Starting a Law Firm in NC- The Checklist

Transcription

1 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Checklist In the following checklists, you ll find guideposts fo stating a law pactice in Noth Caolina. You can use the entie document fom stat to finish, o you can use only a single section. While the lists have numbes, thee is no need to wok them in chonological ode. Table of Contents Pat 1- Planning... 2 Pat 2- Building a Website... 3 Pat 3- Budgeting... 4 Pat 4- Establishing a Patneship... 5 Pat 5- Regulatoy Agencies... 6 Pat 6- Banking... 7 Pat 7- Office Space and Location... 8 Pat 8- Business Development... 9 Pat 9- Technology Pat 10-Funitue Pat 11- Office Systems Pat 12- Insuance If you have any questions about these checklists, o if you would like some additional assistance, you can each out to the Cente fo Pactice Management at the NC Ba Association at , o us at jbaffod@ncba.og

2 Pat 1- Planning Define you law office s mission Define you coe client Detemine you coe sevices Define the minimum amount of pay you need to take home to pay you pesonal bills Detemine evenue steams Detemine the amount of capital you need to open you business Select you business stuctue Daft a business plan Detemine you billing method Acquie a post office box Set up an account with USPS.com/ Stamps.com Detemine the date you e going to leave you cuent pactice Daft a esignation lette to you managing patne

3 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Checklist Pat 2- Building a Website Reseach business names on the Secetay of State s website to detemine availability of you business tade name Decide on with a fim name o tade name Registe a Domain Name Choose a website vendo who can povide o Hosting o Webpage Templates o Plugins/Widgets which will wok with you othe sevices (file shaing, client potals, secue ) Design you home page Ceate a page within you website fo each pactice aea Build a blog o an RSS Feed eade page Engage a tusted adviso to eview you webpage Add you home page URL to you business cads, you social media accounts, and you signatue

4 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Checklist Pat 3- Budgeting Detemine how much money you need to keep you office open fo the next 6 months consideing ent, softwae as a sevice fees, pesonnel costs, utility bills, maketing, and miscellaneous expenses Define you best evenue steams Detemine the best way to chage fo you highest/most fequently occuing matte types consideing length of epesentation, fequency of invoicing, and whethe you clients will epeatedly engage you law fim Detemine how many hous you will need to bill to meet you monthly expenditues Detemine how many non-billable hous will be dedicated to unning you law office Exploe vendos fo essential sevices (like law pactice management softwae) that chage monthly fees which will fit within you budget Puchase accounting softwae Set up a cash flow plan estimating when money will come in, and when bills ae due, accounting fo you pojected unning balance in you opeating account Take an accounting o financial liteacy couse Take a tust accounting couse Apply fo a business cedit cad and line of cedit fom you bank Set up a Law Pay o othe cedit cad pocessing account Calculate how much capital, if any, you need to seek fom a financial institution to get stated, taking into account the monthly cost of epaying any loans.

5 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Checklist Pat 4- Establishing a Patneship Ceate a patneship ageement Ceate a compensation plan Ceate a plan fo dissolving the patneship Define you business name Sign a patneship ageement Registe you patneship with the NC State Ba Registe you patneship with the Secetay of State List both patnes as signatoies on you bank accounts Based on you patneship ageement, detemine who should have o pimay esponsibility to hiing vendos, o paying bills, o woking in cetain pactice aeas, o ain making, and o administative duties. Ceate a disaste ecovey plan accounting fo the death o incapacitation of eithe membe of the patneship.

6 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Checklist Pat 5- Regulatoy Agencies Select an appopiate business stuctue and file with the Secetay of State Send Oiginal Aticles of Incopoation and any By-laws to the State Ba of Noth Caolina Compete the appopiate Pofessional Oganization fom listed on the State Ba website Complete the Application fo Tade Name fom on the State Ba website Registe fo a Pivilege License with the NC Depatment of Revenue Registe fo a Tax ID with the IRS and NC Depatment of Revenue

7 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Checklist Pat 6- Banking Set up you opeating account Set up an NC IOLTA account at an NC bank Set up online banking Registe fo a Tust Accounting CLE Download the Tust Accounting Handbook fom the State Ba website Apply fo fim cedit cads Acquie a safety deposit box Secue a line of cedit Set up a eminde system to help you keep tack of you econciliation schedule Obtain a Law Pay subsciption so that you may accept cedit cads Puchase accounting softwae Set up you law pactice management softwae to expot financial data to you accounting softwae Have a CPA eview you accounting softwae, you billing methods, and you collection plan

8 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Check List Pat 7- Office Space and Location Select a location in an aea which you ideal clients can easily access If not aleady installed, select and install ADA Accommodations like a wheelchai amp, and ailings in you bathoom Select the layout of you office including wiing fo phones, computes, chaging stations, etc. If this is you fist pactice, sign a lease of no moe than 6 months Ensue that you potential office is handicap accessible Puchase signage fo you office If office shaing, ensue that you office is aanged in such a way that clients will not assume you ae in a patneship

9 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Check List Pat 8- Business Development Develop a maketing plan fo the next 6 months Define you taget maket Develop goals and check points fo the next 6 months Hie a designe to ceate a logo Ceate pape poducts including stationay, business cads, and thank you notes Select advetising channels using a mix of online advetising, pint ads, TV, adio, billboads, chaitable donations, alumni events, and sponsoships Build you website, o hie a web design fim to design it Join civic and pofessional oganizations Send new fim announcements to send to potential clients and efeal souces

10 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Check List Pat 9- Technology Select hadwae fom laptops, desktops, tablets and phones Select pactice management softwae o sepaate pogams to addess time & billing, calendaing, conflict checking, matte management, and document poduction & assembly. Select vius potection softwae Detemine if you need, then puchase voice ecognition softwae Puchase specialized pactice softwae Select an intenet sevice povide Select standad o VoIP phone systems Select a cedit cad pocessing povide Detemine you data backup stategy Puchase a scanne Puchase a pinte Puchase a netwok solution if appopiate fo you office Detemine if you need then puchase an electonic postage machine Detemine if you need then puchase a copie Daft a technology plan

11 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Check List Pat 10-Funitue Puchase office funitue fo youself including a desk and pesonal filing solution Puchase office funitue fo you suppot staff Puchase filing cabinets lage enough to house pape copies of impotant documents fo you clients. If you plan on keeping had copies of files, have enough space fo 6 yeas of files. Conside puchasing a safe Puchase seating fo you clients- both in you office and the waiting aea Puchase a Kueg (o othe coffee make) and, o a wate dispense Puchase a micowave and a minifidge Puchase atwok fo you walls and shelves in you waiting aea

12 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Check List Pat 11- Office Systems Develop a policies and pocedues manual Select a filing system and naming conventions Develop o select the foms you ll use in you pactice including client intake, conflicts check, matte desciptions, and common document templates Ceate templates fo geneal coespondence, lettes of epesentation, nonengagement lettes, and client inteview foms. Define you bill collections policy Wite Standad Opeating Pocedues fo you back-up policy, client communication, client intake, and accounting pocedues.

13 Stating a Law Fim in NC- The Check List Pat 12- Insuance Select a pofessional liability caie Select a health insuance plan Obtain popety insuance Obtain life insuance Obtain disability insuance Obtain Business Disuption Insuance