Building a Solo Practice

The economics of hanging your own shingle. Malpractice insurance, client acquisition, and overhead.

Hanging your own shingle means running a small business where the product happens to be legal services. Success in solo practice correlates more strongly with marketing acumen than legal brilliance.

The Economics of Overhead

A solo practitioner must manage malpractice insurance, trust account software, case management platforms (e.g., Clio), and client acquisition costs (Google Ads for personal injury or family law).

Because solo attorneys do not have leverage (associates billing for them), revenue is strictly capped by the attorney's own hourly output and realization rate.