Resources Guide for Solo and Small Law Firms

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REPORT

FOREWORD

Starting a solo or small law firm practice is daunting, complicated, and not for the faint-hearted! Finding practical, up-to-date guidance on how to set up a law firm, how to develop a practice area, and how to find clients, while complying with the ethical rules can be difficult.

This resources guide is intended to help lawyers in that situation and has been a long time in the making. In 2011, the Small Law Firm Committee of the New York City Bar Association (“City Bar”) developed a Best Practices Report[1] that covered many of the issues included in this resources guide. It was highly acclaimed, and people referred to it often when helping lawyers new to solo and small firm practice launch their practices. Its biggest drawback was that as soon as it was completed, parts of it (most notably those related to technology and the obligations incumbent on all New York attorneys) were out of date.

The City Bar Small Law Firm Committee has worked hard to develop a resources guide that is both useful and easily updated. This guide is not definitive, but it provides a framework for understanding the issues, and relevant references to the original sources to help people get started in developing the answers they need. This volume is the work of many people who have contributed their time, thoughts, and experience as solos to providing guidance, and this guide would not have come about without them. We hope to continue to update this as appropriate and welcome your comments and suggestions about it.

Adam N. Weissman, Chair
Small Law Firm Committee (2023-2026)

Anne Wolfson, Chair
Small Law Firm Committee (2020-2023)

INTRODUCTION

Launching a new law practice is an exciting and transformative journey. Starting a small law firm requires navigating a range of new responsibilities, including business management, learning about technology, and marketing your services, among many other tasks. This resources guide began as a best practice report on starting and working in a small law firm, prepared by members of the Small Law Firm Committee at the New York City Bar Association. It has evolved into a practical list of resources to help those embarking on the journey of starting a new practice. All of us on the committee have gone through this process and as we have provided support and guidance to each other, our aim is to provide a helpful guidebook for others. This resources guide is organized to cover the many matters that you will need to consider in commencing and operating your law practice; many or most of these matters are ones that you never considered in law school. Since we decided to keep each area short, we at times will footnote or list more detailed sources of information that might be helpful for those of you who want to take a deeper dive into a certain area. We welcome suggestions on other topics or materials that this guide should cover or reference in future editions. One of the joys and challenges of practicing in the context of a small law firm is that you need to craft your own path, and we hope this guide will be a helpful companion. We envision this first edition as just the beginning, and our hope is that this resources guide grows and remains relevant over time.

Enjoy the journey!

Best Practices Sub-Committee Members:
Eve Guillergan (Co-Chair)
Diane Schottenstein (Co-Chair)
Joam Alisme
A. Nicole Campbell
Joan C. Lenihan
Daniel Pepitone

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