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 contracts; 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: $11,225 across 8 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 consultation and a signed engagement letter, 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 contracts
- 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 engagement letters.
- 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 and a signed engagement letter before any matter opens
- An IOLTA trust account for retainers and settlement funds, reconciled every month and kept apart from operating money
- 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
- Malpractice insurance in place before the first matter and an engagement letter signed for every client
Startup costs
What it will take to open the doors, funded from savings.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Malpractice insurance (professional liability, first year) | $2,000 |
| Case-management, e-signature and legal-research software (first year) | $600 |
| Home-office setup: computer, scanner, phone line and secure storage | $2,000 |
| Virtual office or coworking (first three months) | $1,750 |
| Bar dues, licensing and continuing legal education (first year) | $425 |
| Professional entity (PLLC or LLP), EIN and firm-name registration | $450 |
| Website and Google Business Profile | $0 |
| Working capital (first two months) | $4,000 |
| Total | $11,225 |
Typical range to start a law firm in the US: $5,350–$21,000. Your list is what you decided to spend — replace estimates with real quotes as you get them. Case-management, e-signature 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 with your practice areas and a consultation request form and walks you through your Google Business Profile — a designer typically charges $1,500 or more to build one.
Financial plan
The numbers below come from your own startup list and typical monthly costs for a 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: $465–$9,450 a month, before the owner's own pay.
At $15,000 in monthly sales, Calder & Reyes Law would clear $5,550–$14,535 a month before owner pay and tax, and recover the $11,225 startup budget in roughly 1–3 months.
| Cost | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Case management, legal research and e-signature (included with Zarla) | $50–$250 |
| Malpractice insurance | $85–$250 |
| Paralegal, assistant or virtual receptionist (once you hire) | $0–$5,000 |
| Virtual office, coworking or rent | $100–$2,500 |
| Marketing, bar-referral fees and networking | $100–$1,000 |
| Bar dues, continuing legal education and filing fees | $30–$150 |
| 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 — You must be a licensed attorney admitted to the bar in your state — a law degree, the bar exam and a character-and-fitness review. Practice in a second state and you need admission there too.
- Professional entity — A solo may practice as a sole proprietor in most states; if you form an entity, most states require a professional one — a PLLC, LLP or professional corporation — owned only by licensed attorneys, and non-lawyers generally can't share in its fees. Check your state bar's rules.
- IOLTA trust account — A separate client trust account for retainers and settlement funds, required in nearly every U.S. jurisdiction, with strict record-keeping rules — mishandling client money is the fastest way to lose your license.
- Malpractice insurance — Not required in most states, but a few require it or require you to tell clients if you don't carry it — and no sensible solo practices without it.
- Business registration and EIN — Register the entity and firm name with your state, get a free EIN, and check whether your city requires a general business license.
- Advertising and review rules — Your state bar regulates how you advertise, what you can call yourself and how you ask for reviews — read the 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 your PLLC or LLP with an EIN
- Open an IOLTA trust account and an operating account at a bank that handles both
- Buy malpractice insurance and set up cloud case-management software
- Write your engagement letter and set your fee model for each practice area
- 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