how to star a real estate practice for solo lawyer

Should you start a solo law firm?

It’s more than possible to build a solo practice in the field of real estate law that affords you a good living, as well as a healthy work-life balance, but achieving that state is no small feat. Especially when you’re starting out, you may be earning a smaller overall salary than your former classmates who work at larger firms, but you ...

What are the best practice areas for solo attorneys?

May 07, 2018 · Upon graduation from law school, Stephanie L. Friese took the "entrepreneurial route" and started her own law firm. With the guidance of her father, who is also an attorney, she launched a commercial real estate firm. Although the first year was tough, soon afterwards, the money began coming in. "Cash flow is the hardest thing, and the line of ...

What are the challenges of starting a solo law practice?

Apr 21, 2015 · How to Build a Real Estate Law Practice focuses on the steps and lessons for attorneys who specifically want to practice real estate law, and offers practice tips and strategies along the way. This book offers useful advice and guidance, whether you are in your first years of practice and are just starting to focus on real estate as a legal ...

Can a real estate lawyer go from law firm to company?

Here are the most important tips I learned from starting a solo law practice: 1. Do the math . First, you need to take a hard look at the numbers and fully assess your finances. How much money do you need to generate to feed yourself and your family, pay the mortgage, and keep the lights on? Make a list of every real and estimated expense, both personal and business. Then think about …

How to grow a law firm?

You should always be looking for opportunities to acquire new clients. To do so, tap into your network of colleagues. Cultivate referrals from your legal peers.

How to start a partnership?

To start a professional partnership, you can form a corporation. You should think of hiring an accountant. Office equipment, get a phone number and ensure other such basic things. But partnership firm is not an essential condition. You can always go solo and start a law firm of solely yours.

What does it mean to fly solo?

Administrative Assistance. Along with being a business person as well as a lawyer, flying solo also means being a one-person administrative team. Most surprising to lawyers when they launch their own firms is the amount of time they spend on administrative duties.

What are the most common expenses?

According to Italo, below is a list of some common expense categories: 1 Accounting 2 Answering Service 3 Bank Charges 4 Bar and Other Organizational Dues 5 Continuing Legal Education 6 Couriers 7 Insurance 8 Interest Expense 9 Investigators and Process Servers 10 Employee Benefits 11 Entertainment 12 Equipment Maintenance 13 Law Books and Periodicals 14 Marketing 15 Office Lease 16 Office Supplies 17 Online Services 18 Parking 19 Postage 20 Printing 21 Software 22 Staff Salaries 23 Social Security and Medicare Matching 24 Telephone 25 Unemployment Tax 26 Reducing costs by renting a fully furnished office space in an executive suite or sharing a space with other lawyers are some alternatives.

Can I get a home equity line if I am self employed?

Italo suggests applying for the largest home equity line you can get if you are currently employed and own a home. "This allows you to deduct the interest on some of the money you may have to lend yourself," said Italo. Waiting until after you leave your current job may make it more difficult to qualify for a loan because you are self-employed.

By Dean N Alterman

Whether you are just starting out in real estate law or if you've already established in the area, you’ll benefit from this book’s wise advice and guidance drawn from a veteran real estate lawyer’s years of practice.

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Commercial Retail Leases and Outlot Purchases: A Practitioner's Guide to Forms and Provisions

1. Do the math

First, you need to take a hard look at the numbers and fully assess your finances. How much money do you need to generate to feed yourself and your family, pay the mortgage, and keep the lights on? Make a list of every real and estimated expense, both personal and business. Then think about the expenses you can reduce or eliminate.

3. Keep your overhead low

You’re in charge now, and every dollar adds up quicker than you think (especially if you just invested in that great new laptop!). One of the biggest potential expenditures is office space. Think about what type of location would work best for you and your clients: Do you need office space in a central location, or will your home office work?

4. Be thoughtful with your banking

When it comes to managing your money as a solo lawyer, you’ll need an operating account, as well as an IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Account) account, at the very least. You’ll also want to review the rules for maintaining the IOLTA. They’re not difficult to understand, but they are important.

5. Get your website and other materials in order

Yes, you need a website, even as a small solo law practice. How fancy does it need to be? That probably depends on your practice; the transactional lawyer’s website looks different from the immigration lawyer’s. But remember that your website often makes your first impression for you—so make it a good one.

6. Name your solo practice carefully

One fun aspect of launching your solo firm is, of course, naming it. But before you mimic those big, well-known firms around you, be careful. There are rules about law firm names. If you want to name your firm Smith Law Offices—note the plural “offices”—but you only have one office, that might get you in trouble.

7. Buy law malpractice insurance

Even if it’s not required in your state (for example, it’s not required in Massachusetts), it buys peace of mind. If you’re just starting your solo law firm, you don’t have much exposure yet, so the price can be less than $1,500 for a year. You may be able to spread the payments out over 12 months too.

8. Use your network

In addition to everyone being a PRS, think about potential referrers in your existing and extended networks. If you’re doing family law, talk to counselors. If you’re doing tax law, let your accountant know. If you’re doing personal injury work, reach out to that physical therapist friend.

Do lawyers represent their clients?

Most lawyers would proudly tell you that their entire firm is focused on their clients. While in one sense this is true – lawyers do represent their clients and take care of their legal needs – that’s not what we mean by client-centered services. It is time to reframe your law firm from your client’s perspective.

Is law a business?

Law practice is a business and a profession. To start your own law firm successfully, you must agree to see it as both. The skills that it takes to run a business aren’t the same skills it takes to practice law.

Is it a good idea to start a law firm?

In fact, it was for many of us! Unfortunately, most law schools are designed to teach you how to think like a lawyer and don’t devote much time teaching you how to start and run a business.

Stable Compensation – Overall

The report shows a slight decrease in overall income.Compared to a mean of $198,000 and a median of $140,000 in 2017, 2018 saw attorneys earning a mean of $194,000 and a median of $135,000.

Making More or Making Less?

When comparing their 2018 earnings to their 2017 pay, close to half of the respondents reported increases .

Who Is Earning the Most?

The highest-earning practice area this year is medical malpractice, which boasts an average salary of $267,000.

The Report

The full Attorney Compensation Report offers a more detailed picture with details such as:

Where do real estate lawyers work?

Some real estate lawyers will transition during their career from practicing law at a large law firm to an in-house position at a bank, insurance company, national retailer or other institutional real estate company . However, beyond the in-house track, there is not a natural progression from this practice area into other common career paths.

What are the qualities of a successful lawyer?

Qualities necessary to ensure success in this practice area include attention to detail, the ability to anticipate issues, and the ability to provide guidance to clients to help navigate and close a transaction. The ability to juggle competing demands is also important, since many lawyers find themselves working on multiple projects at the same time and need to effectively prioritize their daily workload so that they do not miss critical deadlines.

What is closing a real estate transaction?

Closing a real estate transaction requires extensive coordination with the client and opposing counsel. Accordingly, lawyers may spend large chunks of time during the day discussing issues with their client or opposing counsel in order to properly document, negotiate and close a deal. 2.

What is a small transaction?

Small transactions typically consist of one law firm partner, one associate and occasionally a paralegal. Larger transactions involving multiple properties may include, in addition to a law firm partner, multiple junior and senior associates, in order to timely meet the client’s expectations. Accordingly, it is typical for a junior lawyer ...

Do real estate transactions have a discrete beginning and end?

Most real estate transactions have a discrete beginning and end. Consequently, lawyers in this area derive satisfaction from the fact that deals rarely linger and are completed over a period of months rather than years. In addition, each real estate deal has its own unique issues.

What is a junior associate?

A junior associate may be asked to sit in on conference calls that the partner conducts with the client or opposing counsel and in some instances, a junior associate may be asked to contact third parties directly to complete discrete tasks on a transaction.

What is partnership track?

As an associate becomes more senior and their skill set grows, it is common to pursue a partnership track at a law firm. A lawyer interested in making partner must be able to run transactions without oversight and will focus on developing their own book of business.

Thinking of starting your own solo practice? Here's a cautionary tale

A few weeks ago, I asked for stories from former solo practitioners who have closed up shop and their reasons why. I received a fair number of responses. Some did well, moving on to BigGov, better larger law firms, or decent non-legal jobs, and some even started profitable businesses.

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