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-----Original Message-----
From: ********@********.com
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 10:07 AM
To:rjon@howtomakeitrain.com
We are inthe process of putting together a small firm, so do I state I'm a solo untilthat office is totally up and running? Right now, the marketing I'm doing is for that firm...meaning that I'mthe main rainmaker, and my partner is the one who will focus on back end. Howto proceed here?
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Response:
Technically, you can be a firm just by deciding you are afirm. From a liability standpoint itwould be a straight partnership with no formal operating agreement which couldbe a mess if you & your partner were to split up before taking care of thatbit of housekeeping. But I don't thinkyou'd be misleading anyone if you made reference to your "law firm"or even your "partner".
Andyou could parlay that into a pretty compelling marketing story when you'rehelping clients form their own business entities, and draft operating/shareholderagreements and all the things they never want to bother with until it's toolate. You could tell them you empathizewith the feelings of just wanting to get on with the business already, and thatyou & your partner even made that mistake yourselves when you first openedyour firm together. But that you cantell them from personal experience how much better you both felt and were ableto focus more energy on building the business once you got that housekeepingout of the way. Sort of gives you a wayto push your clients into doing the right thing without making it seem like youare judging them or making them wrong, if you know what I mean.
My partners & I operated How To Make It Rain on ahandshake for months in the beginning. Andit was really a relief to finally get everything down on paper, find out wherewe had been operating with some different assumptions, understandings, etc. andget them cleared-up. In my experiencewith my own clients back when I had an active business practice, many of themdelayed taking the step of formalizing everything out of fear that they maydiscover their partner is really on a completely different page. But once everything is clarified, thebusiness can really make progress because everyone can start rowing in the samedirection with confidence.
Anyway, I know this reply went beyond the scope of yourquestion but I hope it helps.
RJON
Helping Lawyers In Small Firms Make Alot More Money
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