Monday, July 22, 2013

How to Start a Family Law Practice

Starting a family law practice is not an expensive venture, but it does take some legal and business expertise. The legal expertise in family law is the service our firm will offer, but you will also need to keep a strong hand in running the day-to-day operations of the company. Lawyers who can balance these two challenges will be able to grow and maintain a thriving domestic relations practice.

Suggestions

  1. Get experience working in a small to midsized domestic relations law firm as soon as you graduate from law school. Working for and with other attorneys in family law for several years will give you a good base for opening a practice that specializes in those types of cases.
  2. Begin putting together a marketing list as soon as possible. This includes friends, colleagues, clients, judges and anyone else with whom you have professional contact. This list should include names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. This will be your main source of contact when you send out letters introducing your new firm.
  3. Develop a website and print marketing materials (to include business cards and letterhead) that clearly and concisely lay out the types of services your family law practice will offer. Try to find a niche or attitude that will make your firm stand out from its competition.
  4. Become active in the family law division of your state bar association. Join the committee and become involved with other members by attending meetings, lunches and training opportunities. Tell everyone you meet about your family law practice. Attorneys often refer cases in which they do not specialize to other attorneys.
  5. Offer free seminars at local libraries. These can be monthly two-hour sessions that the general public can attend at no charge to learn more about certain family law issues. Topics can include "Proper Calculation of Child Support" and "How to Win Custody in a Divorce Action." Get names and email addresses of people who show up and keep in touch with them via email marketing.
  6. Market yourself via mail and web to individuals in industries that are naturally given to sending clients your way. Pastors and therapists are often the first to know of a marriage in trouble. Family law mediators and legal document preparers are other good sources of potential business.

Tip

  • Be ready to respond if your practice grows quickly and needs more attorneys and support staff to get the work done. Many small businesses fail to make the leap to a larger, more successful enterprise.



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