What Law School Didn’t Teach You: Starting a Law Firm

Law school didn’t teach you how to start a law firm. It can be rewarding but how do you create the law practice of your dreams? Many self employed lawyers learn by trial and error. Why buy an untried ladder to hang up your shingle when the TLA offers this program? We’ll help you learn from those of your colleagues who have not only done it, but have already been up and down the ladder in various contexts. Come and join our panel of entrepreneurial lawyers for a candid discussion on how they started their own firms and what they recommend for others, augmented by feedback and practical insights from an experienced solo/small firm start-up and administration consultant… including such topics as:

• Essentials when starting out to
• Gaining Financial Literacy
• Pricing yourself
• Specialization: should you or shouldn’t you?
• Choosing which experts / staff you need immediately
• Building your practice
• Long-term view – defining your goal(s) and being flexible
• Building a network – and working it
• Recognizing when you’ve reached a benchmark and managing growth
• Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
• Maintaining your Administrative Responsibilities with the Law Society and the CRA
• Communication with clients
• Fear of failure / fear of success
• Loneliness – how to avoid isolation
• The myth and reality of working less & what to expect in the first 5 years