Course · Interpersonal Skills
Starting a Law Firm
Decide honestly whether to start a practice, then plan it: market, regulation, numbers, systems, first clients and the first year.
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Many lawyers dream of their own firm, and the difference between those who build one that lasts and those who are overwhelmed within two years is rarely legal talent. It is the quality of the decision to start and of the preparation. This is the first course of the Legal Management series. It asks the honest questions first (why, and are you ready), then takes you through choosing a market and a position, the structure and the regulation that cannot be skipped (insurance, client money, identity checks, conflicts, data, complaints), the numbers (costs, income, break-even, cash flow and funding, with a Firm Break-Even Calculator), the setup of premises, technology and the five everyday systems, how to win the first clients within the professional rules and how to run the first year. It ends with a capstone in which you complete a plan for an invented lawyer. Rules differ by country, so the course teaches the questions and shows where to find your own answers.
The Curriculum
Should you start a firm? Motives, readiness, models and the first honest questions→
Motives, a readiness check, six practice models, the first regulatory questions and the real risk. Practice: Reason or Wish? and Which Model?
Your market and positioning: who you serve, what you offer and why they would choose you→
Focus over breadth, the client defined by problem, the alternatives, a value proposition, pricing position, testing demand and the name. Practice: Sharpen the Niche and Test the Idea.
Structure, regulation and risk: the foundations you cannot skip→
Structures and liability, insurance, client money, identity checks, conflicts, data, engagement terms and complaints, with a pre-launch checklist. Practice: Before the First Client and Client Money Decisions.
The numbers and the plan: costs, income, break-even, cash flow and funding→
Costs, income from hours, rate and realisation, the owner’s pay, break-even, cash flow versus profit, funding and scenarios. Practice: Fixed or Variable? and the Firm Break-Even Calculator.
Setting up: premises, technology, and the systems that run the firm→
Premises options, the technology stack, security basics, and the five systems every firm needs: intake, matters, time and billing, diary, closure. Practice: Premises Choice and Design the Intake.
Winning your first clients: referrals, visibility, the first conversation and the proposal→
Referral networks, visibility that works, advertising rules, the first conversation, the proposal, follow-up and saying no. Practice: Handle the Enquiry and Spot the Marketing Risk.
The first year and beyond: rhythm, the common failures, the first hire and wellbeing→
A weekly and monthly rhythm, the few numbers to watch, the common failures, the first hire, reviewing the plan and staying well. Practice: Which Failure? and Plan the Week.
Capstone: Capstone: a plan for a new firm, with numbers, rules and a first ninety days→
Position, readiness, regulation, budget and break-even, cash forecast, three scenarios, a ninety-day plan and a one-page plan with a failure plan.
What It Covers
“You will learn to decide with open eyes, to plan with real numbers and to start a practice that is lawful, safe and able to survive a bad month.”
- Seven modules and a capstone that follow a founder’s real sequence: decide, position, regulate, count, set up, win clients, run the first year.
- Honest about risk: a readiness check, a failure plan and a stress test of the plan with a quieter month.
- A working tool you keep using: the Firm Break-Even Calculator shows income, break-even hours, the rate you need and how long your cash lasts.
- Jurisdiction-neutral by design: it teaches the questions every regulator asks and where to find your own rules, instead of pretending that one country’s rules apply everywhere.
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Or give this as a giftOther Scrolls in This Chamber
Across the Table$15 →Interests, walk-away numbers, offers, trades, pressure tactics and professional limits, with practice rooms and calculators.
Cooling the Room$15 →How conflict escalates, mapping a dispute, de-escalation, hard conversations, choosing a process, mediation, power, culture and ethics, with practice mediations.
The Client Conversation$15 →Trust, the first meeting, fees and scope, updates in plain words, advice and decisions, bad news, boundaries and ethics, with practice meetings.Module 1 is free to try. Sign in, pass each module quiz and the course average, and your Certificate of Completion is emailed to you automatically. This course teaches method and technique with invented people and figures; it is general education, not legal advice, and professional rules differ from country to country.
Common questions
- Does it cover the rules of my country?
- No. Rules on who may own a firm, hold client money, advertise and be insured differ widely and change. The course teaches the questions to ask and how to find your regulator’s current rules.
- Is it only for solo lawyers?
- It is written with a solo or small start in mind, but the planning, the numbers and the systems apply to a partnership too.
- Do I need to be a lawyer?
- The course is about starting a regulated legal practice, so it assumes a path to being licensed. Others in legal business may find the planning, numbers and systems useful, but should check what their jurisdiction permits.
- Is it financial, tax or legal advice?
- No. It is general education using invented people and figures. Take advice from an accountant, an insurance broker and your regulator.
- How does it relate to other courses?
- It draws on Matter Economics and Pricing (fees), The Client Conversation (the first meeting), the Legal Engineer Program (systems) and Law and Cybersecurity (security). It leads into Hiring and Keeping People.
- How do I get the Certificate of Completion?
- Sign in, pass each module quiz and keep a course average of at least 75. The certificate is then issued and emailed to you automatically.
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