Re: solo law office finances

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Solo:

This is a tough question to answer because it really
depends. I think you should have at least $10,000 before
entering into your own law practice. You will have good
days and bad days. It may take 3 months before you get your
first case. Unfortunately, you will only learn by making
mistakes, which are costly. The key is do not give up and
learn from your mistakes.

I have some key advice for you, which I wish I would have
done: a. Work virtually if you can and rent an office only
when you need it; b. Hire only freelance assistance
(secretary, paralegal, law clerk, etc). You do not want to
pay benefits, etc. The key is managing your cash flow.
Cash flow is king; c. Only spend money when you must spend
money; d. Focus on one or two areas of law only and get
good at a speciality; e. Do not invest in yellow pages,
legal match, local advertisements, etc. Invest in a basic
website and internet advertising; f. Invest at least 10% of
your revenues into internet advertisements. You could have
multiple websites that target one specific speciality. Good
clients want an attorney that can solve their particular
problem.

The only way you should get office space is if office space
will generate more revenue than its costs consistently. I
have been practicing on my own since law school and I have
almost $100,000 in debt because I made a lot of mistakes.
Fortunately, I have a lot of cases, so my debt will be paid
off by next August 2008. But, I am now moving to a virtual
office space and a virtual structure because it is the
easiest way to make money. As a business owner, the key is
minimize risks and maximize profits.

I hope this helps.

S

> how much money should a solo attorney have in the bank to
> keep a business growing or to decide whether the solo
> should continue as a solo?