Start Your Own Law Practice: A Guide to All the Things They Don't Teach in Law School about Starting Your Own Firm (Open for Business)

266 Pages·2005·1.07 MB·English

by  Judge Huss

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You want to hang out your shingle and open an office of your own. But
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Start Your Own Law Practiceprovides you with the knowledge to be both
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4 Creating a Business Plan 4 Marketing Your Firm
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4 Managing the Office 4 Building a Client Base
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With checklists, sample letters and law office forms,
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Start Your Own Law Practice teaches you all the things CC
they didn’t in law school and gives you the confidence 4 Business Models
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to go out and do it on your own. 4 Finance Fundamentals
4 Professional Support
4 Networking
Business/Legal Reference ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-521-1 HUSS
SPHINX® PUBLISHING $16.95 U.S./$23.95 CAN ISBN-10: 1-57248-521-3 4 Specializations
ANIMPRINTOFSOURCEBOOKS,INC.®
NAPERVILLE,ILLINOIS C N 4 Client Development
www.SphinxLegal.com UP EA
J U D G E W I L L I A M H U S S
Start
Your Own
Law Practice
A Guide to All the Things
They Don't Teach in Law School
about Starting Your Own Firm
by Judge William Huss
S P
PHINX® UBLISHING
ANIMPRINTOFSOURCEBOOKS,INC.®
NAPERVILLE,ILLINOIS
www.SphinxLegal.com
Copyright © 2005 by William Huss
Cover and internal design © 2005 by Sourcebooks,Inc.®
Cover art © 2005 by Punchstock
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any elec-
tronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permis-
sion in writing from its publisher,Sourcebooks,Inc.®Purchasers of the book are granted
alicense to use the forms contained herein for their own personal use.No claim of copy-
right is made in any government form reproduced herein.Sourcebooks and the colophon
are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks,Inc.
First Edition:2005
Published by:Sphinx®Publishing,An Imprint of Sourcebooks,Inc.®
Naperville Office
P.O.Box 4410
Naperville,Illinois 60567-4410
630-961-3900
Fax:[phone]
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www.SphinxLegal.com
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard
to the subject matter covered.It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal,accounting,or other professional service.If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person
should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
This product is not a substitute for legal advice.
Disclaimer required by Texas statutes.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Huss,William W.
Start your own law practice :a guide to all the things they don't teach in
law school about starting your own firm / by William Huss.-- 1st ed.
p.cm.
ISBN-13:978-1-57248-521-1 (pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:1-57248-521-3 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Solo law practice--United States.2. Law offices--United States. I.Title.
KF300.H87 2005
340'.068--dc22
2005024650
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
BG — 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to you, the lawyer,
devoted to creating something
that has never existed before—
your law firm.

Acknowledgments
Volumes have been written on each subject in this book, and
I owe a great debt to the many people who helped me found
a law firm twenty-five years ago. The authors I studied for
this book have my deepest gratitude for their help. A great
many of my experiences in beginning my own firm are a part
of this book. I am especially grateful for the collaboration of
Stephen Acker in the section on office equipment, particu-
larly computers and high-tech items. Steve has helped me
advance into the IT world.
Special thanks go to Dianne Wheeler, former Division Manager
of Sphinx Publishing, whose encouragement and support have
helped me to articulate the purpose of this book.
Michael Bowen, Senior Legal Editor at Sphinx Publishing, is
the inspiration for the ideas in this book. I am honored that
he asked me to write it and helped me understand the vision
and organization for it. His talent is invaluable.
Of the many who helped with putting this book together, I
want to thank Janine Bronson, Betty Symank, and Mitch
Cutler for their work in making my words understandable
in written form.
The vital editing and organizing of the materials, without
which there would be no book, was the result of the untiring
efforts of a real genius, Judy Kleinberg—an author herself.
Behind all these efforts, especially my own, stands my wife,
Marlene, who is an inspired organizer, team player, and
leader. I am profoundly grateful to all mentioned here, but
especially to her.

Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
SECTION ONE: SETTING UP YOUR LAW PRACTICE
Chapter One: Finding the Right Location . . . . . . . 3
Locating Your Practice
Chapter Two: Structuring Your Practice . . . . . . . 11
Sole Practitioner
Partnerships
Checklist for Conducting Meetings
Corporations
Firm Agreements
Creating a Business Plan
viii start your own law practice
Chapter Three: Business Formation
Fundamentals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Important Preliminaries
Office Space
Chapter Four: Your Office at Home . . . . . . . . . . 39
The Home Office Advantage
The Home Office Challenge
Chapter Five: Office Design, Layout,
and Furnishings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Décor
Workspace Planning
Lawyer’s Office Checklist
The Waiting Room
Basic Reception Room Checklist
Support Staff Area
Basic Secretarial Area Checklist
Common Spaces
Employee Lounge Checklist
Conference Room
Filing Systems
Maintaining the Office
Chapter Six: Equipment and Furniture . . . . . . . . 53
To Buy, Lease, or Rent
Basic Office Equipment Checklist
Office Supplies Checklist
Telephones
Sample Telephone Intake Form
Computers
Communications Checklist
Computer Planning Checklist
contents ix
Chapter Seven: Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Law Firm Personnel
Additional Assistance
Who to Hire
The Interview
The Legal Assistant
The Contract Attorney
Contract Lawyer Checklist
Policies and Procedures
Policy Manual Checklist
Procedure Manual Checklist
Chapter Eight: Outside Support Services . . . . . . 95
Finding Trustworthy Consultants
Accountants
Banks
Insurance
Insurance Checklist
Chapter Nine: The Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Getting Books
Pleadings
The Electronic Law Library
Publications Needed
Chapter Ten: Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Raising Capital
Debt Management
Budget
Cash Flow