Starting a Law Firm - Implementing Office Procedures

One of the things you will want to think about when starting a law firm is how you will run your office. The goal is twofold - efficiency and consistency. You want to be as efficient as possible, meaning you don't want to spend a lot of time thinking about handling administrative tasks, or doing them for that matter. You also want to be consistent with your office procedures.

This is one aspect in how to start a law firm that I have had trouble with. I think there are several reasons for this. The first is that I have no business background, or any training in running an office. I have the Maryland family attorney and Virginia DUI attorney stuff down. In other words, I can practice law but the other stuff is taking some serious work.

The other reason is that I am doing some of this planning while also marketing my new law firm and doing work for my clients. This is one of the disadvantages of starting a law firm before having everything 100% planned. Right now, I probably spend 75% of my time marketing and 10% of my time doing work for clients, which leaves a lot less time for administrative and planning matters.

So as part of my law firm to do list, I have several office systems that I want to plan and implement. For example, I want a system for new or potential clients - from logging their first call or email to intake sheets to opening the file. I also want office procedures for a filing system, telephone calls, accounting, billing, and case management. I'm sure there are others, but that's what I can think of right now.

The good news is I have some resources to help out with my office procedure. You don't need to invent the wheel here, but you do need to implement a system that you are comfortable with, that works best for you.