THIngs To BE on aLErT For as a smaLL FIrm praCTITIonEr
Solo & Small Firm Section
Chairs: Matthew Crist – Crist Legal | PA & Gian-Franco Melendez – Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez, LLC
peer-to-peer online
networking is rapidly
replacing traditional
phone-in searches,
Y
ou’ve taken the leap
and opened your
own firm. After the
congratulations and
accolades from your peers, now
comes the hard part: running an
actual functioning business. Here
are a series of simple suggestions
and things to watch out for as
you engage in this endeavor:
Hiring and Retaining Staff
It may at first seem impractical
financially to take on staff when
starting a small firm. No money is
initially coming in, and payroll has
to be made each month regardless.
If your practice has a significant
caseload and can handle bringing
on support personnel, invest in a
PEO, or Professional Employer
Organization. This entity runs
payroll for you and ensures you
are compliant with the IRS when
it comes to payroll deductions. But,
restrain the impulse to offer creative
compensation to say a veteran para -
legal in lieu of traditional salary and
benefits; Florida Bar Rule 4-5.4(a)
clearly prohibits sharing attorney’s
fees earned with non-lawyers.
Protecting your Firm’s Assets
As you no longer have the safety
net of a larger firm, malpractice
and may be the
difference to your
firm’s success.
insurance is one of the single most
maddening monthly expenses a
small firm has, but it is essential
to insulate yourself and your
firm from significant liability.
No matter what, there is always
a risk that your client will not be
happy with the outcome of the
case and be tempted to file a
complaint with the Florida Bar.
These things happen. Protect
yourself against that possibility and
invest in malpractice insurance.
Biting Off More Than
You Can Chew
Piggybacking off of the brief
mention of client retention, always
be careful straying outside of a
comfortable practice area. Legal
malpractice attorneys will advise
you that you are held to the
standard of a reasonable practicing
attorney in that field of law. If
you miss a deadline because you
incorrectly analyzed a statute you
weren’t familiar with, that will fall
on deaf ears with your malpractice
insurance carrier. If you are a
personal injury attorney but
looking to dip your toe into family
law, a suggestion is co-counseling
with an existing family law firm;
that firm may have resources to
expend, and guidance on how to
navigate a new area of law for you.
Cultivating your Image
Networking and client engage -
ment are essential to a small firm’s
growth. Reach out beyond just
legal networking mixers to local
professional association circles. The
connections and potential clients at
these events are sophisticated, and
much more likely to have fruitful
ends. To wit, your image on social
media will also be crucial. Invest
your time in your web presence
by creating a firm Facebook page, a
firm Twitter, and even an interactive
element to your firm’s webpage.
Peer-to-peer online networking
is rapidly replacing traditional
phone-in
searches, and
may be the
difference to
your firm’s
success.
Author: Trescot
Gear – Gear
Law, LLC
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64
JAN - FEB 2019
|
HCBA LAWYER