Write an article based on this "Create an executive summary for your business plan. Write a description of your firm and the scope of services you will provide. Conduct market analysis. Outline your organizational structure and ownership information. Plan your market strategy and project your profits or losses. Consider including an appendix. Show your business plan to established lawyers."
Your executive summary describes the founding of your firm, where it's located, and the focus of its practice, as well as goals and objectives for the future. You also should include a mission statement explaining what your firm is all about and why you're doing what you're doing. For example, suppose you want to provide low-cost legal services to a struggling neighborhood. Your mission statement would include details about your commitment to the community and your desire to see its residents prosper. Your business description should include the nature of your business and the specific marketplace needs you are trying to satisfy.  Explain your competitive advantage, whether it comes from your reputation and expertise, friendly staff, or ideal location.  Your firm description also will include information on the ownership of your firm, how it is organized, and a brief summary of start-up costs. You'll want to include your assets, liabilities, and any existing funding or need for investment.  Discuss your services in detail, your prospective clients, and who you think will benefit from your expertise. You're a lawyer, but if you're opening your own law practice you're also a business owner. In addition to studying law itself, you need to study the area and find out how viable your plans are before you start your law practice.  The market analysis report in your business plan should summarize where you expect your clients to come from and how they will find you. In other words, you need to develop and describe a marketing strategy that will attract all of those ideal clients you identified. Use your market analysis to project your firm's growth over the next three to five years based on the success of your marketing strategy.  Since the practice of law is a highly regulated profession, make sure you include practice restrictions and professional regulations as a factor in your market analysis.  In addition to being a highly regulated profession, legal billing is an area in constant turmoil. It's important early on that you decide your firm's fee structure so you can have more confidence in your cashflow projections. If you plan on starting your practice as a sole practitioner, this might not be a very lengthy section of your business plan, but it still needs to be there.  What type of business entity you choose initially depends primarily on whether you intend to go it alone or want to start out with a partner. Your state's laws or rules of professional responsibility may include restrictions against attorneys partnering with non-entities. Keep in mind that some states don't allow attorneys to form LLCs or the like to shield themselves from personal liability. In this section of your business plan, you also may want to list the staff you plan on hiring, how much they will cost, and when you will expand your staff over time. For example, you may want to start out by hiring a paralegal part-time because you need someone who already knows basic court procedure and how to format a legal document. As the firm grows more established, you may be able to take on a couple of legal assistants who will need more training to be effective employees. The next section of your business plan needs to summarize all the important financial information, including analysis and projections for the next three to five years.  If financial planning is not your strong suit, consider working with a financial advisor to plan your practice's finances. Creditors and potential investors typically want to see projections at least five years out so they can assess the risk in providing money to you for your business. An appendix isn't necessary, but could be helpful especially if you are seeking funding. It would include documents such as your resume, credit history, licenses, and letters of recommendation. Call on some of the contacts you've made and ask them to read and critique your business plan. Their feedback can be crucial in developing a strong plan.