Law Practice Management

This is Part 2 of a 4 part series, How Do I Decide Where to Locate My Law Office?  We’ve looked at types of offices and practice areas in previous posts; now it’s time for you to do some detective work to determine where your potential clients are.  

Client Demographic Data

Sometimes it isn’t obvious where to find your target clients. You can get some assistance from your government in locating them, however.  Small Business Development Centers funded by your tax dollars provide free counseling to small businesses, including a law practice. The SBDC provides services relating to financial and business planning, marketing, and feasibility studies, among other matters. The SBDC will do marketing and demographic research for you based on the parameters you establish, for free. By way of example, the SBDC can help a wills, trusts and estates lawyer identify an office building close to the neighborhoods that have the highest number of married couples with small children and an annual family income in excess of $150,000. […]

Today’s Post, the final part of Debra L. Bruce’s 5 part series on figuring out the best location for your law practice, focuses on the home office + Office Hoteling. Part 4 addressed the executive suite, part 3 subleased space, part 2 shared office space and part 1 the home office.

Home Office + Office Hoteling

Pros:

1. Office hoteling packages allow you to work from a remote location most of the time.
2. You are able to maintain a business mailing address, a building directory listing and a phone line with reception services.

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This post is part 4 of a 5 part series by Debra L. Bruce on factors to consider in determining what kind of law office arrangement to have for your law practice.  Part 1 discussed the home office, Part 2 looked at shared office space and Part 3 considered subleased space.  Today Debra addresses the executive suite.

Executive Suite

Pros:

1. You have cost efficiencies of shared space, and a full-time receptionist to answer the phone and greet clients.
2. Office furniture may be included.
3. The term of your lease is not dependent on the term of any other tenant’s lease.
4. Professional management deals with most of the equipment maintenance, staff performance issues and problems with other tenants.
5. You have your own direct telephone line, and the receptionist answers with the name of your firm. […]

Today’s post is the 1st  in a 5 part series by Debra L. Bruce about the relative pros and cons in the decision about where you locate your  law practice.

Whether you are a new law grad or a seasoned attorney, you might be scratching your head about the best place to open up a new law office. Some of you are thinking: “That’s easy. I’m going to have a home office until I get enough clients to pay the rent somewhere else!”

That may be a good decision for many of you, but I hope you will make that decision based on a thorough analysis of your options. This series will discuss some of the available choices, along with factors to consider. Today’s post discusses the Home Office. […]