Opening a New Law Firm

Whether your initial capital investment comes from your own personal savings, loans or a line of credit, you will need to establish a budget for your initial start-up. The size of your budget will dictate the complexity of your initial set-up. Capital expenditures will depend on your practice setting. Consider to what extent your smartphone or tablet can substitute for a landline, laptop, copier or scanner—at least for a while. Consider whether you will purchase, lease or rent your office equipment; this is probably something to discuss with your accountant. Always keep your duty to maintain confidentiality at the forefront of your decision making.

Other operating expenses associated with start-up will continue on a regular, recurring schedule, such as office supplies, licenses, subscriptions, membership and insurance dues, and utilities, insurance and tax expenses associated with the office space. These will need to be included in your budgeting process.

If you’re not sure what an expense will be, you can often discover approximate amounts easily by talking to fellow lawyers, getting price quotes from service providers and making an educated guess in some circumstances. This number is not meant to be exact but to give you an idea of what you’ll need to make just to cover your fixed expenses. Office equipment and technology purchases should also be accounted for.