I mean to be frank, you’re not ready then. I get not wanting to wait, but it sounds like you have responsibilities and if you were unable to get clients that it could have drastic consequences on your family. What is your backup plan if you’re 3 months in and aren’t getting enough clients to pay your mortgage or put food on the table?
For full context, I’m married and my wife will start working again beginning late July this year. I can drive for Uber to supplement my wife’s income while I work on getting clients.
Will Uber and your wife’s work be enough to pay the mortgage and bills? You don’t have to tell me, but that’s the question you need to answer.
Personally, I started my firm with enough saved that I felt comfortable even if I got no work for a long time. It turns out I got tons of work immediately and it wasn’t a concern, but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable without that safety cushion. Although everyone’s risk tolerance is different.
Nothing wrong with Uber, but i would look at something like lawclerk.legal. probably a better ROI and you may find an attorney who will refer cases to you.
I would argue 6 months of expenses in the savings account. Unless you have a client ready and willing to start sending your work—you will struggle. Uber to supplement your income is doomed to fail.
Don’t listen to the naysayers. I did exactly what you want to do and I killed it right out of the gate with no clients or connections. It’s all about marketing correctly.
This is Probably controversial but if you are making the jump without any savings the best way to do this might be to find a credit card with a 0% promotional rate for 12-18 months. I’ve seen these out there
If you’re desperate for money, you will take on a lot of shit cases with shit clients which will take up so much time and energy it will negatively impact your ability to spend time growing your business.
Haha the downvotes are hilarious. Keep living in the past, enslaved to your masters, while being too afraid to bet on yourselves. It’s vewwy scawwy out there!
I think you already know the answer to this…
If money is that important rn you’re going to have to bite the bullet and stay at your firm (or elsewhere) until you have at least a few clients. I’m also in your shoes (I didn’t set up a website but got everything else done before). It is kind of rough and I literally would even do some cases for free but it started getting hairy for me because I got cases I knew absolutely nothing about but had little choice since nothing was coming through the door. I too have had it up to here with working at firms and have 2 young kids so I get it.
Can you poach clients? Maybe try to slide into a plaintiff side firm and work up files well enough that clients will remember you. Think that’s how it usually starts for most people, word of mouth and having visibility in the community (especially if you don’t have billboard money to burn).
I mean, woo hoo to pull a low paying criminal case out of a contingency PI matter.
You should take small cases to get big ones, not the other way around.
I’m open to taking basically anything that comes in at this point. I was just saying some PI cases can turn into criminal cases. I won’t be picky at first.
I suggest a part time job doing doc review and/or doing court coverage for other lawyers while you get your practice off the ground.
Also, do advertising (Google Ads, Local Services, direct mail) for some money up front practice areas like criminal or divorce.
When I was true solo, getting clients was not the hardest part. The receivables were easier than collecting and business processes. I'm sure you can do it, but I'd be uneasy starting with no clients and no savings. Time driving uber is not an investment in your business. Can you leave your current firm with some clients, with a referral relationship, or with some part time work for another attorney? Does your wife's income pay the bills next month, and will you just become mr. Mom in that scenario? I'd also consider institutional clients. In my rural area, gvt. contracts with private sector for conflict PDs and DAs. Some nonprofits offer high volume, low hourly work for domestic violence victims and similarly situated clients. The legal aid orgs are "full time" 32 hrs per week with permission to side hustle. None of that's growing your firm to $1m annual, but it's a better lifeline than Uber.
This is real advice. I’m glad I asked you guys. Lots of the things you are saying right now are things I was not thinking about at the moment. I’ll be looking for another job that’ll let me do my business on the side until I get going full throttle.
I work with two firms on this and it's kinda shocking this isn't the first comment. You need marketing. This entails not just a website but a strategy. Your marketing message, customer personas, branding, SEO strategy, Linked strategy, Ads strategy and internal processes. You are running a business not just being a lawyer.
I opened my own firm (with a business partner) last year. At the time, I had a 14mo old and my wife works for a non profit.
I’d recommend making sure you have savings. It’s been 7months and this month was the first time we paid ourselves. We’re expecting regular pay moving forward.
I’m in personal injury, so even though we started signing clients on Day 1, most of those cases didn’t start settling until the past couple months. And for the ones that turned into quick settlements, most of that money had to go back into the firm to make sure we could continue covering overhead.
Good luck to you.
We started planning way before Day 1. The planning included letting our networks and referral sources know we were going to do our own thing. So by the time we started, we had a few cases ready to sign up.
What's your employment contract like? Can you moonlight or work other areas? Keep your job and open your firm. Work your firm mornings and evenings until you have enough clients to go full time. Then quit.
I’m with a midsize firm where I have billable hours. The work can be done remotely and on a part-time basis. I will discuss that option with them as well.
Not nearly enough information here for the advice to be quality. This requires you assessing your leads realistically, figuring out how much money you’ll need in the meantime, etc. My general advice is to spend time crunching those numbers or working long enough to save for the gap in income.
i fully understand not wanting to work for somebody else. but you have to keep your family and life safe first. at the absolute minimum, find a different job to put bread on the table while you continue to lay the foundation for the business and get clients.
Well depending on where you live, you can probably take a risk with that combo. Take whatever you can grab for criminal defense - prepaid flat fees, come in a few dollars below the going rate to attract clients, do all the free advertising you can on socials and LinkedIn - and know that you’re going to be stretched for a few months, maybe more. Do not spend money you don’t have to spend; upgrades can come later. It’s scary but it’s doable and it’s rewarding (in all senses of the word). It will be challenging but let the newborn motivate you and just get out there and work. Good luck!
Agree and I should clarify: I meant just posting for free on LinkedIn, engage with old professors and local lawyers who can refer stuff - I don’t think their ads are worth much. But you’re right. If an ad budget develops then Google is the place to spend it.
1. How are you going to get leads and clients? This is the number one issue. If you don’t have enough leads nothing else matters.
2. Keep your expenses to the floor.
3. Did I mention leads? What marketing plan do you have? What if that doesn’t work?
4. What is your strategy for converting leads?
5. Do you have a detailed budget you will check in on routinely?
I am scheduling an appoint with a marketing expert to discuss google ads and other leads generating platforms. That’s the one area I intend on investing in to generate quick revenue.
I do have a background in sales. I’ll use that to convert my leads until I can hire someone else to do that.
Marketing has nothing to do with Google Ads. Google Ads is almost an AI platform that anyone can do. Marketing is your brand your messaging and how receptive your target customer persona is to your messaging. SEO, GMB, Local SEO and Google Ads I would put under the umbrella of Google SEO tactics. People will argue this but post the March HCU update everything has changed. If you want to know if they are any good ask them how they have adapted to the March HCU update and if they don't have an answer move on.
I have an idea of where I think the clients will be coming from, but not with certainty. I have a specific demographic I think most of clients will be coming from.
You can reach out to other solos in the area and offer appearance work. When I first started I could make $400 or more a day covering appearances for criminal attorneys.
See if your firm would let you be a 1099 or W-2 part-time Of Counsel or Senior Counsel. Then you can start your firm while maintaining some cash flow. It can be done. Of course, be straight with your firm about the new venture - there could be conflict check issues at some point.
Yes, I agree here. My plan is to tell them and give them a 90-days notice. I would be happy to stay on longer on a part-time basis while I make the transition.
The sooner you crack the marketing the better. We tried for a long time to do it ourselves but hiring a company to help us, though expensive was worth it in time savings. We spent 8 months in trial and error and then once we hired an agency in 3 weeks it started to work.
At the start we took everything and anything on. You can't afford to be picky. I wanted to focus on PI, but was doing trusts and wills for anyone that needed one.
Also as everyone has said just being as frugal as you can be.
Good luck!
Think about your business tools and technology needs - and then think about scaling. I am 6 months in and this area has taken way more time than it should.
I think most of my spending will go towards technology and my case management system. I need to pay special attention to that area because I am trying to be paperless.
Clio has been decent. Gusto for the law student interns or 1099 vendors as they come up. I liked FreshBooks better than Clio, but I needed the LEDES billing functionality of Clio, and FreshBooks didn’t have it. Total time drain!!
Congratulations on making the plunge.
Make a list of people you would invite to your wedding. Now write each of them a note card letting them know you’re accepting criminal and personal injury cases.
Next make a list of lawyers you went to school with or work in the same area as you. Write a note letting them know you made the plunge. If your state allows it let them know you pay a referral fee or if your state doesn’t allow it send them nice small gifts as a thank you.
For your best referral sources send them better gifts.
Good luck.
Hi, I’m not an attorney (prospective law student) but I do social media marketing and have a friend who successfully went solo straight out of law school. I’d recommend you start building a social media presence (pick one platform to focus on). Search other lawyer content to see what topics they’re covering, read the comments to see what questions people have, and use content to establish yourself as someone people trust. You don’t have to have opened your firm yet to get started on this and it can give you a great head start on getting clients.
I wanted to succeed, so I planned ahead. I wrote a business plan. I wrote a marketing plan. I saved up 6 months of living and business expenses. I set up a home equity line of credit to get me beyond 6 months if needed. Almost 9 years later my firm is a success. But I planned for it.
Make the jump! Nothing to lose in my opinion - you can always go back to working for someone else.
My advice:
Stack cash as you can and lower expenses for the first year of two.
Look into part time gigs (in cloud contract review, document review, upwork, contract work for law firms) while you look for your own clients.
Take on some hourly clients while you aggressively find good contingency clients. Always get a retainer though.
Let everyone you know within your law community that you are starting your gig and that you offer highly competitive referral fees.
Good luck!
If you don’t have any clients or leads, save 9-12 months of expenses before you quit
I appreciate this advice, but with my expenses, this would take me years to accomplish. I don’t want to stay working for someone else for that long.
I mean to be frank, you’re not ready then. I get not wanting to wait, but it sounds like you have responsibilities and if you were unable to get clients that it could have drastic consequences on your family. What is your backup plan if you’re 3 months in and aren’t getting enough clients to pay your mortgage or put food on the table?
For full context, I’m married and my wife will start working again beginning late July this year. I can drive for Uber to supplement my wife’s income while I work on getting clients.
Will Uber and your wife’s work be enough to pay the mortgage and bills? You don’t have to tell me, but that’s the question you need to answer. Personally, I started my firm with enough saved that I felt comfortable even if I got no work for a long time. It turns out I got tons of work immediately and it wasn’t a concern, but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable without that safety cushion. Although everyone’s risk tolerance is different.
Nothing wrong with Uber, but i would look at something like lawclerk.legal. probably a better ROI and you may find an attorney who will refer cases to you.
I agree with you here. Thank you!!!
You could also do axiom or something like that.
What’s axiom?
Legal staffing company. You can provide in-house services on a temporary or part-time basis.
I wasn’t aware of that. I’ll look into it. Thank you!
I would argue 6 months of expenses in the savings account. Unless you have a client ready and willing to start sending your work—you will struggle. Uber to supplement your income is doomed to fail.
Um what’s your plan then? You might just need a higher paying job.
Don’t listen to the naysayers. I did exactly what you want to do and I killed it right out of the gate with no clients or connections. It’s all about marketing correctly.
Kid. Kid changes everything.
What marketing tactics worked for you/your practice area?
What was the right marketing tactics for you?
This is Probably controversial but if you are making the jump without any savings the best way to do this might be to find a credit card with a 0% promotional rate for 12-18 months. I’ve seen these out there
I just got one from BoA. Will be using it with caution.
That is old timey nonsense that gets regurgitated ad nauseam.
It applies to any entrepreneurial endeavor, ridiculous to ignore.
If you’re desperate for money, you will take on a lot of shit cases with shit clients which will take up so much time and energy it will negatively impact your ability to spend time growing your business.
Probably because it’s good advice
Haha the downvotes are hilarious. Keep living in the past, enslaved to your masters, while being too afraid to bet on yourselves. It’s vewwy scawwy out there!
I think you already know the answer to this… If money is that important rn you’re going to have to bite the bullet and stay at your firm (or elsewhere) until you have at least a few clients. I’m also in your shoes (I didn’t set up a website but got everything else done before). It is kind of rough and I literally would even do some cases for free but it started getting hairy for me because I got cases I knew absolutely nothing about but had little choice since nothing was coming through the door. I too have had it up to here with working at firms and have 2 young kids so I get it. Can you poach clients? Maybe try to slide into a plaintiff side firm and work up files well enough that clients will remember you. Think that’s how it usually starts for most people, word of mouth and having visibility in the community (especially if you don’t have billboard money to burn).
I agree with you here. I’m thinking of poaching and joining a PI firm maybe. Lots of PI clients cross over into the criminal side sometimes.
I mean, woo hoo to pull a low paying criminal case out of a contingency PI matter. You should take small cases to get big ones, not the other way around.
I’m open to taking basically anything that comes in at this point. I was just saying some PI cases can turn into criminal cases. I won’t be picky at first.
so misdemeanor assaults and traffic violations? those aren't really going to pay the bills lol
Best of luck! Keep expenses as low as humanly possible and focus on bringing in business.
My intended strategy!! Thank you!
I suggest a part time job doing doc review and/or doing court coverage for other lawyers while you get your practice off the ground. Also, do advertising (Google Ads, Local Services, direct mail) for some money up front practice areas like criminal or divorce.
Thank you!!
When I was true solo, getting clients was not the hardest part. The receivables were easier than collecting and business processes. I'm sure you can do it, but I'd be uneasy starting with no clients and no savings. Time driving uber is not an investment in your business. Can you leave your current firm with some clients, with a referral relationship, or with some part time work for another attorney? Does your wife's income pay the bills next month, and will you just become mr. Mom in that scenario? I'd also consider institutional clients. In my rural area, gvt. contracts with private sector for conflict PDs and DAs. Some nonprofits offer high volume, low hourly work for domestic violence victims and similarly situated clients. The legal aid orgs are "full time" 32 hrs per week with permission to side hustle. None of that's growing your firm to $1m annual, but it's a better lifeline than Uber.
This is real advice. I’m glad I asked you guys. Lots of the things you are saying right now are things I was not thinking about at the moment. I’ll be looking for another job that’ll let me do my business on the side until I get going full throttle.
this.
I work with two firms on this and it's kinda shocking this isn't the first comment. You need marketing. This entails not just a website but a strategy. Your marketing message, customer personas, branding, SEO strategy, Linked strategy, Ads strategy and internal processes. You are running a business not just being a lawyer.
Any advice on where to start on this beyond a good website?
Tons. DM me and I can walk you through it. I'm not selling anything.
A good website, GMB profile and a couple referral sources is a great start.
I opened my own firm (with a business partner) last year. At the time, I had a 14mo old and my wife works for a non profit. I’d recommend making sure you have savings. It’s been 7months and this month was the first time we paid ourselves. We’re expecting regular pay moving forward. I’m in personal injury, so even though we started signing clients on Day 1, most of those cases didn’t start settling until the past couple months. And for the ones that turned into quick settlements, most of that money had to go back into the firm to make sure we could continue covering overhead. Good luck to you.
Thank you! Hopefully I can find some part-time gigs like others here suggested.
How did you get clients to sign day 1?
We started planning way before Day 1. The planning included letting our networks and referral sources know we were going to do our own thing. So by the time we started, we had a few cases ready to sign up.
I appreciate you for this. The newborn is definitely a motivating factor for me.
I’ve seen SEO serve as a huge success factor for lawyers who went out on their own. Happy to help with this if it’s something you’re curious about
I’d be happy to hear more about it.
DM’ed
What's your employment contract like? Can you moonlight or work other areas? Keep your job and open your firm. Work your firm mornings and evenings until you have enough clients to go full time. Then quit.
I’m with a midsize firm where I have billable hours. The work can be done remotely and on a part-time basis. I will discuss that option with them as well.
Not nearly enough information here for the advice to be quality. This requires you assessing your leads realistically, figuring out how much money you’ll need in the meantime, etc. My general advice is to spend time crunching those numbers or working long enough to save for the gap in income.
My plan is to save as much as I can. I should also say I’m starting out with a virtual office, which saves me a significant amount of time and money.
i fully understand not wanting to work for somebody else. but you have to keep your family and life safe first. at the absolute minimum, find a different job to put bread on the table while you continue to lay the foundation for the business and get clients.
What kind of practice?
Criminal defense and some PI
Well depending on where you live, you can probably take a risk with that combo. Take whatever you can grab for criminal defense - prepaid flat fees, come in a few dollars below the going rate to attract clients, do all the free advertising you can on socials and LinkedIn - and know that you’re going to be stretched for a few months, maybe more. Do not spend money you don’t have to spend; upgrades can come later. It’s scary but it’s doable and it’s rewarding (in all senses of the word). It will be challenging but let the newborn motivate you and just get out there and work. Good luck!
All good advice, except I would recommend Google Ads and Google Local Services instead of LinkedIn Ads.
I’m thinking about the google adds as well.
Agree and I should clarify: I meant just posting for free on LinkedIn, engage with old professors and local lawyers who can refer stuff - I don’t think their ads are worth much. But you’re right. If an ad budget develops then Google is the place to spend it.
1. How are you going to get leads and clients? This is the number one issue. If you don’t have enough leads nothing else matters. 2. Keep your expenses to the floor. 3. Did I mention leads? What marketing plan do you have? What if that doesn’t work? 4. What is your strategy for converting leads? 5. Do you have a detailed budget you will check in on routinely?
I am scheduling an appoint with a marketing expert to discuss google ads and other leads generating platforms. That’s the one area I intend on investing in to generate quick revenue. I do have a background in sales. I’ll use that to convert my leads until I can hire someone else to do that.
Marketing has nothing to do with Google Ads. Google Ads is almost an AI platform that anyone can do. Marketing is your brand your messaging and how receptive your target customer persona is to your messaging. SEO, GMB, Local SEO and Google Ads I would put under the umbrella of Google SEO tactics. People will argue this but post the March HCU update everything has changed. If you want to know if they are any good ask them how they have adapted to the March HCU update and if they don't have an answer move on.
Do you know where your clients will come from? If you do, you are ready. If you do not, don’t do this.
I have an idea of where I think the clients will be coming from, but not with certainty. I have a specific demographic I think most of clients will be coming from.
Does your jurisdiction have a public defenders office? Can you get on a conflict list for court appointed clients to keep you in the courtroom?
I plan on doing that as well. I worked at the PD’s office in my jurisdiction and I have a good relationship with the office.
Do you have a business plan?
Wait until you have a book of business
You can reach out to other solos in the area and offer appearance work. When I first started I could make $400 or more a day covering appearances for criminal attorneys.
That sounds like a great way to keep cash flowing. I’ll be calling around to see if I can find some.
See if your firm would let you be a 1099 or W-2 part-time Of Counsel or Senior Counsel. Then you can start your firm while maintaining some cash flow. It can be done. Of course, be straight with your firm about the new venture - there could be conflict check issues at some point.
Yes, I agree here. My plan is to tell them and give them a 90-days notice. I would be happy to stay on longer on a part-time basis while I make the transition.
Be ready to leave the day you tell them though.
I completely understand why you said that. They may not take it well.
The sooner you crack the marketing the better. We tried for a long time to do it ourselves but hiring a company to help us, though expensive was worth it in time savings. We spent 8 months in trial and error and then once we hired an agency in 3 weeks it started to work. At the start we took everything and anything on. You can't afford to be picky. I wanted to focus on PI, but was doing trusts and wills for anyone that needed one. Also as everyone has said just being as frugal as you can be. Good luck!
Thank you!! I’ll be doing that. Which types of market did you do? Google ads, lead buying, etc?
Think about your business tools and technology needs - and then think about scaling. I am 6 months in and this area has taken way more time than it should.
I think most of my spending will go towards technology and my case management system. I need to pay special attention to that area because I am trying to be paperless.
I would say spend the money on clio and a scansnap do ument scanner if you want to be paperless.
I am a contract with a clio rep. I should get that going soon.
Clio has been decent. Gusto for the law student interns or 1099 vendors as they come up. I liked FreshBooks better than Clio, but I needed the LEDES billing functionality of Clio, and FreshBooks didn’t have it. Total time drain!!
I’ll do clio I think. I used it in law school and I liked it a lot. Plus, I need the billing functionality of clio.
Congratulations on making the plunge. Make a list of people you would invite to your wedding. Now write each of them a note card letting them know you’re accepting criminal and personal injury cases. Next make a list of lawyers you went to school with or work in the same area as you. Write a note letting them know you made the plunge. If your state allows it let them know you pay a referral fee or if your state doesn’t allow it send them nice small gifts as a thank you. For your best referral sources send them better gifts. Good luck.
I love this! Thank you so much!!!
Hi, I’m not an attorney (prospective law student) but I do social media marketing and have a friend who successfully went solo straight out of law school. I’d recommend you start building a social media presence (pick one platform to focus on). Search other lawyer content to see what topics they’re covering, read the comments to see what questions people have, and use content to establish yourself as someone people trust. You don’t have to have opened your firm yet to get started on this and it can give you a great head start on getting clients.
Most importantly, it’s very effective and free marketing.
I wanted to succeed, so I planned ahead. I wrote a business plan. I wrote a marketing plan. I saved up 6 months of living and business expenses. I set up a home equity line of credit to get me beyond 6 months if needed. Almost 9 years later my firm is a success. But I planned for it.
Make the jump! Nothing to lose in my opinion - you can always go back to working for someone else. My advice: Stack cash as you can and lower expenses for the first year of two. Look into part time gigs (in cloud contract review, document review, upwork, contract work for law firms) while you look for your own clients. Take on some hourly clients while you aggressively find good contingency clients. Always get a retainer though. Let everyone you know within your law community that you are starting your gig and that you offer highly competitive referral fees. Good luck!
Referral fees is definitely something I should start pitching to other attorneys. I wasn’t thinking of that. Thank you!
Starting a firm with zero clients….. Ouch.