Solo Practitioners / Starting a Law Practice
The Knoxville Bar Association offers resources to help guide you through starting a practice. Find highlights and important tools, resources and services that you will use throughout your professional career to assist your clients and build your practice.
The KBA Can Help Increase Your Referral Network
Get advice from a Small Firm Law Practice Mentor
Join the Solo & Small Firm Practitioner Section
Make sure to take advantage of the services offered by the Knoxville Bar Association that can help you promote your law practice. Add your practice to the "Knoxville Law Firms" on www.knoxbar.org. Use www.knoxbar.org to provide potential clients with information about your practice 24/7! An online listing is a great way to promote your services to potential clients and other attorneys. Find out more on how to include your practice!
Not only can an online listing help build your referral network, joining a KBA Committee or Section provides you a great opportunity to come together with your colleagues to share insight and experience. View the Committees and Sections of the KBA to learn more. To join a committee or section, please contact Jonathan Guess at (865) 522-6522 or jguess@knoxbar.org Or volunteer to speak at a CLE seminar on a topic in your area of practice.
Build your client base by joining the KBA Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS). Customize your referrals! LRIS can help customize your panel listings so that you receive the best referrals possible. Get started with LRIS and let us help you build your practice. Learn more about joining LRIS. As a LRIS member you are also invited to participate in the Speakers Bureau. This is a great opportunity to become acquainted with local businesses and individuals in our community.
KBA Solo & Small Firm Section Resources
Beginning in 2002, the KBA Solo Practitioner & Small Firm has sponsored a continuing legal education program on how to set-up and maintain a law practice. Download the most recent version (2010) of the Solo & Small Firm checklist..
Solo & Small Firms Not Goin' It Alone
DICTA often has at least one article related to solo and small firms located in the section titled Solo & Small Firms Not Goin' It Alone. We’ve gathered DICTA articles from that section so you don’t have to dig through past issues!
Articles about Small Firm Law Office Management – Best Practice Tips
Introduction to Working Remotely- A Guide to Small Firm Practice (September 2017)
By Patrick Slaughter, LaFevor & Slaughter
Getting Started Setting Up a Paperless Office (October 2017)
By Patrick Slaughter, LaFevor & Slaughter
Communicating While Working Remotely (November 2017)
By Patrick Slaughter, LaFevor & Slaughter
Task Management and Billing Remotely (December 2017)
By Patrick Slaughter, LaFevor & Slaughter
Minimalism for Solo Practitioners, or, "What I Wish I'd Known When I First Set Up Solo Shop." (September 2018)
By Esther Roberts, Global Intellectual Property Asset Management, PLLC
Articles from the KBA about Growing Your Practice
Ignorance is Bliss: Confessions of a Guy on a Ladder (August 2013)
By Jesse D. Nelson, Law Office of Jesse D. Nelson, PLLC
Musing on Marketing in a Small Firm Environment (December 2013)
By Anne M. McKinney, Anne M. McKinney, P.C.
Marketing 101: Curing Visiobibliophobia and Making Networking Work for You (September 2013)
By Sarah C. Easter, The McKellar Law Firm, PLLC
Marketing for Small Firms and Solo Practitioners (September 2014)
By Shelley S. Breeding and Stephanie Prager, Breeding & Lodato, LLC
Hot Tub Lawyer Time Machine (Without the Hot Tub) (April 2014)
By William E. Maddox, Jr. LLC
Making A Living as a Lawyer: Reflections on the Past Provide Hope for the Future (April 2013)
By Edward G. (Tripp) White III, Law Offices of Edward G. White III
Articles About Unique Issues, Challenges & Resources
Knoxville's Largest Law Firm (May 2013)
By Wm. Gregory Hall, Jr., WG Hall Law PLLC
Alphabet Soup for Solos & Small Firms: Or, a Solo IP Practitioner’s Guide to Surviving & Thriving (June 2013)
By Esther R. Bell, Global Property Asset Management, PLLC
I Am My Own Paralegal: Tips for How to Survive Being A Solo Practitioner Without An Office Staff (October 2014)
By Kimberly R. Grace
To New Bar Members: You Already Have a Job (March 2014)
By William A. Slater
A Lesson from P.C.U. (January 2014)
By Edward G. (Tripp) White III, Law Offices of Edward G. White III
Solo in A Box (August 2014)
By Cynthia Richardson Wyrick, Ogle, Gass & Richardson, P.C.
Articles About Client Relations
Dealing with the Difficult Client (October 2013)
By Lucinda M. Albiston and Donna H. Smith, Albiston and Smith, PLLC
Dealing With Foreign Clients (June 2014)
By Charles Torres and Solange McDaniel, Torres Law Firm, PLLC
Resources When Just Starting Out Articles by Non-KBA Sources
Checklists / Templates
- Business Plan Template Lilys D. McCoy, Director Thomas Jefferson School of Law Center for Solo Practitioners
- Mini-Checklist for Trust Account Management Attorney at Work, Peggy Gruenke
- Start a Law Firm Guide My Shingle
- Young Lawyer Toolkit ABA YLD
Client Relations & Communication
- A Lawyer's Guide to Social Media Marketing Attorney at Work, Oct. 19, 2017
- ABA Updates Guidance on Client Electronic Communication Confidentiality, LegalTech News, May 2017
- How to Deliver Bad News to Your Client ABA GP Solo
- How to Dump That Dog of a Case ABA GP Solo
- The Art Of Client Communication: Avoid Legal Jargon; Give Sufficient Detail, But Don’t Drown Them In It Above the Law
- Interviewing a Prospective Client: Know What to Ask CEB Blog
Practice/Business Management
- Legal Trends Report CLIO
- Building a Successful Small Law Firm Thomson Reuters
- 5 Steps to Easy(ier) Legal Accounting CLIO
- War Chest for a New Solo Practice Attorney at Work, John Snyder
- How to Start Your Own Law Firm in the Virtual Office Era Thomson Reuters
- American Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Resource Center
- How to Start & Build a Law Practice Jay Foonberg
- Build It! The Law Firm Associate’s Guide to Business Development Attorney at Work
- This Week In Legal Tech: Exclusive Results Of A New Small-Firm Survey Above the Law, Robert Ambrogi
- More Exclusive Survey Results: How Small Law Firms Measure Success Law Sites Blog, Robert Ambrogi
- Four Things Resilient Lawyers Do Differently ABA Law Practice Today
- Should You Go Solo or Form a Partnership? Lawyerist
- My Risk of Getting Stiffed
Law Firm and Small Business Resources
- US Small Business Administration
- Financing Tips for Smaller Firms: Preparing to Meet your Banker ABA Law Practice Magazine
- ABA Legal Technology Buyer’s Guide
- ABA Practice / Case Management Software Chart for Solo/Small Firm
- Apps to Simplify Client Intake ABA Law Technology Today
- 3 Alternative Ways to Automate Client Intake with CLIO (from CLIO)
- Top 5 Apps for Litigators by Lauren Doucette
Ethics and Fees
- Good Lawyers Talk Money with Their Clients Attorney at Work, Sally Schmidt
- "Costing" Your Fees ABA Law Practice Magazine, Mark Robertson
- Five Ways to Receive Credit Card Payments Attorney at Work, Ruth Carter
- Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct ABA and the Bureau of National Affairs Ethics and Technology
Marketing and Social Media
- Breakout Law Firms Law Leaders Lab
- Five Questions to Ask Your SEO (info on selecting a search engine optimization consultant) ASPE-ROI.com
- Online Profiles: Presenting the Best Version of Yourself Attorney at Work, Sally Schmidt
- Keys to a Successful Law Firm Website MyCase
- Do-It-Yourself Marketing: Tips for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers ABA Law Practice Magazine
- The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers Ruth Carter
- Cultivating the Art of Effective Client Communications ABA Law Practice Magazine
- 50 Simple Ways You can Market Your Practice ABA Journal
- American Bar Association: Resources for Lawyers American Bar Association
- Change is Coming for Lawyer Advertising Ethics in Brief, Michael Crowley
- The X Factor: How to Differentiate Your Company in a Crowded Market Legaltech News
- Marketing Workbook My Shingle
- The Psychology of Small Law Firm Marketing ABA Law Practice Today
- Building Your Personal Brand San Diego Lawyer, Erik Nelson
- 5 Tactics to Build Trust on Your Website Attorney at Work
- Majority of Americans Likely To Hire a Lawyer Who's Active On Social Media Above the Law
- Building Your Book of Business (Content Curated by Doug Lytle) Special thanks to Will Marshall of UBM Law Group LLP for providing these resources
- What Can You Do to Respond to a Negative Online Review (Content Curated by David Majchrzak, Esq. & John Rodriguez, Esq.)
Blogs and Other Resources to Subscribe To and Follow:
- @LawPracticeTips (Facebook and Twitter)
- @LawFirmBusiness (Twitter)
- #lptoday (Facebook and Twitter)
Checklist for Opening a Law Office
Learn helpful tips about opening your own law office. Read More.
KBA Mentor for the Moment - Small Firm Practice Mentors
There are several KBA members available through the Mentor for the Moment program who can assist your questions regarding small firm law practices. Volunteer mentors serve to create a more cooperative and collegial Knoxville bar. They know the importance of getting advice from others who have experienced similar problems and frustrations in their law practice. Of course, the inquiring attorney ultimately exercises their own independent professional judgment on behalf of their clients, but the Mentor for the Moment program offers quick telephone access to the counsel of attorneys who have experience with, and knowledge of particular dilemmas and areas of practice.