Business plan
Sample plan · fictional businessA complete law firm business plan: Calder & Reyes Law
Raleigh, NC · Startup plan · a fictional law firm, written by the free generator from five answers
Executive summary
Calder & Reyes Law is a new law firm in Raleigh, NC offering family law: divorce, custody and support; estate planning: wills, trusts and powers of attorney; small-business formation and contract review; and flat-fee packages for uncontested matters. The model is a focused practice run on cloud tools from a low-overhead office, fees set per matter with retainers held in trust, and growth through referrals from clients and other attorneys.
Startup budget: $16,458 across 10 items, funded from savings. Target: $15,000 in monthly sales.
Twelve months from now, success looks like this: Ten new matters a month by month six, half referred by other attorneys, a flat-fee estate-planning package, and the trust account reconciled every month
Products and services
Calder & Reyes Law's core service is family law: divorce, custody and support. Every matter starts with a conflicts check and a consultation, runs on case-management software that tracks deadlines and billing, and is priced hourly with a retainer, as a flat fee or on contingency depending on the practice area.
- Family law: divorce, custody and support
- Estate planning: wills, trusts and powers of attorney
- Small-business formation and contract review
- Flat-fee packages for uncontested matters
Market analysis
The customers are people facing a divorce, a custody dispute or a death in the family who want a lawyer who returns calls, small-business owners who need an entity or a contract reviewed, and other attorneys who refer out matters they can't take.
- People going through a divorce or a custody dispute who want a lawyer who returns calls
- Parents and retirees who need a will, a trust or a power of attorney
- Small-business owners forming an LLC or reviewing a lease or a contract
- Other attorneys who refer out matters outside their practice area or where they have a conflict
Marketing strategy
Most customers will find Calder & Reyes Law on Google and through word of mouth — searching for a lawyer near them, or asking a friend or another attorney who to call. Reviews on the Google Business Profile collected within the state bar's rules, the bar's lawyer-referral service, and a website with practice areas and a request-a-consultation form turn that into signed clients.
- Google Business Profile and Google Maps — “family lawyer near me” and “estate planning attorney” plus your city
- Word of mouth and referrals from clients and from other attorneys
- Your state and local bar's lawyer-referral service
- Talks at community groups, libraries and small-business meetups on wills and business formation
- A website with your practice areas, attorney bio, reviews and a request-a-consultation form
Operations plan
The owner practices, markets and bills in year one, keeps the trust account reconciled every month, works from a home or virtual office, and hires a paralegal or a receptionist only when the caseload pays for one.
- A conflicts check before any matter opens, and the fee arrangement set out in writing where your state's rules require it
- A client trust account for retainers and settlement funds, reconciled every month and kept apart from operating money, with the records your state's rule says to keep
- Cloud case-management software for matters, deadlines, conflicts checks and billing
- A fee model per practice area — hourly with a retainer, a flat fee per matter, or contingency where it fits and within your state's schedule
- Malpractice insurance in place before the first matter, or the written disclosure your state requires if you go without
Startup costs
What it will take to open the doors, funded from savings.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Malpractice insurance (professional liability, first year) | $2,000 |
| Practice-management and legal-research software (first year) | $600 |
| Home-office setup: computer, scanner, phone line and secure storage | $1,500 |
| Virtual office or coworking (first three months) | $1,500 |
| Bar license fee for the first year | $336 |
| Professional entity, law-corporation registration and the state's first-year tax | $618 |
| Advertising review fee, where your state bar files advertisements | $75 |
| Registered agent, if you don't serve as your own | $125 |
| Website and Google Business Profile | $0 |
| Working capital (two months of the monthly lines) | $9,704 |
| Total | $16,458 |
Typical range to start a law firm in the US: $2,962–$34,052. Your list is what you decided to spend — replace estimates with real quotes as you get them. Practice-management and legal-research software (first year): Your Zarla plan includes consultation requests, invoicing and client management with the website — you'll still need case-management and legal-research software. Website and Google Business Profile: Your Zarla plan includes the website — a call button at the top, your practice areas and the area you serve, and a consultation request form — and walks you through your Google Business Profile.
Financial plan
The numbers below come from your own startup list and typical monthly costs for a solo law firm in the US. Insurance and software are the fixed costs; the reserve covers the months before retainers and referrals turn into steady income.
Typical monthly operating costs for a law firm: $359–$9,345 a month, before the owner's own pay.
At $15,000 in monthly sales, Calder & Reyes Law would clear $5,655–$14,641 a month before owner pay and tax, and recover the $16,458 startup budget in roughly 2–3 months.
| Cost | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Case management, legal research and e-signature (included with Zarla) | $50–$130 |
| Malpractice insurance | $42–$292 |
| Paralegal, assistant or virtual receptionist (once you hire) | $0–$5,241 |
| Virtual office, coworking or rent | $0–$2,000 |
| Marketing, bar-referral fees and networking | $100–$1,000 |
| Bar dues, continuing legal education and filing fees, spread by month | $10–$150 |
| Business owner's policy and cyber cover | $57–$232 |
| Phone, internet, bookkeeping and trust-account fees | $100–$300 |
US ranges for a small operation; replace with your own figures as you learn them. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.
Risks and honest downsides
Every law firm plan should say out loud what can go wrong. For Calder & Reyes Law, the real risks are:
- Income is lumpy at the start — retainers and referrals take months to build into a steady flow
- The day you open you're running a business, not just practicing law: marketing, billing, collections and trust accounting all land on you
- Trust-accounting mistakes and missed deadlines carry ethical and malpractice stakes far higher than most businesses
- Big firms and legal-services websites compete on brand and price; a solo wins on responsiveness, focus and trust
- Contingency and flat-fee work can mean months of unpaid effort before a matter pays
Licenses, permits and insurance
What Calder & Reyes Law needs before it can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.
- Bar admission — In the US you must be admitted to the bar of the state where you practice — a law degree, the bar exam and a character-and-fitness review. The exam application is $878 in California, $450 for an in-state student in Texas, $1,000 in Florida and $250 in New York, on the boards' own pages. Practice in a second state and you need admission there too.
- Who may own the firm — In California, Texas, Florida and New York a lawyer may not share legal fees with a non-lawyer or form a partnership with one to practice law (each state's Rule 5.4 or 5.04). The District of Columbia allows a non-lawyer partner under conditions set in writing; Arizona removed its Rule 5.4 in 2021 and licenses alternative business structures; Utah's sandbox is closed to new applicants. Check your state's rule before you take an investor.
- Professional entity — In the US a solo may practice as a sole proprietor; if you form an entity, the state's professional form applies — a Texas PLLC ($300), a California professional corporation ($100 plus $265 to register with the State Bar and the $800 minimum tax), a Florida professional association ($70) or LLC ($125), a New York PLLC ($200 plus publication). Check your state bar's rules.
- Client trust account — In the US every state above requires client money in a separate trust account: California's Rule 1.15 (records kept five years), the Texas Rule 1.14 (five years), Florida's Rule 5-1.1 (six years), New York's Rule 1.15 (seven years). Mishandling client money is the fastest way to lose your license.
- Malpractice insurance — In the US it is mandatory in Oregon ($3,500 a year through the bar's fund), and California's Rule 1.4.2 makes a lawyer without it tell each client in writing at engagement. Elsewhere it is your choice, and no sensible solo practices without it.
- Advertising and review rules — In the US your state bar regulates advertising: Florida files each advertisement 20 days before use ($150), Texas within 10 days of first use ($100); the California and New York pages read show no filing — nothing false or misleading, and in New York a responsible lawyer named. Florida's testimonial rule says a client review must be the client's actual experience, not drafted by the lawyer and not paid for. Read your state's rules before the website goes live.
Milestones: the next 30 days
The first month's to-do list for Calder & Reyes Law, in order:
- Confirm your bar admission is active and form the professional entity your state allows, with an EIN
- Open the client trust account and an operating account at a bank that handles both
- Buy malpractice insurance and set up cloud case-management software
- Set your fee model for each practice area, within your state's rules on written fee arrangements and contingency schedules
- Set up a free Google Business Profile and put your website live
- Tell twenty attorneys, former colleagues and classmates you're open and what you handle
- Register with your state and local bar's lawyer-referral service
- Take your first three matters, do them brilliantly and ask each client for a review within your bar's rules
Appendix: what a lender will ask for
This plan tells the story and shows the numbers. If you take it to a bank, expect to be asked for these documents as well:
- Two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement
- A month-by-month 12-month cash-flow projection that shows how long retainers take to become income
- Proof of bar admission, your entity registration and your malpractice certificate
- A pipeline of matters or referral commitments from other attorneys, with expected fees
- Any office lease or virtual-office agreement and quotes for equipment
- Your credit report and anything you can offer as collateral