Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting A Law Firm (Part II)

When you spend time on $10 and $100 tasks, you take away from the time you could spend on $1,000 tasks.

If you are reading this, you might be searching for the right way to approach starting a law firm. This article won’t give you the perfect answer, but it’s a start. You can read about my other three suggestions in Part One.

Here are some more things I wish I’d known before I hung my shingle:

  1. Marketing Matters

When starting your firm, you will undoubtedly begin getting emails from marketing firms promising you high-ranking SEO, blog-writing services, and a shiny new website. Whenever these marketers hear you are a lawyer, they immediately 10x their prices. I’ve heard of lawyers being quoted upward of $20K for a website. I am not saying there isn’t value for some firms who pay this type of money for a web presence, but I am saying that bootstrapping lawyers needn’t spend this money on marketing.

I started my practice with no marketing budget. OK, I had enough to buy a domain with an email address, so I didn’t use my personal Gmail (yes, I’m judging you) and a website builder. During my first year of practice, I built and rebuilt my website; I do not recommend this, but hey, I had time. I barely had clients. As I grew my practice, I eventually hired a web designer to build my site for just over $1,000. It’s is also integrated with my CRM, Dubsado. My website is very informative, fun, and attractive (especially when compared to most lawyer sites). [Note: Please don’t ask me about my web designer; she no longer does websites.]

Don’t let an attractive website stop you from marketing. Here is a shortlist of things you can do for free to build your lawyer reputation:

  • Social Media — Pick one medium and go for it. Post consistently and share information that a potential client will find helpful. Have fun with it. I chose Instagram because I like it the best. #followme
  • Write, Speak, or Both — If you like writing, start writing a blog or contribute to an online publication. If you like speaking, start creating or finding opportunities to speak: a community center, your local bar association, or podcasts. You can always pitch ideas to get more exposure.
  • Network — This one is obvious. On Fridays, I block off time for Coffee During COVID, when I speak with aligned lawyers and professionals on a Zoom call. Hit me up if you’d like to chat! [Note: I may not take you up on a conversation if this offer snowballs.]

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  1. Record Your Systems And Processes

A system is a method for providing legal services to clients. Think of it as what value you give the client. Processes are how you do all the activities inside your law firm to provide that value. If you find yourself doing the same thing repeatedly, you must record the system and processes. For example, I have a written process to send standardized emails and Loom recordings for everyday interactions with potential and current clients, allowing me to respond efficiently to them.

  1. Assemble Your Team

Recording your systems and processes will make it easier to bring the right employees or contractors into your firm to serve as an administrative assistant, paralegal, operations director, or attorney. I have all four positions at my firm and have made sure that everyone knows in detail what she is supposed to do. Streamlining work allows us to quickly adapt to change, like adding a new member of the team or covering for someone on vacation.

I know far too many solo attorneys who do it all! They single-handedly fill the admin, paralegal, operations, and attorney roles for their firm. I have experienced exponential growth in the past year by hiring help and not doing everything myself. This may seem counterintuitive, but it works. When you spend time on $10 and $100 tasks, you take away from the time you could spend on $1,000 tasks.

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If you are still skeptical about hiring, I hear you. I didn’t assemble my Avengers until I had my fourth child one week before Austin shut down due to COVID-19 and my other three children were sent home for the rest of the school year. Fortunately, I hired an attorney to help me through my maternity leave, and she ended up continuing. (In the future, I will share my maternity leave story as a small firm owner.) My 2020 revenue was 2.6 times what I made in 2019. I have already generated over half of my 2020 revenue in the first four months of 2021. I credit this growth to not doing everything myself. Hiring help can work for you, too.

Please send constructive comments or questions to me at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com. I am always looking for topic suggestions!


Iffy Ibekwe is the principal attorney and founder of Ibekwe Law, PLLC. She is an estate planning attorney evangelist for intergenerational wealth transfer with effective wills and trusts. Iffy is writing her first book on culturally competent estate planning, available in 2022 (prayers up!). She graduated from The University of Texas School of Law and has practiced law for over 14 years. Iffy can be reached by email at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com, on her website, and on Instagram @thejustincaselawyer.