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When it comes to starting a small business, a law practice is one of the least-expensive options. A computer and a clear space on the kitchen table are about all you need. Well, almost. There are a few other things. In this article, I will lay out what you need to start up a solo practice, plus a few nice-to-have extras. This is not a bare minimum, but I have left out things like registering an LLC or corporation ($160 in Minnesota), liability insurance (mine was $599 for my first year), and business cards and stationery (I don’t use stationery, but I buy my business cards from VistaPrint for $29.99/500).

The following purchases will get you through your first year, at least, but the hardware should last far longer. If you shop wisely, your hardware should last at least 5 years, if not longer.

Assuming you do not already have a computer, printer and internet connection, your startup costs would be just under $3,000, leaving some room for miscellaneous supplies. If you do already have a computer and printer, you can convert them to business use and save $1,248.99 or more.

Even better, your second year overhead will drop to $837.60, since you will already have all the hardware you will need.

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Okay, so you are comfortable with online privacy issues, you have spent some time on Wikipedia and Google learning about the “geek stuff,” and now you want to get going and market your law firm online. Obviously, you want to start with square one: a website. And a website is the logical next step in online marketing, so let’s get to it.

When I say “static website,” I mean a normal website: a set of web pages with content that rarely changes, and could be described accurately as a sort of dynamic business card and resume rolled into one. Many people will throw in a brochure-y article or two, but the bottom line is that a static website rarely changes. (A “dynamic website,” by contrast, could be a blog, wiki, or other frequently-updated website.)

A static website is online marketing 101. Every firm should have one, almost without exception. Most Americans have internet access in one form or another. Many will get referrals to more than one lawyer, who they will try to find online. The ones they find will get phone calls. The others probably will not.

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By now, most attorneys are at least thinking about marketing their practice online, if not doing it in some fashion already. But “online marketing” is a concept so vague it is completely unhelpful. Online marketing encompasses everything from websites to social networking sites to chat rooms. Much online marketing is similar to offline marketing, but some of it is very different.
LinkedIn
But whatever your comfort level–both with privacy and with technology–you can find a way to market your practice online. In this series of three posts, I will talk about privacy issues, the necessary technical know-how, and the major ways to market yourself and your practice online: websites, paid advertising, blogs, and social networks.

First, privacy and technical know-how.

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My wife commented yesterday that it has been a long time since she heard me complaining about my timekeeping and accounting software. It’s true. I hadn’t realized how much less frustration I have since I ditched Time Matters and Billing Matters Plus for good. Instead, I am using a combination of spreadsheets and simple but powerful accounting software.

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Free is better, and open source is superior. There are fantastic free and open source alternatives to the software lawyers use every day. Here are my top 5 most valuable free applications for lawyers:

1. OpenOffice.org

Office 2007 is pretty, but from a user perspective, it is an upgrade hardly worth the pricetag. Plus, Microsoft’s rejection of Open Document Format, which is becoming the world standard (and should be the courts’ standard, if they can de-Microsoft their thinking), is troubling. OpenOffice.org, or OOo, is a fantastic alternative. It is also in wide use worldwide, and sponsored by Sun Microsystems. This is a full replacement for Office, minus Outlook, and attorneys can make the switch and not look back. Among other things, OOo can save to .doc format, and makes it easier than ever to create PDF versions.

2. TrueCrypt

As I have said many times, encryption is no longer optional. Law firms that do not encrypt client data are risking lawsuits if and when client data is stolen. TrueCrypt is a serious piece of encryption software that makes encryption easy and convenient. My favorite feature is the ability to back up the encrypted container so that my backups are encrypted, as well.

3. AVG or Avast anti-virus

It is a bit eerie how much Norton and McAfee resemble the viruses they protect your computer in. Virus-like, they invade every nook and cranny of your operating system, bogging your computer down. Uninstall them and go with a free alternative that protects just as well and doesn’t slow you to a crawl.

4. GnuCash

Looking to move beyond your outdated accounting software? GnuCash is a double-entry accounting package that should do the trick just fine. If you like sending Quicken files to your accountant, you can do that, too will have to make do with printing out HTML reports (see comment, below).

5. UltraVNC

UltraVNC (and numerous other free VNC applications) lets you access your computer remotely from anywhere. Setup takes just a bit of knowhow, but once you are up and running, it is amazingly smooth. Best of all, you can access your computer using any VNC with any operating system for maximum versatility.

Finally, if you do use free, open-source software, support the project by donating.

I am going to be taking my first vacation since going solo this Friday, and I’m a bit nervous. About my cases, that is. Since I have no support staff, if something comes up (despite my careful preparation), there isn’t anyone who can pick up the slack. So I need to be able to check voicemail and make calls, check e-mail, keep up-to-date with my schedule, and have access to all of my files.

Also, we are going to be in Barcelona for a week, the most pickpocket-friendly city in Europe, so I would rather not bring along expensive toys, if I can avoid it. So the laptop needs to stay at home.

Here is what I came up with:

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If you got here from the CLE earlier today, I promised I would post the links to software, hardware, and services mentioned during the CLE. Here they are, after the jump.

Also, here is a previous post, “Learning to use your file system.” I touched briefly on this in the CLE, but 90% of what case management programs do as far as organizing documents, Windows, Mac, and Linux do better with nothing extra or special.

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If you arrived here before, during, or after my webcast CLE “Simplifying your life with technology: or, how I learned to stop worrying and love my computer,” welcome! SoloSmallTech is a law office technology website focussed on the needs of solo and small-firm attorneys. There are two parts: (1) this blog, and (2) the forum.

This blog contains a lot of great information. You can search past information by clicking on the categories or archives at right, or by searching. If you are new, try tips & tricks or the user guide to get an idea of what you will find here. You can leave comments to participate in discussions, as well. Let me know if you have additional tips, or if you disagree with what I say. Comments are moderated due to spam, so they may not appear immediately.

The forum is a place for you to discuss software, hardware, and technology generally, as it relates to your law office. The forum is public to read, but you do have to register to post. View the welcome message before posting. The forum is evolving into a great resource, especially for solo and small-firm lawyers looking for advice, shared experiences, and tips for streamlining their law offices. Since solo and small-firm attorneys are generally their own secretary, support staff, and IT section, the forum is a very useful place to share information and profit from one another’s experience. Join in on the discussion!

In addition to this blog, if you are looking to add some useful links to your bookmarks, I usually tag particularly useful links and add them to my del.icio.us page. If you aren’t hip with the latest Web 2.0, del.icio.us is a bookmark-sharing website. I like to use it to store useful links that I want to make sure not to lose track off. I also use my “blackberry” tag to keep track of my Blackberry’s homepage links.

Edit: Just after posting this, I discovered mobilicio.us, which lets you access del.icio.us from a mobile-friendly layout. Now I have my “blackberry” tag in mobilicio.us set as my homepage on my Blackberry, and I don’t have to see those annoying T-Mobile bookmarks that I can’t seem to get rid of. Very smooth.