Can I practice law out of my home?

Question

I just graduated from law school and passed the bar. I live in Wisconsin. I want to practice law, but not necessarily for a firm. What steps do I have to take in order to open my own practice. I want to work from home until I have established a client base. Can I do that, or do I need an actual office? What other steps should I take? I know I should purchase some malpractice insurance, but other than that, I am in the dark about this.

Answer 1

Liability insurance for clients visiting your home; zoning laws and community covenants & restrictions to determine whether home offices are permitted where you live. These are your starting points.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You can set up a home office but you need to check the zoning laws to see if you can actually do all the client contact, and other things associated with actually practicing law from your home in your neighborhood. What you need to really think about is what kind of law you want to practice and how you are going to get clients. Adverstising will be essential and that is very expensive. Since you are completely raw malpractice insurance will be sky high for you. You absolutely need to get a good relationship with a few more experienced attorneys so you can get referrals and much needed advice. You will have to set up an IOLTA account , to put retainers, awards and other funds for your clients in. Plus you will need good office equipment, Westlaw accounts, etc. You will need a lot of money because you are probably going to take a loss initially. Honestly if you are dead set on going solo right out of law school, you should check around and find solo practicioners or firms that are renting out office space. Often a few solo's will share an office suite and even an office staff, even though they are not actually a firm. This will give not only an office to work out of, which will make you look more credible to potential clients, it will also give you a much needed support network so you won't have to use your malpractice insurance and can get referrals. The best advice is to try and get hired with a firm, or a government agency so you can learn what the actual practice of law and more importantly the business of law is really like, because law school does not prepare you for it at all, not even Trial Ad or Law Office Practice classes. Plus you will have income, so you can start getting out from under any loans you have. If you still want to go solo after two or three years, you will be in a much better position to suceed than if you jump in right after passing the bar.

Answer 3

You *can* do it. Should you? Only if you feel you can overcome the stigma of having potential clients knowing that you are practicing law out of your house. I would never pick a lawyer for myself who couldn't at least hang out a shingle at a remote site -- it reflects badly upon the ability of the lawyer to run an office, which shouldn't bear upon legal ability but does as a subjective matter.

Apart from that, here are a few tips:

1. Get a state and a local law/business license.
2. Get errors and omissions insurance.
3. Get office space with other attorneys in similar situations or in your local community's "business incubator" if you have to.
4. Get business cards and hand them out after networking gatherings.
5. Get active in your neighborhood organizations and civil clubs -- these are your potential paying clients!
6. Get a gig giving out free legal advice and information, like writing a legal news column for your local community paper or club newsletter.
7. Get a mentor: someone who has been in your shoes and who doesn't mind phone calls and emails when you need advice yourself.

Answer 4

I don't know the laws in Wisconsin or your particular area. You may have to obtain a business license, but as long as there are no zoning or deed restrictions against working out of your home, I don't think it would be a problem.