed plan for running your firm before you jump in and start attracting clients and taking cases. Things you’re going to want to do will include creating a formal business plan (you can get some great tips for doing so by clicking here), buying necessary office supplies, and investing in legal software that will help you run your firm. You may also consider talking to various professionals who can inform different parts of your business plan, including cybersecurity experts, accountants, and other attorneys who have successfully started their own practices.
#2 Take Advantage of Technology
For a new practitioner who is trying to do more with less, taking advantage of existing technology is a must when setting up your business. This can take a lot of different forms. For example, rather than investing in a large, expensive copy/fax machine, get an affordable, desktop printer/scanner and make the jump to digital communications.
Additionally, there is incredible legal technology that exists solely to make your life easier. For example, many online legal tools were specifically developed to help solo and small firms run efficiently even with a small staff and a small budget. Some options you should look into for your practice include full service practice management software, online credit card processing/payment solutions , document automation software, client-intake software, lead generating resource, invoicing/billing tools, and more.
#3 Choose a Specialization for Your Practice
A common mistake among attorneys starting their own firm is that they think being a general practitioner is the safest way to drum up a large client base. Unfortunately, trying to be everything to everyone will not only wear you out as an attorney, but it will also limit your ability to truly become an expert in your field and gain recognition for this.
Choose a specialty and focus in on it. If you have multiple areas of interest, you may benefit from doing some simple market research in your targeted area of service to see if any particular practice areas are over- or underrepresented. Once you focus your practice, you can build a reputation as a “go-to” attorney for whatever it is you select, so take the time to choose a specialty or practice area you think you could be happy with for a while.
To read this article in full, visit the LawPay blog.
For a more in-depth look at how to launch your own law firm, download our e-book, “Going off on your own: Your guide to running a modern firm”
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