Starting a Law Firm | Practice Area

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.

Starting a Law Firm | Naming Law Firm Part 1

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.

Starting a Family Law Firm

Welcome!  This is the first blog posting on what I hope to be a long line of interesting posts on starting a family law firm.  I’m currently licensed to practice law in Indiana, but my wife and I will be moving to Minnesota area in August of 2011.

I am sure a lot of you might question how I am going to start my new family law firm and doing divorce work in Minnesota when I’m not even licensed there yet.  I plan on taking the July, 2011 bar exam and, with luck, I will pass and be licensed in September or October, 2011.  Despite a lot of trepidation, I did just fine on the Indiana exam when I took it in 2007. Taking the bar exam is a nerve wracking and largely painful experience.  However, once I studied hard and did thousands of multiple choice questions, passing really isn’t that difficult.

So, assuming I can pass the bar exam, I aim to start right away on planning for my own solo family law firm.  I have been following several blogs and purchasing books to prepare.  One of the best blogs is My Shingle.  I continue to be surprised on how good the content is and how helpful My Shingle is on the issue of starting a law firm – be it a family law firm or not.

My short bio is that I am a graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law in 2007.  I moved with my wife to Indiana shortly after graduation.  My wife is currently a resident, family medicine physician, but has just been hired by a medical group in Minnesota.  While in Indiana, I practiced law at a general practice firm for a little over three years.  I gained a ton of experience and focused about 60% of my practice on family law. In fact, I still have several cases upon which I am handling out of my home, basement office.  I always had the idea in the back of my mind that I really wanted to start a law firm (even in law school) but I knew I need experience first before I would be comfortable starting my own family law firm.  I can’t say I’m completely comfortable, but I am excited.

I plan on posting often on my journey of starting a family law firm  – everything from the planning stage, to actually running the family law firm.  I’ve learned a lot since graduation and I am going to try to share some of what I learned in this blog.  Stay tuned!