A Successful Business Plan for Solo Law Firm

Introduction 

Starting a solo legal practice and being your own boss can bring you a sense of empowerment and freedom. The best source of referral for a solo practitioner is their clients themselves. Therefore, it is vital to make sure that your client gets the best legal experience from your side. To achieve this, there has to be a fool-proof business plan to project and promote your law expertise.

Hallmarks of Solo Legal Practice 

The benefits of starting an independent practice are numerous. While working for a senior lawyer, junior lawyers have to take up the case they are assigned to, even if it is not their niche. When a legal professional works on their own, they can choose the area of law they would prefer to work in. It would make the work less hectic and more enjoyable.

Read Also – Some basic tips for choosing the right law firm

Additionally, solo practitioners can lay down their own terms and conditions. They can adjust and change the work schedules without compromising their personal life. Moreover, they do not have to wait for long and take permission from senior lawyers for leaves.

Solid Business Plan to Skyrocket Solo Legal Practice

A business plan is an overall outline of a legal professional’s legal business that needs to be revised and modified continuously. As you create one, new ideas and strategies unfold. It aids in formulating a direction and control for the business. Moreover, updating the business plan will keep a proper check and balances and bolster productivity. The components of a business plan are as follows:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the most crucial part of the business plan. It summarizes what the legal solo practice is about, where it is heading, and the action plan for attaining that goal. It is written after the business plan is completed and highlights the legal practice’s key points.

The executive summary must be inclusive of a Mission Statement. It should reflect every facet of your niche area of legal practice. This will act as a summary of your objectives and goals. Additionally, you need to include the core values which your legal practice advocate for. It helps in making a deeper connection and trust-based relationship with the clients. Finally, the executive summary has to give an outline of what makes your legal practice different from other lawyers and why it stands ahead in the profession.

2. General Legal Practice Description

In the second most component, you need to reiterate your goals, objectives, ambitions, and your field of expertise. Mention the years of experience that you have in the legal field and what types of clients you serve. Besides, throwing light on the motivation of starting a solo legal practice can also be included. Most importantly, describe the vital factors or strong core strengths that will help you stand out. Furthermore, mention the physical office’s address and the type of legal entity that you are.

3. Market Analysis

A detailed Market Analysis will discuss the competitive landscape that you are part of. It will aid you in developing stronger strategies to attract potential clients to you. Analyzing the market will help you to stay on track. A well-formulated Market Analysis will have the following:

• Market description

  This will enable you to understand the current and potential size of the market your legal practice is in. It helps you identify the various trends in your legal niche, making it on top of the game. Employing these trends would bolster your growth in the field.

• Competitive Landscape

  Understand your direct and indirect competitors. Figure out their strong and weak points, try to understand the strategies they make use of. Compare their growth with your legal practice to realize where you stand in the legal practice. Find out the unserved market for your legal service and focus on that. Learn more about how the competitors sell their services, whom they represent, their pricing, and other specialties they offer to clients.

Analysing the market will help you discover the expected growth of the market and new data on which your time can be spent efficiently.

4. Marketing Strategies

 Marketing strategies form an integral part of the Business Plan. In order to formulate this accurately, you need to do a general market analysis. It will help you to set realistic goals and strategies. Compare your goals to your competitors and revise whenever necessary according to changing needs. You need to explain how you will solicit referrals from other legal professionals, as well as how you will reach out to potential clients.

Mention which marketing activities you will be resorting to promote your practice and how much you will charge. You can offer introductory rates to clients and later determine the price elasticity according to your expertise and experience. Reinstate what sets you apart as a solo legal practitioner and how best you will serve them. Throw light on your traits and other achievements. Define the impact your service will have on the clients.

5. Customer Analysis 

Identify the potential clients and discover their characteristics, geographic locations, income levels, and everything vital to your legal practice. Examine different ways in which client satisfaction can be improved. It is also essential to clearly understand the different revenue streams that can be generated from different clients. You can try to expand to any other field which is closely connected to your area of expertise.

6. Financial Plans

Financials should be the final part of your business plan. It must consist of a 12-month profit and loss projection, a projected balance sheet, and a break-even calculation. It is vital to list out financial assets and liabilities. A proper and well-thought plan on how much cash you need for the legal practice is vital. It will help you to predict any shortages that are possible in the future. As a result, you can cut out certain expenses or avail a loan when needed. Incorporate graphs and pie charts to lay out the proper financial plans.

Read Also – Guide to starting a solo practice law firm in India

Conclusion

The business plan must provide a clear overview of your legal practice. If you are going solo, a business plan will help you to set concrete goals. This will help you to be on track and will attract prospective clients.

 

Document Management: Not Just a ‘Record Keeping’ Method

Document Management is the management of documents in a way that makes the business more efficient. A document management system can be useful to keep track, manage and store documents, resulting in less use of paper. Additionally, it makes work simpler as the history of all the documents can be tracked easily by a simple search option.

Document management is related to digital asset management and is the best option to increase efficiency. The earliest electronic document management systems managed a limited number of file formats, but now with advancements in technology, all types of file formats can be managed. Furthermore, Document management systems (DMS) provide users with functions like storage, security, as well as indexing and retrieval capabilities.

Document Management- more than just Document Keeping

It is a common perception that document management is just keeping documents in an organized way. But, it is way more than that. The benefits of using a document management system for document keeping include:

• Less time for the same task: If it is easy to locate, update, and collaborate on documents with the help of a centralized system. Additionally, it reduces the time and cost required to accomplish tasks.
• Better security: A DMS offers security options that allow an individual to set up files according to required security needs. A security feature, especially in the legal profession, is very important while dealing with confidential information regarding clients and also intellectual property.
• Better Coordination: A centralized DMS stores all the documents in one place helps in connecting all the people working on the same project as the information can be shared easily leading to better teamwork for the accomplishment of a common goal.
• Environment-friendly: Every organization is now trying to be paperless, and a DMS helps by keeping records in an electronic form. Keeping documents stacked in separate rooms is a thing of the past now.

Selecting the right DMS

In order to have a full advantage and better document management experience, the right DMS needs to be chosen. It means considering the needs and preferences of the law firm as a whole. Some tips for selecting the right system for document management include:

• Determining the specific needs:
  

  One cannot buy the right thing unless the purpose to be satisfied is known. The assessment of an organization’s specific requirements will help choose the right DMS. The system should be able to handle all sorts of organizational needs. Especially, it needs to have easier navigation and search option to look for relevant information in no time.

• Look for a simpler User Interface:
  

  The DMS should offer an easy-to-use user interface (UI) that the entire staff can navigate easily. If the user interface is not easy to understand, users are never going to prefer it over traditional methods. Therefore, it is advisable to look for a system that’s simple to use just after some basic training.

• Integration with existing systems:
  

  The new DMS should integrate fully with the existing software systems. This way, lawyers don’t need to switch between systems for daily tasks. Also, this will make the work easier by integrating all the tasks.

• Manage Workflow:
  

  The best document management system will also act as a workflow management system. And, keep the projects moving forward smoothly. A legal professional has multiple cases going on at a time. Naturally, a perfect system will aid in keeping all the documents as required and will ensure a smooth workflow.

• Focus on Collaboration:
  

  The employees in an organization need to access files simultaneously from different places. They need to track revisions and other changes made in detail. So an efficient document management system will ensure that all the documents are freely available for reference but with proper security.

• Back up:
  

  Every professional needs to deal with a large amount of information, irrespective of the size of the business. Therefore, one should always choose a DMS that offers constant backups on secure servers. There should also be a recovery option whenever required.

Conclusion                          

With the advent of technology, people now wish to reduce their paper-based work. Furthermore, they also want to access their important documents from anywhere and at any time. There used to be a time when offices used to be flooded with file cabinets. But today, the traditional method has been removed with the help of a DMS that improves the accessibility of documents within the organization. Such systems have led to better productivity. Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that Document Management System is not Just for ‘Record-Keeping’ — There’s A Lot More To It.

 

Importance of time tracking for lawyers

The essence of TIME

Just like a river, that meanders along its journey, before its eventual rendezvous with the open water-body, time too moves in a similar staggering fashion, sometimes too quickly and sometimes hardly at all. For anyone embracing law as a profession, time is of great essence. The process of planning and managing the time devoted to something is called Time Management. Time Tracking aids in time management. However, time tracking, as a primary concern, is yet to arrest the attention of lawyers.

Whether you are a law firm—big or small, or a sole practitioner, proper planning and management could increase productivity and efficiency by leaps and bounds. The greatest drawback of malnourished time management is the wastage of billable hours.

Time Management and Time Tracking

So why are legal practitioners so ambivalent towards the concept of time tracking and management? The answer is quite simple actually, and that is the traditional outlook that is prevalent in the system. We are, sadly, a slave to our traditional concepts of looking at law as just an end of things, and not as a means to an end.

Billing the clients by the hour is one of the myriad ways of billing employed by law firms. Most law firms are yet to stop using ‘pen and paper’ for time tracking and time management. Some of the incessant difficulties of the ‘pen and paper’ way are:

• The paperwork involved is extremely cumbersome.
• They may not always be too accurate. Most firms require their lawyers to fill a ‘timesheet’. This sheet charts the time spent during work hours. Very often the lawyers fill the timesheet at the end of the day, or after many days. Naturally, the human mind is quite fickle and it is possible to forget exact details.
• The paperwork is prone to security risks. A host of reasons such as fire or water-spillage, etc., could be potential threats to such documentation.

Interested to embrace the digital life? Register now!

Since the legal profession is one of the oldest fields and is essentially a close-knit community, many legal practitioners and legal-houses squirm at the idea of embracing digitalization for the fear of security breaches and high costs. Seriously though, legal professionals often end up losing at least a third of their prime billable hours in their non-law related endeavors. Expertise in the law is an essential characteristic of legal professionals. Their forte is not in performing administrative work. Pursuits towards embellishing their legal knowledge would be far more rewarding.

Yet, when such hours are spent on fulfilling administrative tasks, it really begs the question—what is the value of time? A survey by Thomson Reuters concluded that a major chunk of the billable hours of the lawyers in a law firm, are spent on non-lawyer work. Additionally, a smart legal tech platform can handle a major chunk of this non-legal work.

Moreover, a lot of the lawyers’ time could be freed up, and they could focus all their effort on making their hours more billable. An inability to embrace technological alternatives to rudimentary methods is clearly a handicap.  A great deal of time is wasted in assimilating the data. A lot more time is wasted during the attempts at the collation of the data in the future.

Why go digital?

As professionals, lawyers charge the clients for the opinions solicited as well, and that would entail opinions solicited through emails, phone calls, text messages, and the like. As a concept though, time tracking and time management is extremely important for everyone. However, it is extremely vital for professions where billing is made on a ‘per hour’ basis. The most commonly preferred method of billing is in fact, the ‘per hour’ basis. It may be a common circumstance where a quick opinion would hardly take more than 10-15 minutes of your time, yet such a time too is totally billable. In a day with a jam-packed schedule, it is not often possible to keep a track of the exact minute spent in discharging professional duties, which is why there is, all the more a need to go digital.

Take a digital leap of faith. Try Legodesk for free!!!

It is needless to say that automated time tracking is the next big thing. A cloud-based platform is effective time management and time tracking tool, which effectively banishes all fears and tedium associated with manual time tracking.

• The paperwork involved is substantially reduced. This, in turn, induces a lot of free open spaces in the office. There is such a space crunch in today’s world. Moreover, all of this free space can help store other important papers, documents, and books.
• It is less dreary to maintain. Rather than browsing through pages of information, it is extremely convenient to collate as well as backtrack information. All of this technology would be at the mercy of a keyboard button or a mouse click. Bills raising, (which is often done quarterly, half-yearly, or at the end of the year), would be much easier.
• With the right security measures in place, the data would be far more secure. Data stored on the cloud could be far more secure. The data would not be susceptible to damage by fire, water, (or quite simply lost at a café table or the subway).
• Engaging the time tracking and management tool as a virtual assistant could be possible. An assistant that reminds you about pending emails, or scheduled meetings and/or conferences, or send automated invoices for billing the clients.

Scaling the Time Tracking Mountain

Practicing time management would only bring about a certain amount of discipline—in both professional as well as personal life.  Amidst the hustle and bustle of normal everyday life, it may seem like a tough ask to suddenly get up, pack up, and go digital! Obviously, this is not going to come to fruition overnight, but must be paced appropriately.

• At the onset, soak into the idea of time management, by taking stock of your daily routine, broadly, and bringing about a pattern in the same. Try to stick to a routine, and do not allow any diversions.
• Always remember that just as the value of money keeps changing according to time, similarly the value of your time keeps changing according to how well you are able to manage the same and make it rewarding and profitable.
• Cut out the foolscap! Minimize the employment of manual time tracking and management activities. Ease into digitalization. Use virtual time management tools to manage and track time. Invest in proper data security measures, since that will help you in the long run.

Inference

The concept of virtual time management is still fairly new, and we advise investing in a good time management tool in order to be ahead of the curve. Time management speaks of a certain amount of discipline which clients—present and future, may find extremely attractive and reassuring. You would finally not squander off your vital billable hours.

Incidentally, Legodesk is a cloud-based platform that offers a host of services focused on assisting the lives of the lawyers, such as keeping a track of cases, and important dates, uploading documents, tailor-made weekly, and daily alerts, virtual billing of clients, and the like.

 

Importance of GDPR Compliance Platforms for Law Firms

The GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adopted in April 2016, succeeded the erstwhile Data Protection Directive (DPD) of 1995 and became enforceable as of 25th May 2018. This Regulation harmonizes the data privacy laws among its member nations. It aims to protect personal data, in the course of such activities that would fall within the purview of Union law.

Advancement in time breeds advancement in technology and with the progress of time, the world is becoming increasingly transcendental. Virtual reality is becoming increasingly life-like. This theoretically boundless plane is scarcely comprehensible by all. Yet, it is fast becoming integral for the dawn of the new age.

The internet and the online cloud have greatly revolutionized our approach to most things. The sheer online traffic that the world generates daily is phenomenal. The internet witnesses the dissemination of an immense amount of uncombed data or raw information continuously. Hence, it is imperative to provide robust data protection and data privacy measures.

Certain principles that should ideally govern the processing of personal data are enshrined in Article 5 of the GDPR, and they are:-

• ‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency in the processing of data;
• ‘purpose limitation’ by collecting the data for legitimate and specific purposes;
• ‘data minimization’ by processing the data to the extent of the requirement and not more;
• ‘accuracy’ of the data, by keeping it up-to-date;
• ‘storage limitation’ by storing the data in a form that allows identification of the data subjects according to necessity;
• ‘integrity and confidentiality of the data by ensuring the security of the processed data;
• ‘accountability’ of the Controller.

Data processing should be in line with all the other tenets. The element of ‘Accountability’ is necessary to ensure that it is.

Data and Big Data

In fact, data is an indelible part of life. It does not matter whether it is reality or virtual reality—data pervades each and every boundary, and that is why it is extremely important to safeguard data, for if it were to slip into the wrong hands, it could compromise countries, economies— basically the world.

Today, big data has attained unprecedented significance. Big data or systematically analyzed data is worth an immense amount of money because there are people and organizations that are willing to pay almost anything for this wealth of knowledge. Having an intimate knowledge of the habits and behaviors of people; not to mention some of their most confidential information regarding birth, and education to name a few, would help anyone cater to extremely niche services, and that is what many organizations are looking for.

Impact of GDPR Compliance on Law Firms

Law firms are essentially like any other organization, save they offer legal services; and just like any other organization, people are the be-all and end-all of such firms. Of course, with the involvement of people, there will be the incidence of data. This data can be carefully combed into big data, or even if it is not, data in itself is a treasure trove of information that must be protected at all costs. Due to the sheer volume of data that a law firm generates, it is a potential target for data thievery and other cyber-attacks, and being GDPR compliant could help insure against such threats. Anyway, if your law firm processes personal data of people falling within the scope of Union law, it is imperative for the firm to be GDPR compliant.

The Internet plays a major role in today’s world. In such a world, it is important to invest in cyber-security measures. There is no special reason as to why a law firm must conform with the GDPR compliance platforms, save that since law firms often advocate about what is and what is not the law, it is only but prudent that the so-called ‘Watchmen of the Law’ comply with such societal wellness-driven laws. Moreover, being GDPR compliant would ameliorate and accentuate the creditworthiness of the firm beyond borders and onto a more macro-scenario.

Being GDPR complaint could also instill greater confidence in the people and/or organizations to approach the law firm to handle their legal affairs. Moreover, with the help of legal technology, law firms can be GDPR compliant by enforcing necessary measures. A watertight data protection measure would hold the consumer in greater stead.  Every consumer or customer feels reassured when his convenience is afforded the highest sort of importance.

Data Protection Measures in India

Legislature

Since it is not a part of the European Union, India is not a signatory to the GDPR. Yet, it can enact laws, along the lines of the GDPR. India, as a country is yet to promulgate a law that specifically caters to data protection, and while the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, is yet to be passed into an Act, the Government has, albeit many years earlier, had the intelligence to effect necessary amendments in the Information Technology Act, 2000, by way of Sections 43A and 72A.

Section 43A[1] commands a ‘body corporate’ to employ ‘reasonable security practices and procedures in order to ensure the safety and security of ‘sensitive personal data or information, and in the event of a failure to do so, to pay ‘compensation. Section 72A[2] enshrines the punishment for disclosure of information in breach of a lawful contract, which may be imprisonment for a term extending up to 3 years, or maybe a fine extending up to 5 lakh rupees, or both.

The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, (Rules), issued by the Central Government, under the aegis of Section 43A, proceeds further on the ideals sought to be advocated by the amended Section. Additional requirements that are similar in length and breadth to the GDPR and the DPD have been imposed on commercial and business entities in India.

Judiciary

The Indian Judiciary too contributed significantly towards improving the elements of data privacy and data protection in the country. The landmark verdict in Justice K.S Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Anr. v. Union of India vindicated the belief that India was inching closer towards a specific data protection legislation. The Apex Court had observed that the right to privacy was an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty as guaranteed under Article 21.  Thus, the right to privacy is protected as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.

This judgment has conjured newfound confidence in the sanctity of information in general and personal information in particular. This should put the country on the right path towards a more data-protective outlook, by ensuring GDPR compliance.

The Way Forward

Presently, the PDP Bill, 2019 is under consideration by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. 2020 was expected to be the dawn of the revised PDP Bill, but alas! Considering the current pandemic situation, however, it may take a while now.

Presently, India does not have a regulatory authority to implement the safeguard and protection of data. Prior to receiving assent, the PDP Bill is expected to envisage such a regulatory mechanism. Nonetheless, considering the worldwide importance of data and information, it is always prudent to be data compliant, and to function within the confines of not just the law, but also equity and morality; and no one reigns supreme over such requirements—not even law firms.

[1] Inserted by Act No. 10 of 2009 (w.e.f. 27.10.2009), Sec.22.

[2] Inserted by Act No. 10 of 2009 (w.e.f. 27.10.2009), Sec.37.

 

A Beginners Guide to Legal Analytics

A for … Analytics?

The legal profession is the subject matter of great stereotypes. People often joke that a good lawyer knows the law, while a better lawyer knows the Judge. While this saying may seem to paint the legal profession in a negative light, it need not necessarily be so. Why is it, you ask? Well, we shall find out through this article.

Most of the law is codified. This implies that most of them are written down. Additionally, this means that law can be found in statutes and journals. Case laws, which form a vital cog in the arguments stage are also codified. Anything that is penned down, is easier to track and trace. Basically, being written down simplifies research.

Being a data-driven profession, sound legal research is extremely vital. It refers to looking up case laws and law provisions, which fit the point of law to be argued upon. Legal research, rather good legal research, is the first step towards a legal professional’s preparedness, but it is not enough.

Presently, as the world is becoming increasingly digital, it is needless to say that legal research may not be enough. While legal research would grant any lawyer the edge, legal analytics would surely provide the cutting edge. Sometimes, the existence of analytics or the lack thereof may dictate the difference between a positive and a negative verdict.

Knowledge is Power

We have to consider that legal research tools are available at large. The only way to beat the competition, therefore, is to have that extra something. Legal analytics is nothing but accelerated or transcended legal research. It is the analysis of the data lurking within the field of law. Analysis of data results in Big Data.

Analytics tools help normal data, which is pretty basic information, mature into big data after being assimilated and collated. The power of analytics could help uncover data patterns which in turn would assist in strategizing. Mind matters and the first step to deliver a winning argument is to be confident about it in the head. Strategizing could help with that.

Legal data analytics uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology to sift through bytes of legal documents and establish intelligible patterns. These tools would reveal any decision patterns in similar cases, or in similar cases heard by such and such Judge. Knowledge regarding the quantum of damages awarded, or perhaps how evidence is heard would indeed become commonplace. Trends relating to various courtrooms, Judges, expert witnesses, can all be collated by implementing legal analytics. When we say “know the judge”, we refer to the outlook and mannerisms of the judge. This knowledge is free for all and can be a weapon in your arsenal.

Precisely, the nitty-gritty of advocacy would be readily available at the fingertips. As an advocate, you would revel at such advancements, for if knowledge is power, then you would now play God!

ABC’s of Legal Analytics

The basics of legal analytics encompass the following:

1. Knowledge of the temperament of the Judge/adjudicator

Temperament refers to the outlook or disposition. Knowledge of the Judge/adjudicator’s temperament would show how he has dealt with similar issues and points of arguments in the past. These tools could also help indicate whether and to what extent the adjudicator has a relief-oriented mind.

2. Knowledge about the pet-peeves of the Judge/adjudicator

Knowledge about the pet-peeves would tell you what to argue, what not to argue, and most importantly how to argue. This knowledge would help to strategize and steer clear of points of arguments that the adjudicator is not favorable towards. Additionally, you would be aware of mannerisms that the Judge endears or loathes.

3. Probability of receiving a favorable decision on a set of facts

Depending upon the probability of a favorable decision, one can divide the time and effort spent on preparing for arguments. Often, there may be multiple hearings on a given day. Paucity of time requires better marshaling of resources to every matter.

4. The estimated amount of damages on a set of facts

An estimate of the damages made payable or receivable in similar cases would illustrate the extent of the stakes involved. These estimations could help devise arguments accordingly. A more experienced counsel would have to engage for a more high stakes matter.

5. Knowledge of favorable local customs and rituals

An immersive knowledge of the local rituals and customs would only help reinforce your arguments. Favorable local customs and religious practices can influence the judicial mind in your favor.

6. Knowledge about clients, counsel, and solicitor firms

One of the most interesting elements of legal data analytics; this basically makes the profession an open book. Just as data could be found about Judges/adjudicators, the same is possible for clients, counsels, and organizations as well. The win/loss ratio of clients, counsels, and solicitor firms would be readily available. These tools could also help surmise the strengths and weaknesses of advocates.

7. Knowledge about costs and pricing

Every matter requires an investment of a considerable amount of time, money, and human effort. The tools of legal analytics could help define and determine the costs and pricing structure amongst competitors. Thus, law firms as well as independent counsels will be able to adopt a competitive yet rewarding price and costs model. Legal Analytics will also help in time management thereby allowing a seamless shift from non-billable work to billable work.

Beyond Legal Research?

Having reached so far, you may be wondering about the difference between legal research and legal analytics.

While the research focuses solely on case laws and law provisions, analytics dabbles with the factors influencing such laws and provisions. Analytics attempts to look beyond what is readily visible, and map what is scarcely visible. Moreover, digital tools like AI and Machine Learning would help derive the data at a much faster rate than manual techniques. Such tools can help discern legal language and relevant paragraphs from a plethora of judgments. This would save the hours spent in perusing pages of case laws in the hope of coming across something relevant.

Remember, good legal research is no doubt extremely valuable and acts as a foundation for good legal analytics. Legal analytics, however, adds several teeth to the tiger that is sound legal research, and therein lies all the difference. A lawyer is only as good as his research capabilities, and it is up to you to help mould people’s outlook towards this noble profession.

Today, a good lawyer knows the law, a better lawyer knows the Judge, but the best knows and applies analytics!