Each year a number of new graduates eschew the more traditional firm route and decide to strike out on their own. Starting and sustaining your own practice can be a daunting process. You are responsible for finding clients, completing paperwork, finding an office space, and numerous other tasks that are required to successfully build a law practice from the ground up. Starting your own practice involves a lot of work and responsibility, but it can be rewarding. You are in charge of your own schedule, you are your own boss, and you have the ability to direct your own legal career.
In recent years, UMKC and other schools have decided to provide improved support to recent graduates interested in starting their own firms. They have realized that these recent graduates could use better direction and in particular, UMKC Law’s Solo and Small Firm Incubator is acting as a guiding hand. The Incubator, with assistance from The Missouri Bar and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Solo Practitioner/Small Firms committee, provides targeted and practical training to recent graduates starting their own solo or small firm practice. Even as a student, if you are looking to open your own practice, it is a good idea to start the conversation with the Incubator now.The Incubator offers affordable office space, an office assistant, and mentor attorneys that offer on-site guidance. The Incubator is located on 4747 Troost, and also serves the underserved area by providing pro bono and affordable legal services. If joining a preexisting law firm isn’t for you, be sure to visit UMKC Law’s Solo and Small Firm Incubator website for additional information on how to get started.
There are also three other resources you should consider looking into:
Finding an office space may be one of your foremost tasks. There are a variety of resources accessible to graduates who want to share office space with other attorneys. For example, check out the Missouri Bar’s section of Office Space and Sharing where attorneys can post their available office space.
When setting up your practice, check out the American Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Resource Center which has a lot of information and resources for solo lawyers and small firms. They have great information regarding how to manage your practice, get insurance, proposed policies and procedures for your firm, and much more.
Each summer Professor Luppino and Dean Suni teach Entrepreneurial Lawyering: Solo & Small Firm Practice that equips students with the skills necessary to suceed in a small law practice. The class also takes a trip to the Solo and Small Firm Conference hosted by the Missouri Bar. If you think you may be interested in going solo, make sure to check out this fantastic course.
Finally, on October 10, Professor Luppino will present “Negotiating Law Firm Formation,” Entrepreneurial Lawyering Practicum, the first in a series of six CLE workshops for solo and small firm practitioners. The workshop will be held in Room 4 at the law school, from 1:45 – 5:30 p.m, and will cost $90 for KCMBA members and $145 for non-members. To register for this CLE, contact Daniel McCarroll at mccarrolld@umkc.edu or at 816-235-1648.
You may feel like you are going out all alone, but there are plenty of resources and people at and associated with the law school who will help you get your start.
Tagged: job search strategy, professionalism, resources, solo practice, volunteer opportunities
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