For lawyers who are starting their own law firm having the right office supplies with help with staying organized and improving productivity. An additional purpose that office supplies should provide lawyers is to set a strong first impression whenever clients enter the office.
Whether you’re changing directions in your career or just getting started practicing law, having the right supplies and best website design will be determined by your budget and personal preference. However, one thing to consider is that purchasing the supplies for your lawyer’s office is one of your first business decisions. Purchasing a beautiful mahogany wood desk then experiencing budget cuts, later on, could result in an office environment that’s less than ideal.
Furniture Set First Impressions
Although legal services aim to help people in various situations, lawyer’s must consider their practice with business in mind. Setting a good first impression begins the moment prospective clients steps foot in your office, takes a look at your suit, and scans the conditions of your office.
Desks: This will be your workstation. Having a spacious and large desk can help with productivity and reducing the feeling of working in a cramped space. You should consider the height of your desk in relation to your body size. If you have a computer, will you place it on your desk or have an additional side table to use it?
Chairs: While your desk is vital for your workflow, having the right chair requires careful consideration. Consider this the throne of your working world. You’ll want to invest in something that is comfortable for the days you’ll spend hours working on your cases. Depending on whether you purchase a chair with wheels or four wooden legs, you may want to purchase a plastic floor covering to improve mobility and reduce damage to the office floor.
Bookshelves: these are a necessity for a lawyer’s office. Bookshelves allow you to organize all your law books, keep them in place, and show them off to those browsing around the room. It’s best to choose a bookshelf that matches your office furniture to avoid clashing.
Writing Supplies: this one may seem obvious, but it is important to have a bulk supply of writing instruments to work with your clients. In addition, your clients may be required to fill out forms and provide their signature so it is important to have extras at hand. As your practice grows, you can invest in branding your law firm, you can get pens with your logo, law firm name, and contact number.
Envelopes: here’s an office supply lawyer’s don’t want to run out. Law offices send out letters to clients and other attorneys on a daily basis. Buying envelopes in bulk is a simple and affordable solution which allows you to have envelopes available whenever you need them.
Lighting: most offices are built with good lights to keep the office bright and functional. However, you may find that some parts of the office may feel darker than others, especially if you’re stuck working after hours. Investing in a lamp to provide additional light in the office can help make it more inviting.
A few more fundamental supplies lawyers should have in their office include trash cans, recycling cans, magazine and coat racks.
Lawyer Office Supplies: Quick Checklist
In addition to the items above, you probably need the following items below. You can cut costs if you buy in bulk and keep extras in a storage space. Also, creating a partnership with a supplier can provide you with additional benefits and discounts.
As you prepare your office it can be easy to forget all things you need for your office. Here’s a checklist to ensure you have everything you need:
This list should serve as a starting point to getting the supplies you need at your office. You will be able to find most of these supplies at your local stores or you can shop online to find more variety and style. While it may be tempting to cut corners to save some money in the start, remember that the environment of your lawyer’s office can shape the overall impression of your legal practice. If you’re not too concerned about your office space because you often meet clients somewhere in the community, here are some things you’ll find in a lawyer’s briefcase.
Google’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising system uses keyword phrases and displays your ads to those searching for your legal services.
Something to keep in mind, it takes time and money to see a measurable ROI with Google Adwords. You’ll see that considerable planning and research is involved.
As an alternative, Google also offers Adwords Express which a simple solution to setting up advertisements without any worries.
Google Adwords has 4 kinds of ads you can use to attract clients to your law firm. Those are: Display Ads; Video Ads; Search Ads; and, App Ads.
Display Ads. Google has a network of websites where your ad will be featured. These are the banner ads you see at the top and side of websites.
Video Ads. If you’ve made a promotional video for your law firm, you can use video ads which can attract new clients from YouTube.
Search Ads. These are the ads found at the top and bottom of every Google search.
App Ads. You probably won’t use App Ads since they are focused on promoting an App.
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Getting Started on Google Adwords
If you’re completely new to Google Adwords, you can contact one of Google’s support team and they’ll walk you through the set up, free. Or, you can continue reading this article to see a step-by-step tutorial to getting started and running your first PPC campaign.
After clicking START NOW you’ll be taken to a signup page. Enter your email address and lawyer website then click next.
Two important sections are the location and bidding.
Setting the location will determine who narrow or wide you want your ads to reach.
As well, bidding determines how much of your budget will be used toward keywords being searched. More information on bidding is provided later in this article.
Bidding for Lawyers
There are different bidding strategies to consider when it comes to targeting prospective clients using Adwords.
If you’re looking to get the most phone calls to your law firm, choose Maximize Conversions (be sure to set the goal on the previous page to “Get Phone Calls”
You should use the Enhanced CPC if you want Google to automatically increase your bidding when it will improve conversions or decrease your bids if it is less likely to convert.
NOTICE: The search terms Lawyer and Attorney are the most expensive search words for Lawyers. Bids can range up to $100 for a single click.
As you gain more experience with Google Adwords, you can experiment with the different options to see which settings give you the best ROI.
When you are finished selecting your campaign, click SAVE AND CONTINUE.
SET UP AD GROUPS
When you are setting up an Ad Group, focus on one purpose. In this example, we choose NYC Lawyer as the Ad Group with a range or related keywords:
If you put keywords without “ ” (i.e. NYC Lawyer) your ads will be displayed to less specific searches (e.g. Is Bernie Sanders a NYC Lawyer?).
If you put “ “ around a keyword (i.e. “NYC Lawyer”) your ads will be featured to those using that keyword in their search (e.g. Most affordable NYC Lawyer).
If you use [ ] around a keyword (i.e. [Affordable NYC Lawyer]) your ads will be displayed only to those who search the exact same keyword, (i.e. Affordable NYC lawyers).
Here you can test a range of different copy. If you clicked the “Enhanced CPC” Google will soon use the ad getting the most clicks and conversions.
When you’re satisfied with your ads, click SAVE & CONTINUE to review everything.
Landing Pages for Your Google Adwords
The “Verification URL” is used to send people who click your ad to a contact page or location on your website with your phone number and any additional contact information.
If you don’t have the ability or budget to change your website to send traffic onto a specific webpage, you don’t have to.
There are landing page softwares provided by companies like LeadsPages and ClickFunnels which allow you to easily design a place for visitors to go after clicking your ads.
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Getting started with Google Adwords can be a little overwhelming. If you keep reading, you can learn about Google Adwords Express which makes the setting up advertisements easy and worry free.
Google Adwords Express
Google Adwords Express (AWE) is a simplified version of Google Adwords that automatically manages your online ads. All you have to is set up a campaign and your ads will be featured for a month.
With GMB, you can create a free marketable tool for your law firm. Start by submitting your law firm’s location and other business information. Once your account if verified (you’ll receive a verification code in the mail) you can help potential clients find your business and learn more about your services.
Now that you have a GMB listing, you can create a new AWE campaign.
After selecting your GMB listing, there are 3 easy steps to get your ads up and running:
Start by picking a goal.
Do you want prospective customers to call your law firm?
Visit your law firm?
Take a specific action on your website?
After choosing one, you’ll be requested to “Pick Goal”
The next step allows you to choose your location and the range around it to target your ads. If you’re law firm operates in various locations, you can select “In specific cities, states or countries.”
After you have chosen your location and range, you can define your service using keywords prospective clients may be searching for.
Example. Law firm, Defense lawyer; etc.
The next step requires you to write the ad.
Once you have crafted your ad, you’ll have to confirm your phone number:
The last step requires you to determine your budget. You determine your daily budget which will be calculated into a per month maximum.
You will only pay when your ad has been clicked on and when your budget is spent your ads won’t display until the next day.
You can set up a budget as low as $1.64 USD per day up to $76.32 USD per day.
Clicking next will take you to a review page where you can check the detail of your ad before it goes live.
If you haven’t set up a payment method, you’ll have to submit your credit card information to finalize your ad.
GOOGLE ADWORDS VS. GOOGLE ADWORDS EXPRESS
If you’re unsure about the differences between Google Adwords and Google Adwords Express, here’s side-by-side comparison:
Google Adwords
Google Adwords Express
BENEFITS
Pay only when your ads are clicked
Pay only when your ads are clicked
SETUP
Advanced features requiring: keyword selection, bid pricing, and account structuring
Minimal management: simply setup your ads and let them run
EASE-OF-USE
Can be difficult for new users
Easy to use
REQUIREMENTS
Adwords account + Credit card
Adwords express account + Google My Listing + Credit card
KEYWORDS
You choose all your keywords + phrases
You choose some of your keywords + phrases; Google will come up with more related to your ad
Reach potential clients in any geographic location
Reach potential clients in any geographic location
MIN. BUDGET
$0.01 per Day
$1.63 USD per Day
MAX BUDGET
N/A
$76.32 USD per Day
SUMMER OF GOOGLE ADS
Google Ads has incredible potential to drive prospective clients to your law firm’s website. If you’re looking for something quick and simple to gets ads running online, try Google Ads Express.
Whether your goal is to drive readership to your blog, a following to your social accounts, or phone calls to your office Google Ads is a budget friendly solution for your business.
As an alternative, Facebook Ads allows you to tap into social media to drive more referrals and clients to your law firm. Read Facebook Ads for Lawyers.
Whether you’re a solo practitioner of law or working with partners at a firm, having legal malpractice insurance will protect you from any unfortunate situations when a claim is made against you or your firm.
Mistakes are bound to happen and lawyers are liable for the decisions they make which have a direct impact on their clients personal lives and well-being. While some states may require legal malpractice insurance for attorneys, if you’re thinking about going without, understand the the consequences of being at the losing end of a claim against you can be devastating for your career.
This article will guide you through some of the benefits, considerations and examples of policies you can get to protect your legal services.
Why Purchase Legal Malpractice Insurance?
First and foremost, purchasing malpractice insurance protects you from any liability issues that can occur while performing legal services.
The cost of malpractice insurance for attorneys can come with a high annual premium. Depending on where you practice law, the area you practice, the years of experience you have, and the size of your firm, these are all factored into the annual insurance price.
Areas of practice such as real-estate lawyers and personal injury lawyers tend to pay higher premiums because these are seen as “high-risk” fields. Also, when a city has a higher number of malpractice claims, you can be sure to experience higher rates.
While he premiums may be extreme, especially if you’re a solo-practitioner or small law firm, malpractice insurance protects your reputation and personal indemnity.
What to Consider When Purchasing Legal Malpractice Insurance
Legal malpractice insurance for attorneys can cover many situations while leaving you liable for claims you may not see coming. When your considering which legal malpractice insurance to purchase, here is a few things you want to have in your insurance policy:
If you’re outsourcing or using a virtual receptionist, can your policy provide protection against outsourcing risks?
Does the policy protect all your staff and associates?
Will the policy give you peace of mind and confidence to practice law?
Does the policy legitimize your practice and build client trust?
Will you be protected against claims of professional negligence?
Does the policy cover the expense of hiring an independent legal counsel to represent you in the case of a complaint?
Another important consideration when choosing legal malpractice insurance would be the types of coverage you can receive. Each claim can have limitations of liability ranging from a few thousand dollars up to millions.
If a claim is made against your law firm, you may want to know if you’ll receive an increase in policy charges in future years.
Rates for Legal Malpractice Insurance
The actual rates of your legal malpractice insurance will depend upon factors listed above as well as the answers to some questions you’ll have to provide.
Here’s an example of some of the questions you’ll be asked which will be used to calculate the cost of your insurance coverage:
How many claims or incidents have you had per lawyer per year?
What was the nature of the claims (i.e. frivolous, ordinary negligence, gross negligence, criminal conduct)?
What was the degree of fault by the lawyer, (i.e. clear malpractice, statute of limitations, vicarious liability [when a lawyer leaves the firm])?
Have you been rejected from other insurance carriers or was renewal refused previous insurance provider?
What is the nature of your practice (i.e. family law, personal injury, etc.)
What was your attitude / conduct with the client in resolving claims (i.e. attitude toward client)?
Insurance companies will examine your firm carefully to determine your eligibility and insurance premium rates.
Be prepared to share some of the intimate details of your law firm or solo-practice. You’ll have to share information like your attorneys professional conduct, history of previous claims, list of attorneys, their roles, hours worked, and more. Applications will vary from insurance company to insurance company.
Some of the major factors contributing to increased insurance premiums come from the following list of “red flags” which insurance companies are looking for.
2 or more claims from the past year
3 or more claims from the past 10 years (depending on the size of your firm)
Type of claim
Pattern of claims
Being uninsured the previous 5 years
Not paying a deductible
Not cooperating with client suing
Any bar disciplinary incidences
Continued business relationship with clients that previous sued
Possession of other professional licenses.
Researching the Best Legal Malpractice Insurance
The list above determining the rates of your insurance policy can seem daunting, you have complete power to research and find the best policy provider for your firm.
Performing your own due diligence and criticizing the fine details of the policy will be in your best insurance. Insurance policy providers is a business and the advertisements you receive in your inbox are simply trying to sell you on their premiums while not providing you the right coverage for your firm.
In the case that you are rejected from an insurance provider, you can make any requested changes to the practices at your firm and reapply. There are plenty of insurance companies to choose from and comparative shipping will allow you to find the best price at the best coverage.
Insurance Updates & Renewals
Once you have selected the best legal malpractice insurance for you and your attorneys, you’ll have to continue to send any information to your insurer regarding changes to your practice.
If you hire on more attorneys or take on different kinds of clients, you may have to make changes to your policy.
When your insurance policy expires, you are responsible to make any necessary updates to avoid defrauding the insurance provider which can lead to legal consequences.
Could this the future of legal services? A future of lawyers on demand which allows people to choose from a pool of legal talent, at affordable rates, whenever legal advice is needed.
Although the traditions in law run deep, there is a trending new opportunity for those pursuing a legal career. Instead of working at a law firm, working insane hours, and having a portion of your earnings going into the owners’ pockets, you can become a freelance lawyer, working on demand.
Will Lawyers Quit Working At Firms?
Law firms dedicate considerable time and resources training their associates toward full-fledged lawyers. The hours can be long and additional work may be completed outside of office hours.
Becoming a freelance lawyer offers an alternative lifestyle to the traditional hard working demands placed on lawyers at a firm. Freelance lawyers have the ability to decide their working hours. It allows more freedom and flexibility for scheduling, operating a side business, or spending more time with loved ones.
Some freelance lawyers may opt to take a few months off to travel and pursue other lifestyles. Creating a work-life balance is a lucrative choice for young adults seeking to enjoy their adulthood even while developing their career in law.
Are All Freelance Lawyers Qualified?
While it can be easy to distinguish the reputation of a law firm, some prospective clients may be hesitant to work with freelance lawyers. Not knowing whether a lawyer is fresh out of school or was let go from a firm for malpractice may defer people from choosing freelancers.
However, in most cases, freelance lawyers are those that have had experience working at a firm and choose to take their career in law down a different path. Experiences will certainly vary from lawyer to lawyer, however, there are certain standards that all lawyers must follow in order to practice law.
Freelancer lawyers have the opportunity to be more selective with the caseloads and time management. These lawyers can maintain a high level of quality for their services by focusing on providing exceptional client experiences in order to attain future work and referrals.
Benefits of Freelancing
Take a look at how both lawyers and clients can benefit from freelancing:
Lawyer Benefits:
More freedom
Flexible schedule
Higher earning potential
Offer higher value work
Work on more unique clients and cases
Build expertise in the desired niche
Client Benefits:
Access to lawyers on demand
Affordable rates
Reduce overhead costs
Cost-effective alternative to in-house lawyers
Ability to hire experts in a specific area
Freelancing lawyers have the ability to offer convenient services for short-term and occasional clients. It offers clients an alternative to expensive lawyer fees from a reputable law firm while maintaining the quality of service.
Many law firms are also recognizing the benefits of hiring freelance lawyers on a case-by-case scenario. Law firms can reduce their overhead costs by avoiding fees for health plans, holiday pay, and maternity leave.
Freelance Lawyers vs. Solo Practitioners
It would be wrong to assume that solo practitioners of law are the same as freelance lawyers. In most cases, the difference between the two includes the following:
Clients. Solo practitioners often work from an office and offer legal advice to their clients. Often, freelance lawyers do not provide any form of legal advice unless working on cases with other lawyers, law firms or administrative legal departments.
Hours. For a sole practitioner, working hours can be long and unforgiving. It is common for lawyers to send invoices for 40 to 50 hours worth of work even though they required an additional 5 to 15 hours after hours. Freelancers have much more freedom and can plan in advance which days to take off and enjoy for themselves.
Type of Work. Since freelancer lawyers have the freedom and flexibility to define their services and choose their clients, they can find themselves working for unique and challenging clients. Since freelancers offer more of the time to companies and other law firms, there tend to be fewer worries about dealing with emotionally taxing non-lawyer clients. Lawyers seeking to work more directly with the law and reduce the amount of emotionally draining counseling-like experiences with clients would certainly prefer freelancing.
Flexibility. Solo practitioner typically works from an office. This requires them to purchase office equipment, hire assistants or clerks, and maintain their office space. Freelance lawyers often don’t have this. Instead, freelance lawyers can use a range of locations and technologies to meet and connect with their clients.
Choosing to become either a freelance lawyer or a solo practitioner comes down to who you are as a lawyer. If you know how to manage your time and wish to have extra hours for yourself, freelancing is the way to go. In contrast, if you’re the type of person who enjoys a structured lifestyle that is motivated by a high-stress working style, focus on becoming a solo practitioner.
Freelance Platforms for Lawyers
There are a variety of online sources providing freelance lawyers access to prospective clients. Axiom, Vario, Lawyers on Demand provide unique matches for clients seeking flexible lawyers for their situations.
Axiom – The main feature that Axiom offers is a platform for freelance lawyers to create a profile and showcase their legal services to prospective clients. They offer temporary in-house services to clients who can hand-pick their own lawyers. Axiom currently has over 1200+ lawyers available provide services for real estate, litigation, intellectual property, employment and benefits, derivatives, finance and more. Axiom also offers global reach to assist with international businesses and clients.
Vario – This freelancing platform for lawyers offers flexible legal support for law firms, in-house companies, and individual clients seeking support. They focus on alleviating their client’s stress, reduce costs, and provide measurable results. Vario understands that the world is changing and remote work has become a staple in today’s working environments. They work directly with lawyers to uncover exactly what a lawyer wants to do and how to do it.
Lawyers on Demand – Here you’ll find services dedicated to those who want an in-house team or hired help at a law firm. All freelancers at Lawyers on Demand are carefully screened for quality and talent. They work with lawyers ranging in all areas of specialization to provide access to legal support for anyone looking for a lawyer. As of now, there are over 600 lawyers and consultants available to support prospective clients.
Health insurance is a vital consideration for any lawyer practicing law. Whether you’re a solo-practitioner, small law-firm or a team of multiple partners, having the right insurance policy will provide peace of mind and financial support in the case of any unforeseen medical events.
Depending on the size of your firm, there are various packages you can obtain which cover general health, dental, and more extensive health related operations. You can choose between short-term medical to long-term medical and rates will vary depending on who you choose.
If you’re looking for malpractice insurance, you can read a comprehensive article about what you need to know.
Importance of Health Insurance
Health insurance is often in debate in the United States and regardless of the responses, having a good health insurance plan helps pay for the high costs of medical care.
Health care plans come in different packages and sizes. You can purchase individual health insurance plans or packages that protect you and the people working at your law firm.
All plans will vary on their degree of coverage however most plans provide coverage for general medical situations such as: seeing a primary care physician (i.e. for general medical check ups), medical emergencies (may require deductibles to cover expenses), preferred medical providers (where you have the freedom to choose your medical practitioner).
Getting the right health insurance deters any unexpected and unwanted costs associated with complications to your health. If you’re unsure where to get health insurance for lawyers, keep reading to review some of the choices available to you.
Health Insurance from the American Bar Association
Before searching for health insurance from private companies, you find a variety of beneficial health insurance packages from the American Bar Association (ABA) or your local state bar.
If you are or become a member of the (ABA), you are eligible to receive discounted rates for health, dental and long-term health insurance plans.
For a solo practitioner, you can apply for a non-subsidy plan or choose from a list of affordable medical insurance plans that cover short term, long term, or temporary periods of coverage.
Additional packages can be purchased separately such as dental and vision insurance. If you’re operating a firm with multiple partners and/or associates, you can receive group rates at a higher discount. These insurance plans offer 100% coverage and you won’t have to pay any deductibles. In addition, you’ll receive nationwide coverage and you have the freedom to select and dentist of your choice.
If you’re looking for long term health care coverage, the ABA provides coverage to protect you today until old age.
The options offered through the ABA offer high limits, no deductibles and no credit checks. If you’re unsure where to get your insurance, reviewing the policies offered here would be a good start.
Public Assistance Programs
If you’re looking for a simple solution for health insurance you can apply for public assistance programs. While these programs are often available for lawyers who have limited or no income, depending on your situation, they may provide a viable alternative to more expensive health insurance packages.
One example of a public assistance program includes Medicaid. Medicaid is a health insurance program provided by the federal state which covers nursing home case, personal care services, and other medical costs for people with limited incomes.
This option is typically for those lawyers with low incomes and may apply to your situation.
There is a lot of specific language included in health insurance policies. You will often see acronyms like HMO and HSA used repeatedly to describe what coverage you receive and how much the insurance company will provide.
As a legal professional, you know the importance of understand the fine details of a case. When it comes to choosing health insurance, you’ll want to know as much as possible to make the best decision for you and your lawyers.
Here’s a few tips to help guide you when deciding which health insurance provider to go with:
Who Needs Coverage? If you’re a solo practitioner, you may only need coverage for yourself and any staff that helps out at the office. However, for a bigger law firm, you’ll want to consider who needs coverage, what’s their family situation, and whether or not your employees have children. Finding family-friendly insurance policies will provide coverage for not only your own needs but the needs of those who work at the office.
What’s your budget? Once you know who needs health insurance and the kind of insurance you may want to receive, what is your budget going to be? Health insurance can be expensive and you’ll have to factor in your law firm’s budget when deciding how much coverage you can afford and the cost of the premium per person. Depending on where you practice law, you may be obligated to provide at least half the cost of the insurance plans.
What are your options? You have the freedom to shop around for a health insurance provider that works best for you, your staff and your budget. Before making a decision, here are a few important points to consider:
What is the monthly premium rates?
Is there a deductible or co-payment? How much?
Can you choose your own health care provider or do you have to choose from a predetermined list from the insurance provider?
Does the insurance plan cover prescriptions?
Are there add-ons available? Dental? Vision?
When choosing a health insurance provider for you or your law firm, it is importance to perform your own due diligence to find the best plan. Although deciding on an insurance policy will be determined based on your budget and number of staff in office, having the right plan is valuable for your staff and their overall well being.
For a solo practitioner or a small law firm, setting up a virtual office at the office can make legal services run more effectively and efficiently.
A virtual office allows for lawyers to reduce their management and also their marketing efforts. This can help free up time to focus on client cases and other aspects of growing the firm.
If you’re thinking about setting up a virtual office, here are 5 steps to help you get started.
Step 1: Understand your needs
A virtual office can exist anywhere with the common belief that telephone operators from developing are taking calls and working the front desk.
In the legal world, having inexperienced and unprofessional telecommunication companies handle the intaking and scheduling of your prospective client’s can be both bad for your reputation and your business.
There are telecommunication services available that are dedicated to lawyers. They have trained staff that may even be specialized in your area of practice, such as criminal defense or family law.
Alternatives to using a telecommunication service are to add Live Chat to your law firm’s website. In this list of the best Live Chat services for lawyers, you can quickly and easily add a professional button to your website and interact any visitor.
Overall, there are various types of virtual office solutions. Here’s an overview of a few services virtual office service available to lawyers:
Customer Relation Management (CRMs)
Live Chat
Accounting Software
Virtual Receptionist
Virtual offices allow you to automate and improve the efficiency of your daily routines at your firm. In addition, with technology trending toward mobile interactions, you can expect to find various solutions you can manage with your smartphone.
Step 2: Consider the Pros and Cons
Establishing your law firm into a virtual office comes with both benefits and disadvantages. If you’re sure this is the right decision for your firm, there must be substantial reasoning and benefits to do so. Here are some of the benefits a virtual office can include:
Reduce costs
Increased productivity
Effective client intaking
Flexible employment
Operate your intaking 24/7/365
The disadvantages to a virtual office may be difficult to imagine. However, when considering the sensitive information that passes through a law firm, you may want to think twice before outsourcing work to those outside the office. Here are a few disadvantages to establishing a virtual office:
Using technology and outsourced solutions will always alleviate the workload at the office. However short-term benefits may have long-term consequences. Carefully evaluate which services are right for your legal practice.
Step 3: Measure costs
Cost reduction and savings are two major factors that influence the decision to establish a virtual office. Accounting software can provide invoices with the click of a button while tracking cash flow to make taxes easier. Virtual receptionists can handle inquiries at the office and schedule appointments for serious inquiries.
When selecting the services for your law firm, it’s best to shop around. The pricing and features offered with each will vary. There is a competitive market to provide solutions specifically for lawyers and each service will provide similar yet varying options.
If possible, you can start with a trial of their services which is usually free and does not require a credit card.
Step 4: Stick to your budget
When you sign up for virtual services you’ll be locked into a monthly or yearly billing cycle. You’ll have to determine your monthly costs accordingly and select the services that you feel will help your law firm yield the best returns.
There are services that stick to a monthly pricing plan and others that invoice you per client or lead they acquire. If you’re paying per lead, be sure that you are successfully converting those prospective leads into new clients. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your money.
Step 5: Analyze effectiveness
Even though you have spent a significant amount of time and money investing in potential virtual office solutions, it is best practice to analyze their effectiveness on a quarterly or yearly basis.
Here are a few points to analyze with your law firm’s virtual office services:
How many clients does it yield
How much time is being saved
How are much are costs being reduced
How many issues have occurred
How often is tech support needed
The ease of installation for more virtual office services may reduce the hassle of finding a talented staff to hire at your firm, taking the time to develop in-house employees can sometimes be worth the effort.
In-house staff can reduce headaches of spending hours on a phone with support teams that may or may not be able to resolve your problems right away. Also, training staff can establish to long-term employees which understand the process of how your law firm functions and can lead to better performance than outsourced solutions.
These 5 steps are just a guideline if you’re thinking about turning your law firm into a virtual office. For solo-practitioners, reducing the number of administrative tasks may be the best option to improve efficiency and effectiveness of your legal services. If you’re looking for the best virtual solutions, check out these law firm management software.
If you’re thinking about creating a partnership, there are many types of partnerships to choose from.
In this article, let’s examine the benefits and ky features of a law firm partner, law firm executive partner and a law firm managing partner.
What Does “Making Partner” Mean?
First, let’s take a look at the meaning of “making partner.”
If you haven’t started your own law firm and you are not already a partner, you may likely be considered as an employee or associate for a law firm. In this position, you wouldn’t have ownership of the law firm but you would be permitted to practice law.
When you’re ready to make the transition into a partnership, this is when you’ll earn a higher salary, become a partial owner of the firm, take on greater responsibilities and liabilities, and also receive a portion of the firm’s profits.
The structure of any partnership will vary depending on how it is incorporated and you can learn more about that in Starting A Law Firm.
Law Firm Partner
Joining a starting your own law firm or joining as a partner will immediately place more work, responsibility and liability on your career. The skills and experiences you acquired as an associate can now be put into practice at a high frequency and a much greater pay bracket.
In regards to compensation, partners can be paid in a variety of ways. You may receive a salary or receive a more common method of withdrawal from a pool of profits. Other methods can include earnings that are based entirely on the clients you secured and provided legal services for yourself.
When becoming a partner for a law firm you will receive a well-written contractual agreement outlining all the terms and conditions of your partnership. Inside this contract may be things like:
Required capital contributions
Amount of profit a partner can draw and how often each receive it
Salary and payment schedule
Penalties for leaving the partnership
Partnership authority
Clauses defining death and disability
Procedures to resolve disputes between partners
Descriptions of roles, responsibilities, and accounting information
Law firm partnerships requires delicate consideration, strategic negotiations, and careful decision making. Think of joining a partnership as getting married for a certain period of time. You’ll want to know exactly who you are going to be partnered with, how they operate, what they believe in and most importantly the “marriage” rules that will influence your practice for years to come.
If joining a partnership is in your best interest, you may want to consider becoming an executive partner or a managing partner at a law firm.
Law Firm Executive Partner
As an executive partner at a law firm, you’ll take on many a distinct role in leadership and take on many of the major decisions that affect the fate and future or a law firm.
Executive partner’s require extensive insight which will support the growth of the law firm’s objectives and goals.
The responsibilities of an executive director include the overall management strategy, financial management, social accountability, workplace compliance, etc. The executive partner will be dedicated toward preserving and promoting the way the firm practices law and makes critical decisions regarding. The scope of work focuses primarily on short and long term operational decision. In comparison, a managing partner will be dedicated toward high level management decisions and strategic issues.
Executive partners take on most of the administrative duties in the firm to ensure that operations run smoothly. They also perform functions in accordance to the principles and rules the firm has in place. The executive partner will often be elected from a committee managing partners and other high positioned investors in the law firm.
If you’re being considered as an executive partner of a law firm or seeking this position, the overall success of the firm will be entirely up to you.
Law Firm Managing Partner
Before becoming an executive partner at a law firm, it may be in your best interest to become a managing partner.
Managing partners for a law firm are responsible for the overall operations of the firm. This includes delegating responsibilities to attorneys, secretaries, firm executives, paralegals and other employees at the firm.
Decisions regarding the cases the law firm will take on and which clients the firm will represent is one of the roles of a managing partner. They will also be required to ensure compliance with professional standards while following government laws and regulations.
Here’s a detailed list of skills required from a managing partner:
If you’re trying to find a lawyer to solve your legal problems, you’ll likely realize that there are many types of lawyers. The range of Legal services can make it difficult to determine which one you need for your specific situation.
You won’t find a lawyer that can fix all problems because most lawyers will specialize in a specific area of law. The type of lawyer you need will depend on the legal problem you have.
Since there are so many types of lawyers this guide will cover the most common practices to help you choose the right lawyer for your legal needs.
Personal Injury Lawyer
An injury is defined by law as an injury to the body, mind, or emotions. The laws covered by this type of lawyer include Civil and Tort Law. Tort law involves cases that result in injury but is not considered to be a criminal offence.
Personal injury lawyers focus on obtaining compensation from damages caused by other parties. The range of injuries include professional malpractice, car accidents, workplace injuries, slip and fall accidents, dangerous products, and more.
Intellectual Property Lawyer
Intellectual property covers a range of creativity that comes from the mind. These include the inventions, artistic work (visual and literary), lawyer websites, symbols, images, designs, and names used for financial purposes.
Intellectual property lawyers work with these original creations to secure patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing agreements. Intellectual property lawyer require significant skill when drafting documents to protect the rights of creators.
Immigration Lawyer
One of the common tasks of an immigration lawyer is to assist immigrants in obtaining citizenship in a new country. In addition, these lawyers will protect immigrants and prevent them from being deported.
Immigration lawyers also provide legal advice and support regarding the appropriate visas required to work in different countries. For some countries, obtaining citizenship can obtain several years, having an immigration lawyer makes the process much more efficient.
Criminal Lawyer
Criminal lawyers, also known as criminal defense lawyers or public defenders, help individuals, companies, and other entities charged with a criminal offense. These offenses may include domestic violence, physical abuse, sex crimes, drug crimes, theft, fraud, and more.
Criminal lawyers can provide bail bond hearings, trial defense, plea bargains, revocation hearings, appeals, and post-conviction remediation. In addition to these legal services, the work required from criminal lawyers include investigating cases, interviewing witnesses, researching case law, building a defense strategy, negotiate for lesser charges, advocate for their defendant, and much more.
Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice lawyers are specialized in dealing with situations of malpractice. These may include a bad or wrong diagnosis, surgery gone wrong, doctor committing fraud, obtaining the wrong prescription, and doctors breaching patient confidentiality.
Medical malpractice lawyers are also able to protect medical professionals if they are being sued for malpractice.
Family & Divorce Lawyer
Family and divorce lawyers deal with many of the legal aspects of marriage. Whether you need a prenuptial agreement or planning for a divorce, these are the lawyers to go to.
If you’re struggling financially and considering filing for bankruptcy, having a consultation with a bankruptcy lawyers would be the first step. This type of lawyer provides advice and information regarding your eligibility for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy lawyers also provide information regarding alternatives for bankruptcy and types of bankruptcy.
Business Lawyer
A business lawyer, also known as a corporate lawyer, covers a range of legal services such as employment, intellectual property, tax compliance, mergers and acquisitions. These lawyers specialize in areas like startups, small businesses or large enterprises.
The duties required by some business lawyers include drafting legal documents or dealing with lawsuits filed against a business. These are transnational lawyers (dealing with negotiation and employment terms) and litigation lawyers (handling lawsuits when a company violates the terms in a contract).
In addition, estate planning lawyers focus on taxes and tax implications for their clients.
Civil Rights Lawyer
Civil rights lawyers protect the rights of citizens. Their purpose is to protect against discrimination and harassment based on physical or mental disability, religion, race, gender, nationality, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Civil rights lawyers also protect the rights and freedom of thought, conscience, speech, expression, the press, and religion. Whenever someone’s rights have been violated, this type of lawyer will recover damages in the court of law.
Entertainment Lawyers
While there are some overlaps with an intellectual property lawyer, this type of lawyer focuses solely on representing clients in the entertainment industry. Entertainment lawyers work with artists, employees, companies and solo entertainers in film, music, radio, television, theater, and video games.
An entertainment lawyer typically drafts contracts, negotiate deals, and handle any intellectual property issues.
Public interest lawyers work toward furthering the interest of the general public or significant segments of it. The work required from these lawyers include broad topics such as environmental protection, child welfare, illegal discrimination, and domestic violence.
Law tends to attract a lot of people seeking high salaries, competitive jobs, and rewarding work. However, the amount of money a lawyer makes vary greatly and depends on the type of work you do, the organization federal government that you work for, you educational experience and education, and where you are located in the country.
Starting your own family law firm has the potential to bring in much more money than a full lawyer salary or entry level position at a firm. There are a number of obstacles to overcome but if you have the right plan in place and a strategy to succeed, your salary can be whatever you make it.
Like any career, doing your own research on legal matters will help guide you on the decisions you make for your legal career. Since the monthly median salary amount for a lawyer has such a large discrepancy, make sure your expectations match reality. Utilizing an hourly to salary calculator can convert your expected hourly wage to an annual salary, bridging the gap from hourly to salary insights. This conversion aids in aligning your financial expectations with the practicalities of annual to hourly salary calculations in the legal field.
Remember that law is constantly changing and that some skills and areas of legal field may become less needed than others. From a financial point of view, this can be significantly less profitable and result in lower monthly wages.
Now that you have an overview of the financial situation in the the legal profession and career path, let’s take a look at the finer details.
Average Monthly Salary For Lawyers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the average annual salary for a lawyer in 2016 to be $139,880. This works out to be around $11,656 per month on average.
Some of the lowest paying salaries started around $55,870 per year. This is around $4,655 per month. When you look at the top private practice, corporate sector, some corporate lawyers are making up to $214,630 per year. This is around $17,885 per month.
“Most lawyers leave a lot of money on the table because they do not have a proper sales funnel in place to attract new clients or convert them well. Great sales funnel software can bridge this gap by mapping out a proper funnel and help them earn significantly more than the industry average.” – Shailen Vandeyar, FunnelTeacher.com
Best Paying Industries for Lawyers
In the corporate sector, there are a few industries that provide lawyers with a generous wage. Those in scheduled air transportation were the ones who received an an average salary of $17,885 per month. Lawyers working in Beer, Wine and Distilled Alcohol, were making around $17,125. Another nice paying industry is the Cable and Other Subscription Programming which had an average monthly wage of $16,272.
Here’s a look at the wages based on occupational industries:
In this stream of law, lawyers represent clients on cases ranging from traffic violations
to criminal felonies. In these situations, people may prove to the court that they cannot afford to pay the lawyer’s fees for legal proceedings. Typically, these kinds of lawyers are paid by the government as a regular employee or case by case, as needed by the state supreme court.
Even though trial cases and patent laws tend to provide the biggest payouts for corporate lawyer, not all lawyers pursue a corporate career. Public lawyers can make a respectable wage with the starting wage typically around $4,166 to well over $8,333 per month.
Wages Based On Location
Lawyers practicing law in house counsel or along the coasts tend to receive a significantly high wage than those practicing law in the mainland. When you’re working in the big cities like New York and Washington, wage are competitively higher than places like Alabama and Kentucky.
Here’s a breakdown of monthly average salaries for lawyers at law firms throughout various U.S. cities:
Coastal Cities
San Jose$17,000San Francisco$14,000Los Angeles$14,425New York City$13,438
If you’re fresh out of law school or even a veteran in the field, you might have considered starting your own law firm. Doing so allows you to create a wage based on as many hours as you want to work on complex issues and legal disputes. Of course, the demand for your legal services should also be factors in addition to your marketing plan and marketing success.
Nonetheless, starting your own legal service can see monthly wages ranging from ,978 to ,099 per month.
This incredible range may be due to the following factors:
While the upper paying salaries are are to get excited for, the amount of work required to receive it may not be as appealing. Many law firms hiring new lawyers can expect between 80 or 90 hours per week to show their dedication to their profession.
If you are unable to handle this kind of workload, seeking a lower-paying job within the other legal services industry may be more suitable.
The kind of work that will be required of you includes:
Advising clients (i.e. business transactions, claim liability, prosecutions or defense of lawsuits, legal rights and obligations)
Represent clients in court during summary cases to judges or juries
Collect and research evidence for defensive or offensive legal actions
Evaluate research and develop strategies and sound arguments to present in court
Analyze and interpret laws, rulings, regulations and other legal actions for individuals and business
Lawyers deal with situations where they must advise their clients on a specific course of action. They are responsible for the legal rights and responsibilities their client’s must take. In the business world, lawyers may provide counsel to corporate clients when making business transactions. As well as legal secretaries, there are lawyers attorneys who work in the legal system and represent their clients in court actions.
There is a wide range of work required from lawyers, from various legal documents to contract litigations, criminal cases to patent contracts. The amount of hours required from a lawyer will vary month to month. Working at a law firm, will provide you with a stable monthly income, as detailed above. However, if you’re a self-employed lawyer, your monthly wage is likely to change depending on the number of clients coming in.
Overall, working in the legal system is a time-sensitive environment with extreme working demands. There will be long hours and extensive research to prepare for court cases and client situations. All these factors lead to the wide differences in how much a lawyer makes per and how much money does legal assistant of a lawyer make a month.
Facebook has considerable potential for marketing and finding client referrals. With Facebook, you can build strong relationships between users and your legal services.
For your law firm, Facebook Ads allows you to put your law firm in front of people who may be in need of legal aid.
This article will take you through the steps of starting your first Facebook Ad campaign as well as a few strategies you can try.
Facebook Pages for Lawyers
If you haven’t done so already, you may want to consider creating a Facebook page for your law firm.
This is not a requirement to use Facebook Ads, however your Facebook Page can be used strategically to market your law firm.
Facebook pages allow you to create a community surrounding your legal services. Here you can showcase your latest law related blog posts and other promotional information to everyone who likes your page.
As well, you can use Facebook Ads to drive traffic and engagement to your page to boost your online presence and, reputation.
When you’re just getting started with Facebook pages, the best thing to do is grow your page organically to increase credibility and engagement before using Facebook Ads to achieve your goals.
For the remainder of this article, let’s focus on creating a Facebook Ad and how you can use it effectively for your law firm.
What Can Lawyers Do With Facebook Ads?
Facebook Ads is divided into 3 objectives:
Awareness. Use this objective to create interest in your law firm (i.e. online branding).
Consideration. Use this objective to get people thinking about your law firm and gain access to more information (i.e. articles, contact info, etc.).
Conversion. Use this objective to encourage people to contact your law firm to arrange a consultation or use your legal services.
The goal of your advertising campaign will be different depending on what you are trying to achieve.
If you’re looking to grow your online presence, creating awareness and consideration ads will be your best choices.
If you’re looking to get people to call your office and set up a consultation, creating conversion ads will help you achieve that.
Once you have determined the goal of your advertisement, it’s time to create your first Facebook ad.
Once you have set up your account, you’ll have access to the Ads Manager Dashboard. Here you can use Facebook’s Guided Creation to create your ad.
In this example, let’s look at how to set up a Facebook Ad to drive more traffic to your law firm’s website.
After selecting Traffic under the CONVERSION objective, scroll down to continue. You’ll notice an option to create a Split Test.
If you’re unfamiliar, a split test allows you to create two ads and test them to see which ad performs better.
With Split Testing, you can create different ads that target the same people, use the same ad to target different people, or experiment with different ad delivery methods.
Facebook provides all the analytic tools to measure the results. Depending on how you setup your budget, you can choose to split your budget to run both ads equally or let Facebook decide which is the better ad and use more of your budget.
WHERE TO SEND TRAFFIC
You’re in complete control of your Facebook Ads. When you’re setting up your ad, you can choose to send people who click on your ad to your website, a Facebook Page, or even Facebook Messenger to start a conversation right away.
Not sure where to send people who click on your Facebook Ad?
Try a landing page. Landing pages are single pages online that can be designed like your Facebook Ad with more details about your law firm, how to get in touch, or other information you want to provide.
[thrive_leads id=’702′]
DO YOU HAVE AN OFFER?
Sometimes, it can be an effective strategy to provide an special offer in your Facebook Ads.
This can be a free 30 minute consultation, reduced rates for a specific legal service, or something else related to your law firm.
Offers can be limited in time (i.e. offer ends November 15th) or amount (i.e. available only to the first 15 people).
The benefit of setting up a Facebook Ad with an offer is that people who see this ad can save it and receive notifications about it.
VARIABLES FOR YOUR FACEBOOK AD SPLIT TESTING
As mentioned before, split testing lets you control different variables relating to how your Facebook Ads will be viewed online.
There are 4 options:
Creative. Allows you to use all variables, 2 to 4.
Delivery Optimization. Allows you to choose how your ads are delivered. You can focus on getting Link Clicks, Landing Page Views, Impressions, or Daily Unique Reach.
Audience. Allows you to define two set of audiences to serve your ads to. You can choose Location, Age, Gender, Languages. As well, you can select some detailed targeting depending on people’s demographics, interests, or behaviors. As an example, divorce lawyers may want to target people between 25 to 35 as this is a common age when couples experience divorce.
Placement. Allows you to choose where your Facebook ads will be placed. Facebook has a range of advertising access. You can feature your ads on Facebook, Instagram, and their partner network. As well, you can choose to have your ads featured in people’s newsfeeds, side column and more.
Consider placing an eye catching ad in a new feed to drive traffic to your legal services.
Notice: Most Facebook Ads are charged based on Impression. This means, each time Facebook serves your ad, you’ll be charged. If you’re looking for a different advertising method, try Google Adwords for Lawyers. With Google, you can set up a pay-per-click ad campaign.
BUDGET & SCHEDULE
Once you have determined how your ads will be delivered, who your target audience will be, and where your ads will show up, you can set your budget.
With split testing, you can start with an even split then select to end the test early if one of your ads performs better than the other. This way, you can gain the most results from your Facebook Ad.
Start by naming your ad. Then, decide whether you will be connecting your Facebook Page to the ad or not. If you don’t have a Facebook page, be sure to click “Don’t Connect a Facebook Page.”
Next, choose the ad format you want to use.
The next step allows you to add photos to your ad. Facebook offers some Free Stock Images or you can upload your own.
Design Smart Lawyer Ads
Figuring out Facebook Ads can itself be difficult. However, creating an effective ad can be equally challenging.
There is no one design that will send people to their phones and to contact your law firm. This is where Facebook’s split testing allows you to create variations in your ad designs to see what works, and what doesn’t.
Here’s some sample ads to give you ideas for creating your own Facebook Ads:
When you’re satisfied with your ad design and have set up a billing account, you can create your ad and test the results.
Should You Use Facebook Ads?
Marketing your law firm using Facebook Ads provides you an opportunity to find client referrals and expand your legal services.
Although Facebook is used predominantly for entertainment and staying connected with friends and family, it can be used to reach new people, build your online presence, and give access to legal services.
Facebook ads are just one way of marketing your law firm. You may also want to give Google Adwords a try.
The benefit of setting up a Facebook Ad with an offer is that people who see this ad can save it and receive notifications about it.
