Best Practice: Important first steps when starting a law firm

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am a non-equity partner in a small law firm in Washington D.C. I have been with the firm for 15 years and there is no opportunity to become an equity partner. I am thinking about going out on my own. If there were one first step that I should take what would it be?

A. Create a business plan - even if only a few pages - for the firm. Your plan will serve as a roadmap for your practice. Your mission should address what services you are selling, where you are selling them, and to whom. Your plan should address your competitive strategy - how you will be different than your competitors. It should also identify your core values. A vision for 5 years out into the future as to where you would like to see the firm and specific goals and objectives should be formulated.

Your plan will give you a good indication as to whether you should start a practice or not.

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John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC,(www.olmsteadassoc.com) is a past chair and member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics. For more information on law office management please direct questions to the ISBA listserver, which John and other committee members review, or view archived copies of The Bottom Line Newsletters. Contact John at jolmstead@olmsteadassoc.com.