Starting your own law firm is something many lawyers consider at some point in their careers. Stepping out on your own, finding success, and building a practice based on your own values can be appealing. But when is it the right time? This article explores six reasons to start your own law firm and why you should act on it today!
Finding New Motivations
Wherever you’re currently based, it’s important to continually examine your motivations for pursuing your law career and to see how they align with your current practice. Law is a challenging and dynamic career path, but if you find your values diverging from your current firm, it could be time to start your own. Money, respect, and career progression may motivate you to stay where you are, but an independent drive to succeed will place you well to begin your own practice.
A Steady Client Base
Part of providing a great service to your clients in your current role is building a relationship of trust and loyalty. That works both ways – your clients trust you with sensitive documents and trust you to go the extra mile defending them when they need you. Similarly, you can trust that your clients will stick with you if you step out on your own. If you have your own client base then now could be a great time to start your own practice with a ready-made portfolio of work.
A Support Group Of Co-Workers
Starting your own law firm can be a leap into the unknown, but if you’ve built a rapport with colleagues and coworkers in your current role you might already have a board of partners without even knowing it. Your legal peers aren’t just great for bouncing ideas off of, by establishing a dynamic relationship with them, you have just opened the door to possible referrals. Referrals are essential to building your firm’s reputation so it’s important to consistently put yourself out there by networking.
“Having a loyal group of attorneys around you can give you the perfect platform for starting your own law firm successfully,” says Roberto L. Buchholz, a law writer at Last Minute Writing and Writinity.
A Developed Specialty
If you’ve become an expert in a very niche field – such as patent law, or real estate – the clients will be drawn to you for the wealth of knowledge you bring to a subject. Often it might be the only place they can trust that somebody fully understands the topic they’re dealing with. It’s common for lawyers to build up this specialty understanding of particular topics – recognizing when this creates a perfect platform for starting your own law firm can lead to huge success.
Small Town Context
One reason you might be thinking about starting a law firm is if you’ve spotted a gap in the market – whilst competition is thriving in big cities, small towns often lack a law firm of their own, forcing residents to look outside of town. If you know a small town that fits the bill it could be the best place to establish yourself. In small towns, you can build a loyal client base with personal, trusting relationships, and little outside competition. That’s all the ingredients – plus your specialty and expertise – for a successful law firm.
Business Acumen
Some people are made for business and others aren’t. After a few years of working in law, it should be clear if you have the hustle, and if you do then you can leverage those skills to start your own successful law firm. “If you’re increasingly finding yourself studying up on marketing and management tactics in your spare time, continuously learning more about the business world and building a strong network of professionals to have at your disposal, then you’re likely becoming a strong leader,” says Francisco D. Clinton, a business expert at DraftBeyond and Researchpapersuk.
“Identifying these traits in yourself is the first step towards stepping out on our own.”
Starting your own law firm means taking a step into a new adventure. It won’t be easy, but with the skills you’ve developed over your career, you’re ready to take the leap. If you recognize yourself in the reasons listed above, don’t hesitate. Make the first move to start your own law firm today.
Ronald Cain is a tutor at Manchester Writing Service and Gum Essays from Boulder, Colorado. He is a professional writer, a blogger. He attended the University of Minnesota Law School before starting his own practice in Saint Paul in 2009.
