I left a large firm to start my own about two years ago. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, and went back to a firm after two years.
The money was fine, but all the other stuff was a pain. The accounting, the IT, etc.
I would adise getting your S-corp or LLC set up, bank accounts, and liability insurance in place. If you are going to get office space, get that first. Get your business cards and Web site (if you are going to have one) before you start.
I tried to do much of that as I was starting the firm, and it was a hassle. Would've been much smarter to have all of that lined up first.
Wolfson's okay if you want to pay a lot of money, maybe go to a preliminary hearing, enter a plea, and then have some political clout at sentencing. I would never count on him for a felony trial. There are many, many better criminal defense attorneys.
Wolfson is a a great criminal attorney, but also very pricy $$$. You would be hard pressed to do better, but it would also be easy to get someone just as good for as little as 1/10th the cost.
I opened my office 20 years ago and would never work for anyone again. I just like the freedom. Yes there is a lot of work in accounting, collecting, IT etc. but you never have to worry about being fired. 1. Get a small office at a good location. 2. Get two computers- 1 for legal work (connected to the internet) and one for billing not connected to internet. Quicken for accounting and check writing; Timeslips for client billing; Abacus for scheduling, conflicts, telephone call notes, etc. 3. Take the time and hire a good assistant. (worth their weight in gold) and treat them good. 4. Get other office furniture, telephones, fax machine, copier, and scanner. 5. Get a target date when you wish to open and have everything set up when you open. Expect it to be slow for at least 6 months. 6. Advertise in yellow pages (cheaper in Yellow Book) and join State Bar Lawyer Referral Service. 7. And oh yeah, get malpractice insurance. You can also do some pro bono work, because sometimes they also have PI and other cases that you will get paid for. GOOD LUCK
9:58 - do you know of any serious felony charge that Wolfson has taken to trial in the past decade? He's a classic "bleeds 'em and pleads 'em" defense lawyer.
Imagine if all lawyers worked for the government, for a salary. No more fighting to get paid.
No more economic incentive to Righthaven anyone. Your salary would be the same regardless, so there would be no incentive to run the clock to drive the other side into settlement.
When the rich and powerful sued the poor and meek, they would have counsel. The rich would have the same quality of legal representation as the poor.
"I know that you think I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Thanks for the tips. I'm really leaning towards leaving soon just to see if I can make it. The prospect of freedom is just too tempting to continue the uncertainty of the partnership track. Most likely I'm just going to rent space from another attorney, but the two computers is something I never thought of.
How much capital do you think I'll need for the first six months?
8:14 - The answer to your question is, NO. You are most certainly not crazy for wanting to be your own boss. However, don't cut your nose off to spite your face. The most important thing you need is cash in the bank. Plan on a minimum of one year of operating and living expenses.
I heard there's a serious ticket war going on between Stokes and Holper. Supposedly had a bunch of people holding signs for $35 traffic tickets right outside Half Price Lawyers' office. In response, Stokes sent people with signs to surround Holper's sign people, Stokes' signs said "Free Traffic Tickets." Stokes also sent people over to Holper's office with the same signs basically showing everything coming over to Holper's office that Stokes will do the tickets for FREE. TICKET WARS!!
Figure your capital for 6 months based upon all of your expenditures ie., electricity, phone, rent, advertising, and then add on appx $500 for unexpecteds. You will start getting calls as soon as you join Lawyer Referral Service of State Bar. They may be small but take good care of them because several of mine morphed into 6 figure cases and brought me other cases - believe me after a slow start you will never go back to working for someone else. Just too much fun to choose the cases you want and not to have to answer to a boss.
Agree that you should line up all of the details before (insurance, business set up (LLC, S-Corp, Etc.), business cards, office space) you go out.
If you want to save dollars up front, you can do a virtual office for meetings, POB, etc. unless you can get a really great share space arrangement. We rented space with an established attorney on lawyer row and got phones, copy machine, postage and use of his secretary included in our rent. This kind of in-place structure is INVALUABLE. You really need someone who will answer your calls, get your messages, collect money, etc. while you are building your practice. TIP: better to share space with an attorney who practices a DIFFERENT specialty than you - no questions regarding your cold calls getting sent to the other attorney. Plus, you can get cases from your "landlord" - scut work that he/she isn't interested in.
You can make due with one computer (recommend a laptop b/c you will need to work at home) unless you can afford to network the computers so you can remote in from home. You can also make due with Microsoft's Outlook program for scheduling, emails, etc (or Apple's MobileMe program). Abacus is great and recommend it for down the road. They have a small practice program that runs for under $500.
Right now, with so many attorneys going out on their own, you have to price competitively. Figure out what your price point for each day is (if you need to bring in $10K per month to cover your personal and business expenses, figure out how much that is per day). DO NOT forget to factor in taxes which are very, very high. Approximately 30 to 37% of our gross goes towards employer AND employee taxes. Also, don't forget health care costs. Some good search engines on-line for care.
Make relationships with other attorneys - let them know you will do scut work for an hourly rate. When you get busier, you can use other attorneys or freelance paralegals to cover your scut work. We use a newer attorney who has free Westlaw for all of our legal research at $50/hour. Significantly cheaper than getting a Westlaw subscription of ANY variety.
In the current economic climate, keep your expenses LOW. Forego the expensive office furniture and staff until you have AT LEAST one year of salary in the bank (not for you but for the person you are going to hire). For yourself, have AT LEAST six months of cash in the bank to support yourself and your business. Personally, I would recommend a year's worth but most can't do that. Check out Bank of Las Vegas. Several attorneys - including me - have applied for and received credit lines. They are happy to work with attorneys.
I also recommend doing pro bono work through Legal Aid primarily. You get excellent support in terms of learning to do things you might not have the background to do and you will pick up clients. I have done a ton of pro bono and have ALWAYS gotten at least one paying gig out of it. Truly worth it on a bunch of levels.
We also used LRIS but, cutting that check for 20% back to the State bar sucks. Keep that in mind when you price your LRIS cases.
Also, if you don't speak Spanish, get someone in your office who does. Hispanic clients are very, very loyal and appreciate very much having someone who can speak to them. I have enough to get by but can't do anything complicated. That said, our office manager does our translation and the clients very much appreciate that I try.
Agree that you should line up all of the details before (insurance, business set up (LLC, S-Corp, Etc.), business cards, office space) you go out.
If you want to save dollars up front, you can do a virtual office for meetings, POB, etc. unless you can get a really great share space arrangement. We rented space with an established attorney on lawyer row and got phones, copy machine, postage and use of his secretary included in our rent. This kind of in-place structure is INVALUABLE. You really need someone who will answer your calls, get your messages, collect money, etc. while you are building your practice. TIP: better to share space with an attorney who practices a DIFFERENT specialty than you - no questions regarding your cold calls getting sent to the other attorney. Plus, you can get cases from your "landlord" - scut work that he/she isn't interested in.
You can make due with one computer (recommend a laptop b/c you will need to work at home) unless you can afford to network the computers so you can remote in from home. You can also make due with Microsoft's Outlook program for scheduling, emails, etc (or Apple's MobileMe program). Abacus is great and recommend it for down the road. They have a small practice program that runs for under $500.
Right now, with so many attorneys going out on their own, you have to price competitively. Figure out what your price point for each day is (if you need to bring in $10K per month to cover your personal and business expenses, figure out how much that is per day). DO NOT forget to factor in taxes which are very, very high. Approximately 30 to 37% of our gross goes towards employer AND employee taxes. Also, don't forget health care costs. Some good search engines on-line for care.
Make relationships with other attorneys - let them know you will do scut work for an hourly rate. When you get busier, you can use other attorneys or freelance paralegals to cover your scut work. We use a newer attorney who has free Westlaw for all of our legal research at $50/hour. Significantly cheaper than getting a Westlaw subscription of ANY variety.
In the current economic climate, keep your expenses LOW. Forego the expensive office furniture and staff until you have AT LEAST one year of salary in the bank (not for you but for the person you are going to hire). For yourself, have AT LEAST six months of cash in the bank to support yourself and your business. Personally, I would recommend a year's worth but most can't do that. Check out Bank of Las Vegas. Several attorneys - including me - have applied for and received credit lines. They are happy to work with attorneys.
I also recommend doing pro bono work through Legal Aid primarily. You get excellent support in terms of learning to do things you might not have the background to do and you will pick up clients. I have done a ton of pro bono and have ALWAYS gotten at least one paying gig out of it. Truly worth it on a bunch of levels.
We also used LRIS but, cutting that check for 20% back to the State bar sucks. Keep that in mind when you price your LRIS cases.
Also, if you don't speak Spanish, get someone in your office who does. Hispanic clients are very, very loyal and appreciate very much having someone who can speak to them. I have enough to get by but can't do anything complicated. That said, our office manager does our translation and the clients very much appreciate that I try.
You can make due with one computer (recommend a laptop b/c you will need to work at home) unless you can afford to network the computers so you can remote in from home. You can also make due with Microsoft's Outlook program for scheduling, emails, etc (or Apple's MobileMe program). Abacus is great and recommend it for down the road. They have a small practice program that runs for under $500.
Right now, with so many attorneys going out on their own, you have to price competitively. Figure out what your price point for each day is (if you need to bring in $10K per month to cover your personal and business expenses, figure out how much that is per day). DO NOT forget to factor in taxes which are very, very high. Approximately 30 to 37% of our gross goes towards employer AND employee taxes. Also, don't forget health care costs. Some good search engines on-line for care.
Make relationships with other attorneys - let them know you will do scut work for an hourly rate. When you get busier, you can use other attorneys or freelance paralegals to cover your scut work. We use a newer attorney who has free Westlaw for all of our legal research at $50/hour. Significantly cheaper than getting a Westlaw subscription of ANY variety.
In the current economic climate, keep your expenses LOW. Forego the expensive office furniture and staff until you have AT LEAST one year of salary in the bank (not for you but for the person you are going to hire). For yourself, have AT LEAST six months of cash in the bank to support yourself and your business. Personally, I would recommend a year's worth but most can't do that. Check out Bank of Las Vegas. Several attorneys - including me - have applied for and received credit lines. They are happy to work with attorneys.
I also recommend doing pro bono work through Legal Aid primarily. You get excellent support in terms of learning to do things you might not have the background to do and you will pick up clients. I have done a ton of pro bono and have ALWAYS gotten at least one paying gig out of it. Truly worth it on a bunch of levels.
We also used LRIS but, cutting that check for 20% back to the State bar sucks. Keep that in mind when you price your LRIS cases.
Also, if you don't speak Spanish, get someone in your office who does. Hispanic clients are very, very loyal and appreciate very much having someone who can speak to them. I have enough to get by but can't do anything complicated. That said, our office manager does our translation and the clients very much appreciate that I try.
While much of the advice here is sound, marketing is always a big question.
Law comes in 2 varieties; business to business (civil lit defense, insurance coverage, Intellectual Property, business lit, etc.)and carries with it more repeat business but fewer referrals from clients. NEXT comes consumer law (trust & estate, family, personal injury, BK debtor etc.)
Marketing these 2 types of practices is VERY different, and unless you can buy bigger ads than the "Big Guys" don't bother with yellow pages or yellow book advertising.
Networking is a great way to market on a shoestring, but unless at least half of your new client introductions come from attys, network with non attys for better results.
Blog marketing is another way to cost effectively build your brand, reputation & grow your practice.
What area of law will be your primary focus?
Will your billing be hourly, flat fee or contingency? Your business and cash flow strategies will differ with each.
Lastly, Is your 2 to 5 year plan to remain solo or build something larger?
The answer to the above question will help you make some important choices along the way.
I already have a year of expenses (living) in the bank, but I didn't think about also having the cost of business as well. I'll definitely read those books you recommended.
In terms of marketing, I've already had a few clients tell me that I really need to open up my own shop, so maybe they'll consider coming with me. But I don't want to do anything that'll harm my relationship with my current firm. I'm fairly strong at networking and developing new clients, so that's what I was planning on focusing on.
There in no ticket war going on. Here is the real scoop....
Holper had the dumb idea of trying to poach clients from Stokes' parking lot with a guy holding a sign. This obviouisly makes no sense because Stokes will beat anyone's price on anything. It also makes no sense since Stokes' business is about 500 times the size of Holper's.
As expected, Stokes responds: Stokes immediately started offering pro-bono legal services at a location on the sidewalk outside Holper's office.
The lawyer from whom Holper rents or sublets office space became upset at the situation and forced Holper to quit before Stokes' pro-bono project put them all out of business. I have a feeling Stokes felt bad for the landlord lawyer who had nothing to do with it because I suspect his pro-bono project would have continued indefinitely otherwise.
Left iat very end of 01 making $65k as a 3yr associate. Last check was $15k including my last quarter bonus. Rented a 150 sq.ft. exec suite. Splurged on Legal Express and Westlaw.
Took small 2 files for the same client. Busted my A for them. Took everything that walked in the door. Everything.
Became good at family law, PI, criminal, traffic, and built up my commercial lit practice. Over first 8 months stole 15 solid client's from my old firm with 50 odd files. Billed them at 01 associate rates.
Sams club particle board desk and a laptop. Everything else was eBay.
Answered my own phones. Typed my own letters and faxes. Took my CoM's home for my wife to sign, using her maiden name.
Went 5 months without a paycheck. Then in 02, doubled my income from 01.
Have nearly doubled that every year untold 07 when I pared back and started playing more. I take the cases I want, charge exorbitant fees, and they keep coming in. I golf Friday mornings, and am home by 2. I don't work weekends or nights (unless prepping for a trial).
I've had as many as 3 associAtes, 3 paralegal/legal secretary types and 2 law clerks at the same time. I let them all move on. Except my core people. My perfect situation is me, my secretary and my paralegal. They are higher paid than most 3rd year associates.
It may not be for everyone, but its mine and kicks ass. Even after 9 years.
@8:10 A lot of the Judges have facebook pages. Nothing better than seeing a Judge in their natural setting when they aren't playing holier-than-thou.
@5:47- I'm not surprised that Scott Holper, Esq. doesn't want to pay for advertising the legal/ethical way? Wasn't his dad the chiro who lured in new PI clients by handing out gift cards to injured patients at UMC? So sad. Even more sad, Scott is just about the worst attorney with whome I've ever had the (dis)pleasure of dealing. He just doesn't get it, so much so that I *almost* feel bad for him.
Anyone know if any of our judges have profiles on facebook, myspace, inkedin, or any other social networking website?
ReplyDeleteAm I crazy for thinking of leaving my firm and starting my own? What should I have in place before doing so (other than clients)?
ReplyDeleteCadish facebook, She says for you to shut up
ReplyDeleteZimmerman, Lee,
ReplyDeleteCANDIDTES:
Zadrowski -- and yes, he is wearing his Bozo the Clown tie.
Any of you criminal law folks have an opinion on Steve Wolfson? Is he a decent criminal defense attorney?
ReplyDeleteI left a large firm to start my own about two years ago. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, and went back to a firm after two years.
ReplyDeleteThe money was fine, but all the other stuff was a pain. The accounting, the IT, etc.
I would adise getting your S-corp or LLC set up, bank accounts, and liability insurance in place. If you are going to get office space, get that first. Get your business cards and Web site (if you are going to have one) before you start.
I tried to do much of that as I was starting the firm, and it was a hassle. Would've been much smarter to have all of that lined up first.
A very capable attorney but his beard is oddly trimmed. Strange beard lines... eeew.
ReplyDeleteWolfson's okay if you want to pay a lot of money, maybe go to a preliminary hearing, enter a plea, and then have some political clout at sentencing. I would never count on him for a felony trial. There are many, many better criminal defense attorneys.
ReplyDeleteWolfson is a a great criminal attorney, but also very pricy $$$.
ReplyDeleteYou would be hard pressed to do better, but it would also be easy to get someone just as good for as little as 1/10th the cost.
I opened my office 20 years ago and would never work for anyone again. I just like the freedom. Yes there is a lot of work in accounting, collecting, IT etc. but you never have to worry about being fired.
ReplyDelete1. Get a small office at a good location.
2. Get two computers- 1 for legal work (connected to the internet) and one for billing not connected to internet. Quicken for accounting and check writing; Timeslips for client billing; Abacus for scheduling, conflicts, telephone call notes, etc.
3. Take the time and hire a good assistant. (worth their weight in gold) and treat them good.
4. Get other office furniture, telephones, fax machine, copier, and scanner.
5. Get a target date when you wish to open and have everything set up when you open. Expect it to be slow for at least 6 months.
6. Advertise in yellow pages (cheaper in Yellow Book) and join State Bar Lawyer Referral Service.
7. And oh yeah, get malpractice insurance. You can also do some pro bono work, because sometimes they also have PI and other cases that you will get paid for.
GOOD LUCK
9:58 - do you know of any serious felony charge that Wolfson has taken to trial in the past decade? He's a classic "bleeds 'em and pleads 'em" defense lawyer.
ReplyDeleteImagine if all lawyers worked for the government, for a salary. No more fighting to get paid.
ReplyDeleteNo more economic incentive to Righthaven anyone. Your salary would be the same regardless, so there would be no incentive to run the clock to drive the other side into settlement.
When the rich and powerful sued the poor and meek, they would have counsel. The rich would have the same quality of legal representation as the poor.
"I know that you think I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
@9:49 and 10:02
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips. I'm really leaning towards leaving soon just to see if I can make it. The prospect of freedom is just too tempting to continue the uncertainty of the partnership track. Most likely I'm just going to rent space from another attorney, but the two computers is something I never thought of.
How much capital do you think I'll need for the first six months?
@ 10:20 a.m. I love you.
ReplyDelete@ 10:39 I love you. What can I say...I am a groupie groupie.
ReplyDelete8:14 - The answer to your question is, NO. You are most certainly not crazy for wanting to be your own boss. However, don't cut your nose off to spite your face. The most important thing you need is cash in the bank. Plan on a minimum of one year of operating and living expenses.
ReplyDeleteI heard there's a serious ticket war going on between Stokes and Holper. Supposedly had a bunch of people holding signs for $35 traffic tickets right outside Half Price Lawyers' office. In response, Stokes sent people with signs to surround Holper's sign people, Stokes' signs said "Free Traffic Tickets." Stokes also sent people over to Holper's office with the same signs basically showing everything coming over to Holper's office that Stokes will do the tickets for FREE. TICKET WARS!!
ReplyDeleteFigure your capital for 6 months based upon all of your expenditures ie., electricity, phone, rent, advertising, and then add on appx $500 for unexpecteds. You will start getting calls as soon as you join Lawyer Referral Service of State Bar. They may be small but take good care of them because several of mine morphed into 6 figure cases and brought me other cases - believe me after a slow start you will never go back to working for someone else. Just too much fun to choose the cases you want and not to have to answer to a boss.
ReplyDeleteRe: your own firm
ReplyDeleteAgree that you should line up all of the details before (insurance, business set up (LLC, S-Corp, Etc.), business cards, office space) you go out.
If you want to save dollars up front, you can do a virtual office for meetings, POB, etc. unless you can get a really great share space arrangement. We rented space with an established attorney on lawyer row and got phones, copy machine, postage and use of his secretary included in our rent. This kind of in-place structure is INVALUABLE. You really need someone who will answer your calls, get your messages, collect money, etc. while you are building your practice. TIP: better to share space with an attorney who practices a DIFFERENT specialty than you - no questions regarding your cold calls getting sent to the other attorney. Plus, you can get cases from your "landlord" - scut work that he/she isn't interested in.
You can make due with one computer (recommend a laptop b/c you will need to work at home) unless you can afford to network the computers so you can remote in from home. You can also make due with Microsoft's Outlook program for scheduling, emails, etc (or Apple's MobileMe program). Abacus is great and recommend it for down the road. They have a small practice program that runs for under $500.
Right now, with so many attorneys going out on their own, you have to price competitively. Figure out what your price point for each day is (if you need to bring in $10K per month to cover your personal and business expenses, figure out how much that is per day). DO NOT forget to factor in taxes which are very, very high. Approximately 30 to 37% of our gross goes towards employer AND employee taxes. Also, don't forget health care costs. Some good search engines on-line for care.
Make relationships with other attorneys - let them know you will do scut work for an hourly rate. When you get busier, you can use other attorneys or freelance paralegals to cover your scut work. We use a newer attorney who has free Westlaw for all of our legal research at $50/hour. Significantly cheaper than getting a Westlaw subscription of ANY variety.
In the current economic climate, keep your expenses LOW. Forego the expensive office furniture and staff until you have AT LEAST one year of salary in the bank (not for you but for the person you are going to hire). For yourself, have AT LEAST six months of cash in the bank to support yourself and your business. Personally, I would recommend a year's worth but most can't do that. Check out Bank of Las Vegas. Several attorneys - including me - have applied for and received credit lines. They are happy to work with attorneys.
I also recommend doing pro bono work through Legal Aid primarily. You get excellent support in terms of learning to do things you might not have the background to do and you will pick up clients. I have done a ton of pro bono and have ALWAYS gotten at least one paying gig out of it. Truly worth it on a bunch of levels.
We also used LRIS but, cutting that check for 20% back to the State bar sucks. Keep that in mind when you price your LRIS cases.
Also, if you don't speak Spanish, get someone in your office who does. Hispanic clients are very, very loyal and appreciate very much having someone who can speak to them. I have enough to get by but can't do anything complicated. That said, our office manager does our translation and the clients very much appreciate that I try.
Good luck.
Re: your own firm
ReplyDeleteAgree that you should line up all of the details before (insurance, business set up (LLC, S-Corp, Etc.), business cards, office space) you go out.
If you want to save dollars up front, you can do a virtual office for meetings, POB, etc. unless you can get a really great share space arrangement. We rented space with an established attorney on lawyer row and got phones, copy machine, postage and use of his secretary included in our rent. This kind of in-place structure is INVALUABLE. You really need someone who will answer your calls, get your messages, collect money, etc. while you are building your practice. TIP: better to share space with an attorney who practices a DIFFERENT specialty than you - no questions regarding your cold calls getting sent to the other attorney. Plus, you can get cases from your "landlord" - scut work that he/she isn't interested in.
Your own practice 'con
ReplyDeleteYou can make due with one computer (recommend a laptop b/c you will need to work at home) unless you can afford to network the computers so you can remote in from home. You can also make due with Microsoft's Outlook program for scheduling, emails, etc (or Apple's MobileMe program). Abacus is great and recommend it for down the road. They have a small practice program that runs for under $500.
Right now, with so many attorneys going out on their own, you have to price competitively. Figure out what your price point for each day is (if you need to bring in $10K per month to cover your personal and business expenses, figure out how much that is per day). DO NOT forget to factor in taxes which are very, very high. Approximately 30 to 37% of our gross goes towards employer AND employee taxes. Also, don't forget health care costs. Some good search engines on-line for care.
Make relationships with other attorneys - let them know you will do scut work for an hourly rate. When you get busier, you can use other attorneys or freelance paralegals to cover your scut work. We use a newer attorney who has free Westlaw for all of our legal research at $50/hour. Significantly cheaper than getting a Westlaw subscription of ANY variety.
In the current economic climate, keep your expenses LOW. Forego the expensive office furniture and staff until you have AT LEAST one year of salary in the bank (not for you but for the person you are going to hire). For yourself, have AT LEAST six months of cash in the bank to support yourself and your business. Personally, I would recommend a year's worth but most can't do that. Check out Bank of Las Vegas. Several attorneys - including me - have applied for and received credit lines. They are happy to work with attorneys.
I also recommend doing pro bono work through Legal Aid primarily. You get excellent support in terms of learning to do things you might not have the background to do and you will pick up clients. I have done a ton of pro bono and have ALWAYS gotten at least one paying gig out of it. Truly worth it on a bunch of levels.
We also used LRIS but, cutting that check for 20% back to the State bar sucks. Keep that in mind when you price your LRIS cases.
Also, if you don't speak Spanish, get someone in your office who does. Hispanic clients are very, very loyal and appreciate very much having someone who can speak to them. I have enough to get by but can't do anything complicated. That said, our office manager does our translation and the clients very much appreciate that I try.
Good luck.
Your own practice 'con
ReplyDeleteYou can make due with one computer (recommend a laptop b/c you will need to work at home) unless you can afford to network the computers so you can remote in from home. You can also make due with Microsoft's Outlook program for scheduling, emails, etc (or Apple's MobileMe program). Abacus is great and recommend it for down the road. They have a small practice program that runs for under $500.
Right now, with so many attorneys going out on their own, you have to price competitively. Figure out what your price point for each day is (if you need to bring in $10K per month to cover your personal and business expenses, figure out how much that is per day). DO NOT forget to factor in taxes which are very, very high. Approximately 30 to 37% of our gross goes towards employer AND employee taxes. Also, don't forget health care costs. Some good search engines on-line for care.
Make relationships with other attorneys - let them know you will do scut work for an hourly rate. When you get busier, you can use other attorneys or freelance paralegals to cover your scut work. We use a newer attorney who has free Westlaw for all of our legal research at $50/hour. Significantly cheaper than getting a Westlaw subscription of ANY variety.
And more...
ReplyDeleteIn the current economic climate, keep your expenses LOW. Forego the expensive office furniture and staff until you have AT LEAST one year of salary in the bank (not for you but for the person you are going to hire). For yourself, have AT LEAST six months of cash in the bank to support yourself and your business. Personally, I would recommend a year's worth but most can't do that. Check out Bank of Las Vegas. Several attorneys - including me - have applied for and received credit lines. They are happy to work with attorneys.
I also recommend doing pro bono work through Legal Aid primarily. You get excellent support in terms of learning to do things you might not have the background to do and you will pick up clients. I have done a ton of pro bono and have ALWAYS gotten at least one paying gig out of it. Truly worth it on a bunch of levels.
We also used LRIS but, cutting that check for 20% back to the State bar sucks. Keep that in mind when you price your LRIS cases.
Also, if you don't speak Spanish, get someone in your office who does. Hispanic clients are very, very loyal and appreciate very much having someone who can speak to them. I have enough to get by but can't do anything complicated. That said, our office manager does our translation and the clients very much appreciate that I try.
Good luck.
8:14 AM - all you need is an endless capacity for joy, a supportive spouse and a rich uncle.
ReplyDelete8:14 AM - read, nay, STUDY Foonberg's How to Start and Build a Law Practice. Mandatory reading in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think Solo By Choice is a good book for aspiring solos.
ReplyDelete10:20 AM - You jest, yes? This is 2010. Surely, you jest.
ReplyDeleteQuestions for 8:14
ReplyDeleteWhile much of the advice here is sound, marketing is always a big question.
Law comes in 2 varieties; business to business (civil lit defense, insurance coverage, Intellectual Property, business lit, etc.)and carries with it more repeat business but fewer referrals from clients. NEXT comes consumer law (trust & estate, family, personal injury, BK debtor etc.)
Marketing these 2 types of practices is VERY different, and unless you can buy bigger ads than the "Big Guys" don't bother with yellow pages or yellow book advertising.
Networking is a great way to market on a shoestring, but unless at least half of your new client introductions come from attys, network with non attys for better results.
Blog marketing is another way to cost effectively build your brand, reputation & grow your practice.
What area of law will be your primary focus?
Will your billing be hourly, flat fee or contingency? Your business and cash flow strategies will differ with each.
Lastly, Is your 2 to 5 year plan to remain solo or build something larger?
The answer to the above question will help you make some important choices along the way.
Wow, great tips!
ReplyDeleteI already have a year of expenses (living) in the bank, but I didn't think about also having the cost of business as well. I'll definitely read those books you recommended.
In terms of marketing, I've already had a few clients tell me that I really need to open up my own shop, so maybe they'll consider coming with me. But I don't want to do anything that'll harm my relationship with my current firm. I'm fairly strong at networking and developing new clients, so that's what I was planning on focusing on.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/06/law-firm-continues-suits-over-r-j-copyrights-88-to/
ReplyDeleteCheck the bottom of the article for the latest pernicious copyright infringers to fall under the steely glare of Righthaven,
I say we pitch in and get Steve Gibson an early Christmas present.
ReplyDeleteWho wants to chip in for either a Costco membership or a jogging suit/9 iron ensemble?
Sublease from other attorneys as you can lean on them for advice and you don't feel like you are all alone, plus it keeps your overhead LOW
ReplyDeleteSet up your website and everything before you leave.
10:20 is trolling.
ReplyDeleteAugust 6, 2010 11:00 AM
ReplyDeleteThere in no ticket war going on.
Here is the real scoop....
Holper had the dumb idea of trying to poach clients from Stokes' parking lot with a guy holding a sign. This obviouisly makes no sense because Stokes will beat anyone's price on anything. It also makes no sense since Stokes' business is about 500 times the size of Holper's.
As expected, Stokes responds:
Stokes immediately started offering pro-bono legal services at a location on the sidewalk outside Holper's office.
The lawyer from whom Holper rents or sublets office space became upset at the situation and forced Holper to quit before Stokes' pro-bono project put them all out of business. I have a feeling Stokes felt bad for the landlord lawyer who had nothing to do with it because I suspect his pro-bono project would have continued indefinitely otherwise.
For now it appears that is the end of the story.
Opinions: Patenaude & Felix, with Villanuva representing.
ReplyDeleteScisento-FB
ReplyDeleteOpening your own.
Left iat very end of 01 making $65k as a 3yr associate. Last check was $15k including my last quarter bonus. Rented a 150 sq.ft. exec suite. Splurged on Legal Express and Westlaw.
Took small 2 files for the same client. Busted my A for them. Took everything that walked in the door. Everything.
Became good at family law, PI, criminal, traffic, and built up my commercial lit practice. Over first 8 months stole 15 solid client's from my old firm with 50 odd files. Billed them at 01 associate rates.
Sams club particle board desk and a laptop. Everything else was eBay.
Answered my own phones. Typed my own letters and faxes. Took my CoM's home for my wife to sign, using her maiden name.
Went 5 months without a paycheck. Then in 02, doubled my income from 01.
Have nearly doubled that every year untold 07 when I pared back and started playing more. I take the cases I want, charge exorbitant fees, and they keep coming in. I golf Friday mornings, and am home by 2. I don't work weekends or nights (unless prepping for a trial).
I've had as many as 3 associAtes, 3 paralegal/legal secretary types and 2 law clerks at the same time. I let them all move on. Except my core people. My perfect situation is me, my secretary and my paralegal. They are higher paid than most 3rd year associates.
It may not be for everyone, but its mine and kicks ass. Even after 9 years.
My motto: Keep it small. Keep it all.
@8:10
ReplyDeleteA lot of the Judges have facebook pages. Nothing better than seeing a Judge in their natural setting when they aren't playing holier-than-thou.
@5:47- I'm not surprised that Scott Holper, Esq. doesn't want to pay for advertising the legal/ethical way? Wasn't his dad the chiro who lured in new PI clients by handing out gift cards to injured patients at UMC? So sad. Even more sad, Scott is just about the worst attorney with whome I've ever had the (dis)pleasure of dealing. He just doesn't get it, so much so that I *almost* feel bad for him.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/halverson--alleges-his-exposure-to-disease-100179249.html
ReplyDeleteThis thread does not make me disappoint.
ReplyDeleteSon, I am proud.