Category: Marketing

There are many many choices to make when trying to start a new law firm. Sometimes it seems overwhelming.  Where should I start?  Making a list and outlines always helps me, but you still need a header.  (As an aside, because I am so into reading all forms of knowledge I can get, here is a cool link to a book by Atul Gawande called “The Checklist Manifesto” that I am planning to read.)

So my header to day is Naming Your Law Firm.  A tried and true choice is using some form of your own name.  After all, aren’t you going to be the one to represent the clients?  Aren’t they going to come to your office with your name on it to hire you to help them with their divorce or other family law problem?

I have strongly considered using some form of my own initials.  It sounds a little more professional and grown up to me.  It also creates more of an impression of strength and stability to me and it is different from all the other “John Doe Law Firm, P.C.” names out there.  You need to be careful though, there is plenty of information out there on misleading potential clients with your law firm name.  It can be unethical to try and mislead potential clients about the size of your law office and the number of attorneys working there.  However, I think using your initials is reasonable and not misleading – after all, the “Law Tigers” moniker seems to be ok for some reason.  All things to consider when starting your own law firm.

Your professional affiliation or “business association” is also important.  As lawyers, we know that we need to use business associations like Corporations, LLC’s, Professional Corporations, Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, and S Corporations in order to protect our businesses from liability and to deal with taxation issues.

Which leads me to think that my initials and some for of business association behind it might look good.  Here goes:  “JMF Law Firm, LLC”.  Not bad.  Not too bad at all.  I haven’t made a final decision yet, but I am leaning towards the initials direction.  I should also note that there are other firms out their with that designation.  They aren’t in Minneapolis or Apple Valley, Minnesota, but when thinking about search engine optimization (SEO), I do want to keep in mind some originality in my new firm name.

One thought I have been turning over in my brain when thinking about the best way to market for starting a family law firm is to ask for outside opinions.  I’ll be honest, my wife is my biggest sounding board.   She is very astute and gives me an honest opinion which I really value.  But, she doesn’t know much about the law or marketing.  She thinks I should use my last name in some fashion.  I’m not sure my last name is all that catchy. I’m not sure it will sell.  I’m not sure she’s wrong.

I am not sure about a lot of things about starting my own law firm, but I am sure I am excited and happy about the decision to start a firm.

After be questioned by my wife on why I wanted to start a law firm in Minnesota when I pass the bar exam, I wanted to post my answer to her completely valid question.

As I’ve discussed, I have always wanted to start my own family law firm.  I worked for a public-transit, integrated-GPS company called Siemens in my home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa for about a year after college.  I got to see first-hand how lazy people are and how silly the corporate system is.  I decided law school would be a way to do my own thing and be my own man.  But, after experiencing the doctrine oriented, non-practice related, curriculum of law school, I knew I needed experience.  And I did.  I still do.  But, after a little over three years of general practice with a focus on family law, I think I’m read

I want to start a family law practice because I know family law and/divorce work, I think I am good at it, and divorce and family work is one of the easiest way to generate billable hours and revenue to get a law firm going.  I also want to serve my clients to the best of my ability and help people in need.

Do I always want to do family law?  No.  Do I ever want to completely phase it out? Probably, not.  Do I need clients right away to be self sustaining?  Absolutely.

This is an often discussed topic, but I am having trouble choosing a name to start and build my law firm.  I am going to be a solo practitioner so something with name seems right.  However, isn’t it a little cliche?  I was thinking of something with my initials.  That might appear to be a little more professional while giving the impression of an established firm.  Of course, I don’t want to get into any trouble with false advertising as a family law lawyer.  Check out this interesting post from My Shingle for what not to do.  Of course, I could always wind up a Supreme Court justice.

I won’t tell you my initials, but I will say that a firm in Chicago is already using them.  I won’t be practicing as a family law lawyer in Chicago so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.  I will also say that I don’t plan on saying anything like Joe Lawyer & Associates.  If and when I get an associate or partner, I’ll use it.  Not until then.

Also, while I’m on the topic of names, I had considered whether the location starting my family law firm should be in the name.  I have noticed a lot of joelawyerinnewyork type of names.  Could it be a good idea?  One interesting idea is using a thesaurus and start bouncing ideas around.  I’ll keep you updated and all suggestions are most appreciated.