legal business. How to open a law firm. Ready-made law firm business plan

From time immemorial, people turned to more intelligent and experienced brothers to help them in solving various domestic and personal problems. A thorough knowledge of the laws and the ability to find a way out of the most difficult life situations first brought connoisseurs universal respect, and then a good income.
Today, a law firm remains in demand, and good specialists in this field continue to be highly valued in the labor market. It is these lawyers who often open their own business. The development of a legal business literally from scratch requires from a future businessman not only professional talents, but also remarkable leadership and organizational qualities, as well as competent planning skills. We will talk about how to succeed in this endeavor in this article.

Market analysis

Before starting a legal business from scratch, analyze how much the labor market in your city needs such services.

A lawyer, especially if he is really a professional, will never sit idle. With proper advertising, customers will find it, even if the company is located on the outskirts of the city.

Opening a law firm does not require large expenses from the entrepreneur. He does not need expensive specific equipment, a huge building or a crowd of staff.

How much does a lawyer earn?

A question that worries every specialist. What if the firm opens, but does not bring in the same good profits as working in an already established law corporation? The salary of individual workers in this industry can reach $ 3,000 per month. But, of course, everything depends on work experience, direction, as well as competition in the region.

Lawyer is one of the most competitive professions. To achieve success, one must be a very good specialist, or be able to break through. The company requires the registration of an LLC, and this is paperwork, which also leaves much to be desired.

Different regions have their own peculiarities related to the sphere of jurisprudence. Before opening a legal enterprise, be sure to check them. To understand .

Business plan

The business plan of a law firm is the first thing a competent aspiring entrepreneur should do. Decompose your actions in stages, estimate how much finance will be needed at each stage, and then figure out where to get these same finances. In fact, getting money is much easier than properly managing it.

Here are the possible options:

1. Credit (it is doubtful that the company is worth such sacrifices);
2. Selling or pledging your property;
3. Debt (I believe parents and relatives will be happy to support if they consider that the company is promising);
4. Opening a company by several people (team up with friends, share the capital equally - and the financial burden will become much easier);
5. Investment (whether you manage to get government help or you manage to interest a business angel - it will still be a huge success).

Before developing a legal business, an entrepreneur goes through the registration stage.

The company must look solid. This is one of the main levers influencing the influx of customers, so it is best to register it as an LLC. Choose a taxation system (payment options of 15 or 6% are possible).

Premises: selection criteria

Before you open a law firm from scratch, find yourself a suitable location. It may be a very small office. The main thing is that it is not located on the very outskirts (until you become a lawyer known throughout the city, the firm should be located in easily accessible places). In this room, you or your assistants will meet with clients, accounting and other documentation will be stored here.

It is also possible that employees will go to customer calls directly to their homes. Then the office is needed only for meetings with clients.

Repair and equipment

Refurbishment is not the most important thing a start-up law firm should spend on. However, it is needed as an indicator of status. It is best if the room is kept in neutral colors. Light walls (choose paint, wallpaper is less reliable, and it is undesirable to wash them), plastic windows, good office furniture, several plants. It is good if certificates or diplomas hang on the wall.

From the equipment you will need a little:

• Computers;
• Fax machine;
• Phones;
• Scanner;
• Printer;
• Xerox;
• Shelves and cabinets;
• Safe;
• tables;
• Armchairs.

Office equipment is relatively inexpensive for the owner of the company, but it is not worth saving on equipment and repairs. Remember, the first impression of you will be in the appearance of the office.

Law firm staff

A well-established law firm will never lack people who want to get a job, while a start-up law firm is unlikely to attract the attention of seasoned lawyers. Whether it's young people who recently graduated from college. How can a lawyer make money if he has neither a name nor work experience? If your company assumes the role of a springboard for novice specialists, it will indicate the service not only to them, but also to the state.

You can find young workers by posting an ad on the Internet, on special websites, in the newspaper and by negotiating directly with universities. Give the best students the opportunity to have an internship, write a thesis, and after graduation they will find a job with you. To test their readiness, make up an “entrance exam”. It is also necessary to provide for “work in pairs” under the guidance of an experienced lawyer.

In total, the composition of the team will be as follows:

• Several experienced professionals;
• Young lawyers;
• Accountant;
• Secretary (one or more);
• Cleaner;
• Security guard.

The salary of a security guard and a janitor is about $150, secretaries receive about $250, and lawyers can take a percentage of transactions as payment.

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Advertising campaign

Those who want to start a legal business should focus on advertising. Every company wants to attract customers, and advertising is the most effective way to do this.

Make yourself a website first. The site should be kept in a strict style and contain prices and as much information as possible. Entrust this business to programmers. Launch advertisements on radio, television, the Internet, print advertisements and stick them in the subway, on poles and boards, make business cards for yourself. Offer your services to big companies.

People who want to open a law firm are usually stereotyped as being lawyers. This is optional, just like with leaders. The main thing in this business is a tenacious grip and the ability to organize the process. Opening a company does not require special expenses. This is an interesting, useful and profitable business in which you can earn income. The only real difficulty in this business is finding good professionals. If students and beginners agree to work for not very high wages, then ready-made specialists know the value of their work. When the staff is recruited and the advertising campaign is launched, you can reap the fruits of your efforts. The first customers will have to wait, but if you show yourself well, then visitors will flow like a river.

For those who have a legal education and work experience in the field of law, over time it becomes crowded in the enterprise. Growing up to a certain level of qualification, a lawyer thinks about how to open a law firm from scratch and work for himself. This is prestige, freedom of action, more income, but also more responsibility.

The success of such a business idea directly depends on the experience of the staff, and the owner of the company does not have to be a lawyer. A law firm is not subject to licensing, so there are no difficulties in registering.

Legal business must combine professionalism in the legal field and a commercial streak. These can be the qualities of one or two people: a business manager and an experienced lawyer. The task of the manager is to find and attract clients, as well as recruit personnel.

Choice of field of activity

There are many areas for the activities of a law firm, the most popular is services for the registration and liquidation of legal entities. This is the easiest option to start, does not require special qualifications from employees. But in this area there is a lot of competition and big players who offer low prices.

List of promising branches for a law firm:

1. Advice and assistance to individuals on all legal issues: civil, administrative, as well as banking, which arise quite often. To defend in criminal proceedings, you need a lawyer's status.
2. Advising small businesses in the field of legal disputes and other issues. Large enterprises, as a rule, resort to the services of foreign agencies.
3. Registration and liquidation of legal entities is assistance in opening, re-registration and liquidation. Registrar services mean a low threshold for entering the market, ease of use, and a constant clientele.
4. Outsourcing or subscription services for legal entities, which involves the conclusion of an agreement for servicing corporate clients on issues of law, contractual relations, documentation, staffing, contact with government agencies, representation in court, etc. The advantages of such work are a stable income, however, a wide range of issues need to be addressed.

A smart choice is to provide a wide range of services in order to maximize the target audience.

Registration of a law firm

State registration for a law firm is not only a legal activity, but also prestige. Step-by-step description of opening a law firm from scratch:

• registration as an individual entrepreneur or LLC;
• registration with the tax office, OKVED code 74.11;
• choice of taxation system - 6% of income or 15% of income minus expenses;
• opening a bank account;
• registration with the Pension Fund.

The cost of registering an LLC includes 10-15 thousand rubles for registering a legal address, as well as authorized capital from 10 thousand rubles in the form of money in a bank account (one of the options). However, this form of ownership is preferable if you are going to work with reputable clients. The entire registration process will require 25 thousand rubles.

For a law office, according to the law, you need to obtain a special status, and the person creating such an organization must pass an exam and take an oath.

Office

A law firm needs an office, which does not have to be located in the central part of the city. It all depends on your capabilities and the scale of future activities. For a small company, you need a room of 25 square meters with a good repair. An office center or a residential building renting the first floors for offices is suitable. It is better to start with an inexpensive rental space (7-8 thousand rubles), and in the future, with development, change the place.

Advertising

The main task of a novice entrepreneur is to attract customers who will become regular or bring other customers. How to promote a law firm from scratch? In addition to standard methods such as online advertising and outdoor advertising, face-to-face meetings are needed. This is a dense work of communicating with the owners of companies - potential customers.

Think of a company name that inspires respect, trust, and a sense of stability. The use of the names of the founders is also practiced. Name options: "Advisor", "Garant", "Agency of Fomin and Govorov", etc.

The most successful promotion methods:

• Contextual advertising on Google and Yandex.
• Providing your services on free online consulting services. This allows you to answer people's questions, thereby showing your abilities and providing contract data.
• Distribution of proposals for cooperation in the form of a complete package indicating the cost and service options.
• Calls, personal meetings with managers and heads of companies.
• Conducting trainings and seminars as a way to earn extra money and make yourself felt.

To give the impression of a solid office, you need to take care of business cards, as well as creating your own website. The minimum cost of such a business kit is 15,000 rubles.

Furniture and equipment

The main costs go to the equipment of the office of the law office. To do this, you need to purchase:

• Furniture - 20 thousand rubles;
• Computer, printer, fax, telephone, etc. - 40 thousand rubles;
• Air conditioning - 15 thousand rubles;

Total: 75 thousand rubles.

Personnel

A legal business from scratch can be started with one professional who is also the owner, but the ideal option is a partnership of two lawyers. A company needs to gain momentum and clientele before it can afford to hire professionals.

The agency will need an assistant secretary. His tasks: to receive calls, do routine work, send emails, print and sort documents (salary from 14 thousand rubles).

The accounting department of a law firm on a simplified taxation system has a simple accounting. The easiest way is to turn to a freelance accountant (outsourcing), paying 3 thousand rubles a month for his services.

Law firm business plan: investment, profitability and payback

Opening a law firm does not require significant capital investments

How much does it cost to open a law firm from scratch (capital investment):

• registration of an LLC - 25 thousand rubles;
• office renovation - 30 thousand rubles;
• furniture and equipment - 75 thousand rubles
• creating a website, printing business cards - 15 thousand rubles;
• advertising costs - 10 thousand rubles;
• Software, Internet, security - 20 thousand rubles;
• purchase of stationery - 5 thousand rubles.

Total: 180 thousand rubles

The income of a law firm is a fee for its services, which is the monthly revenue.

Table. Cost and income from services rendered

Table. Calculation of the company's profitability

Table. Calculation of investment attractiveness

It is obvious that the payback will not be 4 months, but more than six months, since the first 2-3 months are spent on reaching the break-even point.

Choosing a strategy

The answer to the question of how to open a law firm is multifaceted, as well as the possible range of services. A successful strategy is to enter into partnership agreements with lawyers, auditing and similar agencies in the course of work. At the same time, you do not need a staff of expensive specialists, a large office and the cost of maintaining it. You focus on your specialization, benefiting from partnerships.

You firmly decided that you would create your own legal business, theoretically and morally prepared for possible difficulties at the initial stages, prepared start-up capital ... But if you open your own business for the first time, then you are still not immune from making banal mistakes that most beginners go through entrepreneurs.

You should not stuff bumps on personal experience. Use our tips on how to start a legal business from scratch and what mistakes to avoid.

At the heart of all these mistakes is one problem - a lawyer who is just starting his business is ready to attract “at least some” clients at any cost and take on every case.

So, what not to do in the early stages, if you do not want to kill the nascent business:

1. Immediately rent an office
   

   Office space is, of course, solid and business-like. But this is a significant additional cost. At the first stage, when you do not yet have an established customer base, such expenses are simply not appropriate. You don’t want to work to pay the rent of an office or even lose money? Moreover, the lack of an office can even be turned into a competitive advantage by offering clients a specialist visit to a place convenient for them.

2. Invest in marketing without developing a strategy
   

   It’s good if, before registering an individual entrepreneur or organization, you carefully thought out a business development strategy for at least a year in advance. Then you only need to stick to the plan, directing all resources to its implementation. But if you are still looking for a suitable organizational form, business model, specialization - in a word, you have not yet planned what and how you will do and what goal you will achieve through year - do not invest in marketing. With a probability of 90% it will be a waste of money. At the first stages, it is necessary to rationally use free and low-cost methods of attracting customers.

3. Engage in a large number of services and work with all
   

   Would you trust your health to a cardiologist who works part-time as a dentist three days a week and replaces the surgeon during operations on weekends? Would you send your child to be trained by a tutor who teaches geography, algebra, chemistry, French, and singing?
   Not? What is in doubt in these examples? The fact that you can not be an expert in everything at the same time! And a lawyer is, in fact, the same generalized concept as “doctor” or “teacher”. The client needs an expert in the problematic area for him, and not a “generalist”. In addition, spraying on all categories of clients and areas of law will in any case affect the quality of your services negatively.

It is important to understand that at the heart of all these errors is one problem - a lawyer who is just starting his business is ready to attract “at least some” clients at any cost and take on every task. In fact, from the first days, you should strive not for clients to choose you, but for you to be able to freely choose only good clients for yourself.

How to start legal business from scratch : step by step plan

Below we offer you a step-by-step plan for building a legal business.

The hero of our article, Demid Emelyanov, created his company while studying in his fourth year at university. He, acting as a manager, registered the company and hired several employees - including a fairly experienced head of the legal department. Of course, you will need the education of a lawyer, but, as our hero says, theory is very different from practice, and knowledge of your business comes with experience. Therefore, if you are not yet very confident in your abilities, then you will need more experienced employees, whose work will be organized by you. For the latter, you must have leadership qualities. And do not limit yourself to this role only: the leader must be a highly qualified lawyer.

Demid Emelyanov

When I opened the company, I did not conduct market analysis. I had acquaintances in this field, and I knew that there is a lot of work on the market, a good lawyer is always in demand. In the future, of course, as we developed, we began to study the market, analyze niches. It's one thing to be a generalist lawyer, it's another thing to lead a certain legal direction. There is no point in doing everything. To be a professional, you need to hone your skills in several directions, otherwise you will not be able to provide a quality service. You need to choose several niches. We did just that. Gradually we mastered several niches and we work in them. We are focused only on small and medium-sized businesses - liquidation and registration of firms, bankruptcy. Sometimes we take on the personal affairs of clients-owners of the business as an exception. To determine which niches were the most profitable, temporary marketers were hired to conduct research. For beginners, I advise you to immediately hire marketers, if funds allow, or contact a third-party organization. Or go, as we did at the beginning, by trial and error.

The legal services market is saturated. Many new firms are opened every year, many lawyers believe they are ready to open their own company. But, experts say, few market participants provide quality services. However, in order to occupy a certain percentage of the market, you need to provide services competently and be competent. Currently, the quality and price in the market are not comparable: often firms charge a lot of money for their services, but do not complete the work. If you want to work long and fruitfully, do not repeat their mistake: know that the higher the quality of your services, the more regular customers you will have.

What other nuances of the market do you need to know? It is necessary to constantly monitor changes in legislation. Because the relevance of the service line directly depends on these changes. For example, over the past few years, we have noticed that the legislation changes very often, this is due to the economic crisis and the government's attempts to reach a new level of interaction with business. In order to stay afloat in such a situation, you must always be in trend, study innovations, create and practice new directions, “reshape” your services to the changes in the law and always provide an up-to-date and new product to the client.

Investment size

Demid Emelyanov

General Director of the legal center "KNOW"

8 years ago, when we opened the company, it took only 50 thousand rubles to invest. We rented an office, bought inexpensive furniture, sat down ourselves, hired a lawyer and started working. This was enough to start moving. We hired promoters who handed out leaflets with information about our company. This is how we started getting our first clients.

Demid Emelyanov

General Director of the legal center "KNOW"

Nobody taught me to do business, I studied literature on my own. We started with an office of 12 sq.m., paid 400 rubles per sq.m., five people sat in this nook. Now we have an office of 200 sq.m., a staff of qualified lawyers and partners throughout Russia.

Demid Emelyanov

General Director of the legal center "KNOW"

Previously, I held multiple positions. He himself was a secretary and answered calls. But after some time, I realized that my time is precious, and I can bring in more money if I hire a secretary. Therefore, it is better not to optimize the work, but to increase incoming traffic.

Step-by-step instruction

In your activities, you will, of course, interact with representatives of government agencies, as well as with stationery suppliers, a cleaning service and a courier service. A law firm has a lot of paperwork, and you need to find a good courier service that can deliver these papers to the right place on time - and often these are other cities. As a rule, the most famous courier company works better than others. But you still have to choose by trial and error: if they don’t have time to do everything on time, change the counterparty.

Relations with government agencies do not need to be specially established. The longer you work, the more officials will learn about you. But this is not always good for a lawyer. After all, you may also not be loved, knowing how persistently you are fighting for a client.

Demid Emelyanov

General Director of the legal center "KNOW"

When recruiting employees, the main criteria for us are education, experience, and psychological qualities. We already have an image - a psychological portrait of the person we need. The team is friendly, and we need a person to join it. When the company is small, this is important. The most important thing is the climate in the company. I am against employees being friends, but psychotypes must match. For a lawyer, such qualities as purposefulness, perseverance, and a desire to achieve goals are important. I like extraordinary people who have their own point of view and are ready to defend it, ready to prove their competence in work and learn.

We usually post vacancies on the HR website. After that, we determine suitable candidates. But I have this rule: until I see about a hundred people, we will not close the vacancy. Usually 50-70 people come out. It happens that already at the fifth or sixth interview the same person comes, but as long as there is an incoming stream, we definitely look at everyone. There are two interviews - primary and secondary, then a three-month trial period. If a person shows himself earlier, within a month, we are ready for a permanent relationship.

What do we attract to work? We have good wages, everything is designed to ensure that the employee receives the necessary work experience, we have all the necessary tools. In some companies, an employee is simply given a Yellow Pages directory and the task is to search for “I don’t know what”. We have training. Some specialists for 3-4 years catch our vacancies in order to get to us for an interview. In general, lawyers with experience know the status of companies in the market and understand where they want to get a job.

The work schedule for a law firm is standard - from 8 to 17 or 9 to 18, five days a week. Overtime hours can be, but by agreement with employees. Sometimes you may need to meet with clients on Saturday and Sunday.

You can also create your own club card. According to them, regular customers receive several services for free (for example, an extract and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities) or at a discount. Naturally, customers who will close your monthly revenue with one order will need a special approach.

If your company is aimed at serving small and medium-sized businesses, then it is convenient to be located next to the registration authority - IFTS, since you will often need to go there. But the IFTS is not always located in a place convenient for customers. Of course, a regular client will come to you anywhere, but if you have few of them yet, then the best option is to open an office in the city center, where it is easier for people to get to.

There are no special requirements for the premises. But, the hero of our article notes, as you develop, you should have at least a reception room where the secretary sits, the legal department, managers, and management should be in separate rooms. You also need a cozy meeting room. This is very important, because a regular client comes to a lawyer as a psychologist, and in order for him to entrust you with his problems, you need an inviting environment.

Documentation

Demid Emelyanov

General Director of the legal center "KNOW"

Our center was first registered as a sole proprietorship, and then an LLC was opened. In society, it is customary to take such a form as an individual entrepreneur lightly. However, from a legal point of view, an individual entrepreneur bears more responsibility in the event of litigation, while a legal entity has ways to avoid liability. However, individual entrepreneurs are easier to maintain: it is easier to report on tax - to choose UTII and have an outsourced accountant. For example, we did not have an accountant on staff for five years.

You do not need to obtain a license to open a law firm. A license is required only for the provision of specific services - for example, if you are involved in the bankruptcy of individuals, the employee in charge of this area must obtain the status of an arbitration manager, be a member of an SRO, and pay membership fees.

Opening checklist

Is it profitable to open

In order to correctly set prices for your services, you need to constantly monitor the market and find out the prices of competitors for similar services. You also need to properly assess the quality of your service.

Demid Emelyanov

General Director of the legal center "KNOW"

Sometimes we do not break the price, we do not even go down to the level of the average market price, because we know that the quality of our service is very good. And people come to us - albeit a little, but they know that with us they will achieve a positive result. New companies, entering the market, resort to dumping, lower prices, because they do not have customers. But, as a rule, the quality of the service provided suffers from this.

If you start with small investments and small expenses, with an office of 10 sq.m., then you will reach the “zero” point in the first month. If you rented an office in the city center, hired about 10 people, spend 700 thousand rubles a month, then you can reach zero no earlier than in a couple of years, initially investing at least 10 million rubles.