In
today’s
volatile
political
climate,
many
lawyers
are
finding
themselves
forced
to
start
a
firm
on
the
fly
—
either
due
to
a
clash
of
values
with
Biglaw or termination
from
government
service or
possibly
even
displacement
by
AI.
Regardless
of
the
reason,
these
suddenly
solos
don’t
have
the
luxury
of
months
of
planning
to
get
a
law
firm
up
and
running.
But
the
good
news
is
that
starting
a
firm
on
the
fly
doesn’t
mean
it
has
to
look
fly-by-night.
In
addition
to
a
computer
and
Internet
access,
here
are
six
indispensable
technology
tools,
that
cost
$20/month
or
less,
that
can
help
you
start
a
sleek
and
streamlined
practice
in
a
weekend.
1.
Self-Scheduling
Tools:
End
the
Email
Tennis
Match
Forever
Starting
out,
there’s
nothing
more
mission-critical
than
getting
the
word
out
to
as
many
contacts
as
possible.
And
while
a
bulk
email
announcement
is
a
good
start,
one-on-one
Zoom
calls
or
in-person
coffee
dates
are
more
likely
to
result
in
real
conversation
and
yield
real
business.
Yet
nothing
screams
“amateur
hour”
quite
like
the
coordination
email
dance:
“How
about
Tuesday
at
2?”
“Tuesday
doesn’t
work,
what
about
Wednesday
at
3?”
“Wednesday
I’m
in
court,
maybe
Thursday
morning?”
That’s
why
you
should
invest
in
a
calendaring
tool
like Calendly.com (free
–
$16/month)
or
AcuityScheduling.com
($16
–
$49/month).
These
products
let
you
set
your
availability
and
link
your
calendar
everywhere
(e.g., email
signature,
LinkedIn
profile,
website
footer)
so
contacts
book
themselves
without
a
single
coordination
email.
And
as
an
added
bonus,
you
look
like
you
have
your
act
together.
Down
the
line,
when
you’re
ready,
you
can
even
use
these
tools
for
paid
consultations
with
prospective
clients.
(Here’s
a video on
how
to
set
up
Calendly
for
free
and
paid
consults.)
2.
Payment
Processing:
Make
It
Stupid-Easy
for
Clients
to
Pay
Without
a
mechanism
for
accepting
payment,
your
new
firm
is
nothing
more
than
a
hobby
or
a
charity
(and
even
charities
have
GoFundMe
sites).
And
the
ability
to
accept
paper
checks
won’t
cut
it
in
an
age
where
the
vast
majority
of
clients
pay
bills
online.
Practice
management
platforms
like
Clio
or
MyCase
offer
integrated
payment
processors
—
but
if
you’re
too
overwhelmed
to
figure
out
which
one
to
pick,
you
can
opt
for LawPay.com as
a
stand-alone
product
but
Freshbooks,
Stripe,
Zelle,
or
even
Venmo
in
a
pinch
will
get
the
job
done.
As
for
processing
fees,
some
jurisdictions
allow
you
to
pass
these
costs
on
to
clients
but
starting
out,
you’re
better
off
eating
the
charges
as
a
cost
of
doing
business.
3.
Online
Presence:
Stop
Hiding
Behind
“Professional
Tradition”
These
days,
an
online
presence
—
more
so
than
a
brick
and
mortar
office
—
confirms
that
you’re
real.
But
you
don’t
need a
$10,000
website
as
proof.
Starting
out,
any
social
media
site,
whether
on
LinkedIn,
Instagram,
or
even
TikTok
will
suffice
if
you
can
stock
it
with
some
useful
content.
If
your
target
clients
favor
something
more
traditional,
you
can
throw
up
a
one-page
website
for
free
using Carrd.co.
The
site
is
easy
to
use
but
if
you
can’t
get
the
results
you
want,
you
can
enlist
a
contractor
from Fiverr.co to design
a
site
with
Carrd
for
under
$20.
4.
Communications
Tools:
Call
Me,
Maybe
Out
of
the
gate,
you’ll
need
a
way
to
communicate
with
clients.
But
in
today’s
world,
communicatons
aren’t
limited
to
the
phone.
You
can
opt
for
VOIP
(Voice
Over
IP)
platforms
like
Dialpad
or
RingCentral,
combined
voice
and
video
like
Zoom
or
GoogleMeet, CaseStatus.com for
texting,
and of
course,
good
old-fashioned
email.
So
long
as
your
engagement
agreement
makes
clear
to
clients
how
you’ll
communicate
with
them,
there’s
no
need
to
make
yourself
available
by
phone
24-7.
5.
E-Signature
Capability:
Kill
the
Print-Sign-Scan
Cycle
Forever
Nothing
kills
momentum
like
administrative
friction.
Your
client
is
ready
to
hire
you,
excited
about
moving
forward,
and
then
you
email
them
a
PDF
with
instructions
to
“print,
sign,
scan,
and
return.”
Half
won’t
have
access
to
a
printer.
The
other
half
will
let
the
document
sit
on
their
desk
for
a
week
while
they
figure
out
how
to
scan
it
back.
That’s
why
an
e-signature
platform
is
imperative.
You
can
start
with
the
e-signature
functions
baked
into
tools
you
already
use
like
Google
workspace,
Microsoft
365,
Adobe,
or
a
law
practice
management
platform.
6.
AI
Platform:
Your
Cyber
Workhorse
Perhaps
the
most
indispensable
tool
for
starting
a
law
firm
on
the
fly
is
one
that
wasn’t
available
even
three
short
years
ago:
generative
AI.
A
paid
version
of
a
general-purpose
AI
platform
—
ChatGPT,
Claude,
Gemini,
Perplexity, or NotebookLM
—
can
serve
as
your
cyber-paralegal,
marketing
assistant,
design
intern,
and
business
coach
rolled
into
one.
With
AI
at
your
fingertips,
you
can:
● Generate
marketing
content
(LinkedIn
posts,
press
releases,
client
alerts)
in
minutes.
● Draft
contracts,
engagement
agreements,
and
intake
forms
customized
to
your
practice.
● Create
placeholder
logos,
slogans,
or
website
copy
so
you
look
polished
from
day
one.
● Troubleshoot
tech
problems,
brainstorm
strategy,
and
even
role-play
client
interactions.
● Summarize
cases,
statutes,
or
regulatory
filings
while
you
handle
client
outreach.
Think
of
AI
not
as
a
gimmick
but
as
your
first
hire
—
your
proverbial
chef-cook-bottlewasher
that
works
24/7
that
never
sleeps,
never
bills
overtime,
and
never
complains
about
working
weekends.
Starting
a
law
firm
on
the
fly
is
never
ideal.
But
with
today’s
tech
tools,
you
can
launch
a
firm
that
looks
fly
right
out
of
the
gate
and
is
well
positioned
to
soar.
Carolyn
Elefant
is
one
of
the
country’s
most
recognized
advocates
for
solo
and
small
firm
lawyers.
She
founded
MyShingle.com
in
2002,
the
longest-running
blog
for
solo
practitioners,
where
she
has
published
thousands
of
articles,
resources,
and
guides
on
starting,
running,
and
growing
independent
law
practices.
She
is
the
author
of
Solo
by
Choice,
widely
regarded
as
the
definitive
handbook
for
launching
and
sustaining
a
law
practice,
and
has
spoken
at
countless
bar
events
and
legal
conferences
on
technology,
innovation,
and
regulatory
reform
that
impacts
solos
and
smalls.
Elefant
also
develops
practical
tools
like
the
AI
Teach-In
to
help
small
firms
adopt
AI
and
she
consistently
champions
reforms
to
level
the
playing
field
for
independent
lawyers.
Alongside
this
work,
she
runs
the
Law
Offices
of
Carolyn
Elefant,
a
national
energy
and
regulatory
practice
that
handles
selective
complex,
high-stakes
matters.