The Minimalist’s Guide to Starting Your Law Practice - Stage 1 (Open the Doors!)

Jul 30

The Minimalist’s Guide to Starting Your Law Practice

Stage One: Open Your Doors & Take Your First Client

Forget perfection.

Forget the perfect “branding.”

Forget spending $10k on a website before you’ve made a dime.

Here’s all you really need to be open for business:

✅ Active law license in good standing (goes without saying, right?)
✅ Name (don’t overthink this - it can just be your name for now)
✅ Bank accounts (operating and trust)
✅ Malpractice insurance (believe it or not, some states don’t require it, but this should be non-negotiable for yourself)
✅ General liability insurance (if you are meeting people in person or hosting live events - especially if you serve alcohol)

✅ Reliable computer + internet connection (laptop just fine for now)
✅ Phone (cell phone is fine; Google Voice or another online choice is optional)
✅ Professional email address with your firm name (cheap, easy, looks credible)
✅ Office/mailing address (physical location for receiving mail — can be virtual or shared)

✅ Tell people you’re open — friends, family, colleagues, referral partners
✅ Ask for clients or referrals directly — be explicit, don’t hint or assume people will send them
✅ Have a way to collect contact info (spreadsheet is just fine)

💡 That’s it. You don’t need a website, a fancy logo, the perfect brand colors, or a complicated marketing plan.

Stage One is about being legally compliant, reachable, and ready to take clients and payments.

Stage Two & Three are for growth — not for day one.

I’ll share more about those in the next post.

Angela Hayden