Why is the growing public demand for legal services? Which of them are most in demand in Russia? How to open a law firm? These issues concern many specialists with a certain work experience. After all, they feel the demand of society for their services.
This market is steadily developing at the same time as the dynamism of the country's macroeconomics is growing. Indeed, at the beginning of this century, the lion's share of legal services was dictated by the demand for legal protection. Not much time has passed, but demand has not only doubled, but also significantly changed its focus.
Description of the Russian legal services market
The legal protection of individuals has significantly reduced its share due to increased legal literacy of the population. Legislation has become clearer, people have become more pragmatic. The transition period has ended. At the same time, due to the progress of society, individuals have increased the need for legal advice due to innovations in housing, land, and construction laws.
This can be assessed as a positive process, testifying to the growing legal literacy of the population. On the other hand, there are still problems of the insolvent demand of the population for legal services, as well as distrust of the legal system of the state. This fact slows down the dynamics of citizens' appeals for legal services.
The realities are such that, with the stagnation of the demand of individuals, the legal business today experiences a cumulative increasing demand due to the dynamics of requests from legal entities. Statistics note that companies are most interested in taxation, mergers and acquisitions, and economic disputes. For commercial firms, proper legal services are tantamount to increasing work efficiency, which is especially true for medium-sized businesses.
Regularly resort to the services of law firms, small and medium-sized businesses that do not have the appropriate staff. Five years ago, in the work of law firms, the practice of subscribing to such companies arose (on a paid basis).
It is carried out as the provision to the partner company of the agreed package of legal services for a month (legal outsourcing). Legal entrepreneurship has taken a new step in its development - in a certain segment of the market there has been a constant demand for legal services. That is why now more and more specialists are asking how to open a law firm.
Getting into business
Legal entrepreneurship is often organized by legal scholars with a certain length of employment and with certain practical skills. The staff of such firms is initially small, 1-3 people. It happens differently: the founder of a law firm acts as a net investor, hiring qualified personnel, including a manager.
This article is intentionally limited to considering the specifics of the first option: how to open a law firm with a limited investment resource.
Consider the step-by-step instructions for starting a small law firm in a metropolis. It should begin with the phased planning of the founding of the company, the stages of increasing its profitability and business development.The ideal case is when the founder has personal experience in the past as an employee of such an organization.
Rent
All costs should reflect a pre-developed business plan for a law firm. Firstly, it reflects the position of the investor in relation to the rental office. In our case, since investments are limited and the clientele is yet to be developed, they are looking for an office space not in the center, and a sleeping area is also suitable.
However, the place should be crowded, for example, in a shopping center. It is preferable that the metro is nearby. Rent on average will cost 1 thousand rubles per square meter. It is advisable to rent an area of at least twenty square meters. m
A pleasant surprise
The business plan of a law firm of a consulting nature does not include licensing costs. They simply do not exist. For similar legal practice in federal Law on Licensing separate types of activity ”the license is not defined. However, lawyers and notaries need it.
Registration of a legal entity
Next, you should deal with the registration of a legal entity. The simplest (in terms of design) organizational form of an LLC will require you to spend 3-4 weeks, but you can turn to specialists for help. In this case, you will have to pay an additional 4-5 thousand rubles. The result will be presented to you in 2 weeks.
Suppose we did not contact a specialized company. What should be done and in what order? In order to open a legal business in the form of an LLC on your own, you must prepare the relevant documents - founding passport data, an application for registration of an LLC of form P1101 with a protocol of the constituent assembly of the founders, the charter of the LLC indicating the name - full and abbreviated, registration of a legal address, fixing the rights and obligations of business participants . You should also correctly select the appropriate type of company activities (OKVED code).
Legal services for most legal non-law firms include verification of client documents, appropriate consultation, representation of client interests in administrative and economic courts, registration, liquidation, re-registration of legal entities.
In the case of self-preparation of documents, it will be necessary to pay the state duty (4 thousand rubles), pay a notary public for certification of the applicant’s signature (0.5-0.7 thousand rubles), make a stamp (0.5 thousand rubles).
The authorized capital of the LLC (at least 10 thousand rubles) is being formed. The business plan of the law firm, as we see, is not the most capital-intensive, despite the high profitability of this business.
Tax registration
The next step is tax registration. For this, the constituent documents of the LLC are transferred to the service tax authority. After their weekly review, the charter will be registered with the IFTS, a legal entity will be provided with a certificate of registration of a taxpayer number, an extract from the state register of legal entities, and a state license plate. When establishing a legal business, you should draw up a power of attorney of the IFTS for obtaining documents. A service bank is selected, a current account is opened in it.
Then the lawyer-entrepreneur writes a statement on the preferred simplified taxation option. Under the simplified tax system, two rates are provided: 6% for taxation of total income, 15% if the difference between income and expenses is taxed.
After the tax authority takes into account the newly formed law firm, it is registered with the bodies of the Goskomstat, the Pension Fund, and the Social Fund. insurance.
Interior
The peculiarity of the intellectual business involves sound furnishing, acquisition of office equipment, Internet connection and legal online services. An investment in furniture and office equipment in the amount of 50-60 thousand rubles will be required.
Stylish selection of furniture to a large extent forms the image of a law firm.Of course, you should not chase the emphasized high cost, but it is also undesirable to minimize it. According to social surveys, client expectations of a solid legal service are associated with an attentive and insightful lawyer sitting in a good-looking chair, set against a massive table. Mandatory safe. Worthy should be computer equipment. A client area should be furnished comfortably and non-poorly.
Equipment
At the end of our commentary on the question of how to open a law firm, we note that investment in the Internet and software is fundamentally important. For the licensed universal and legal special programs, the founder of the business should pay 30-40 thousand rubles.
Why is the last investment necessary, although it is sometimes not mentioned? The work of a lawyer is much more cost-effective when using centrally updated legal services. As a result, when you search for the necessary legal acts, you will spend less time. And time in business is equivalent to money.
Development dynamics
Sometimes the legal business starts a company in which only one person works. So enthusiasts start. At first, you have to work for 12-14 hours for 2-3 months. This is the only way to achieve a profitability of 15%, which requires a business plan of legal advice. You will have to work to the maximum with clients in the daytime, and with labor-intensive documents in the evening. After maintaining this rhythm for half a year, you can hire another lawyer.
Easier to start a business together or three. Be that as it may, the planning of the legal business must take into account its growth. The gradual involvement in the staff of the law firm of lawyers with “a name” of legal services in various fields of law is encouraged. Together with them, as a rule, customers come.
Parameters of a Successful Law Firm
Gradually increasing staff, the company turns into a law agency. We will present the business plan regarding the achieved real indicators of the current player in the legal services market:
- work in the legal services market - four years;
- investments in starting a business - two hundred and fifty thousand rubles;
- rent - forty thousand rubles. (office area - 40 m2);
- the number of employees is nine;
- annual income of thirteen million rubles .;
- annual profit - five million rubles.
Of course, in order to achieve such impressive results, novice entrepreneurial lawyers asking how to open their own legal office should work purposefully and successfully for five years.
Conclusion
Summing up the article, we will determine what factors stimulate the development of the legal business. The most important role belongs to advertising in the press and on television (it is effective, albeit expensive).
After a few months of work at a law firm, you will need a secretary to receive calls, make an appointment. To do this, you should hire an operator at home with your phone. If the lawyers are away (in court, when assessing the property), all calls will be switched to this phone (it is technically simple to carry out), returning to the office, the employees will go on direct telephone communication with clients.
The range of services can be increased through an affiliate network (realtor, auditor, lawyer specializing in criminal cases). This is real because it is mutually beneficial. Thus, the question of how to verify a legal entity will be resolved thoroughly and comprehensively. An in-depth approach will significantly improve the quality of work.
An accountant law firm hires outsourcing. Additional income (you will immediately notice it) will be received by the company after training and licensing specialists in the assessment of vehicles, industrial buildings and housing.
A successful marketing move is to outsource legal entities that do not have a lawyer on staff, that is, transferring them to package services with a monthly fixed payment.The cheapest package includes mainly consulting services, a package of the “classic” type (control and preparation of documents), the most expensive package involves the personal presence of employees of the law firm on ships and protection of the client's interests in economic and administrative disputes.
