Tips for Starting Your Own Law Firm

TIPS FOR STARTING YOUR OWN LAW FIRM CREATED BY JARED MASSEY

MAKE SURE IT IS WHAT YOU WANT If you are looking to have a steady paycheck, and a life outside of work, starting your own firm will not get you that (at least at first!). It will be a lot of work, unsteady income, and a lot of challenges — big and small, for a substantial period of time. However, while it will be very difficult, it will also be extremely rewarding and exciting!

HAVE A VISION AND A PLAN Then create a business plan that tracks your vision. What are your expenses? Don’t forget to include rent, utilities, internet, phone, and marketing expenses, How many hours do you need to bill to cover those expenses? Be as detailed as possible. You do not need a fancy business plan. Just start with the basics. Run it by some attorneys who have started their own firms to make sure you are being realistic.

HAVE A CUSHION Don’t expect to make a lot of money right away. Save up some money before taking the leap so that there is less pressure to make money right away. A few months’ worth of a cushion should be sufficient to get the ball rolling.

GET READY TO PUT IN THE WORK You can expect to put in long days when you start your own firm. You can also expect to develop skills you might not have ever thought you would develop (like accounting, marketing, entrepreneurial skills, etc.). This is what makes it so interesting and exciting to start your own firm — but it also makes it time-consuming!

FIND A MENTOR AND A NETWORK This is critical. Find an attorney mentor who you can call and chat with when you have a question or need advice. Also, find a network that you can depend on. Try to add as much value to your network as you can. You don’t want to only “take” from your mentors, network, and referrals. You want to give back as much as you can to keep a positive relationship.

MARKET Make a website. Start a blog. Ask to write guest articles in newspapers or publications. If you are not a known expert on a subject, follow the lead of big firms and make yourself an expert on a subject by volunteering to be a writer and a speaker. We recommend you try a mixture of traditional and nontraditional marketing techniques to see what works.

PICK A SPECIFIC AREA OF LAW THAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN It is a good idea to start by picking one or two areas of law that you have experience clerking, working, or volunteering in. If you are still in law school, find a way to pick up those skills while in law school or perhaps plan to work at a firm for a year or two before starting your own.

PLAN TIME TO EVALUATE REGULARLY Set aside a time every week to evaluate what is working and what isn’t working. Are some of your marketing techniques working − and some aren’t working? Ramp up the ones that are working and stop putting energy and money into the ones that aren’t.

THANK YOU!