Starting Your Own Law Firm in 2025? Two Costly Mistakes to Avoid

Katie Barnard | It’s easy to fall prey to terms that could leave you without control over your most fundamental assets.
The post Starting Your Own Law Firm in 2025? Two Costly Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.

About one in three lawyers who leave their firms do so to start their own, according to Clio research. If hanging your own shingle is your resolution for 2025, it’s imperative to set up for success — and that starts with avoiding two of the most common mistakes in starting a law firm.

Two Common Startup Pitfalls

In the marketing realm, most law firms start with a logo and a website. If you are not experienced in sourcing these, it’s easy to fall prey to unfavorable terms that could leave you without control over your most fundamental assets.

Here are two major missteps to avoid.

1. Giving Away Your Logo

Your firm’s logo will be your fundamental visual identity, present on everything from business cards to correspondence with opposing counsel.

From ChatGPT to Canva, many tools are available to “DIY” your logo. These can be great for brainstorming ideas, but they should not be used for your official mark.

The problem: You might accidentally give up ownership of your firm’s mark.

Canva, for example, offers millions of design elements — some for free, some for a small monthly fee. But because these assets are available to everyone, you can’t “own” them. They cannot be trademarked, as Canva itself will tell you: “Unfortunately, you can’t use stock images and graphics on your design if you’re applying for a trademark. That’s because we can only grant you non-exclusive licenses on these elements … And for a logo to be trademarkable, all the elements on it should be exclusive to you.”

It’s not just the formality of trademark rights. If you have a logo created on Canva, there is nothing to stop another law firm from using your mark; there is nothing to stop a shady loan shark or the next tawdry app from using your mark. Without ownership of your logo, you have zero recourse for infringement.

WHAT TO DO:

Work with a designer who has experience creating professional services logos. Again, this is the foundation of your visual identity; it’s worth an investment to get it right. Get it in writing that your logo design is work for hire, and that all IP rights transfer to you upon payment.

2. Renting Your Website … Forever

Your website is your online front door for referrals, prospective clients and potential hires. (And given that more than one in three law firm clients starts their attorney search online, it’s a primary path for growing your startup law firm’s revenue.)

The website “rental” scenario happens in two ways:

Design-Build Model

A website company will host, design and update your website for a seemingly low monthly fee. Sometimes, this includes additional bells and whistles like search engine optimization and content.

The problem: In many of these arrangements, you do not own your website. This makes it very hard to leave, as they may own your URL (i.e., www.lawfirm.com) or the copyright to all of your content. If you want a new site, you have to start over with a new URL that has no Google goodwill; you have to write all new content; you may have to fight with them to take down the old one. (And have fun changing your email address everywhere.)

Proprietary Software

In this situation, the developer uses its own content management system (CMS), the software that runs and renders the website itself. Some of these are elegant, user-friendly programs that generate elegant, user-friendly websites. However, because they are proprietary to the company, only that company can manage or update the software. You can never hire another agency or freelancer to update your website; you are a hostage to their CMS.

WHAT TO DO:

As soon as you decide on your firm name, purchase your URL through a reputable source like Network Solutions, HostGator or GoDaddy. Then, take the time to find a website designer who prioritizes your ownership of the site itself and your ability to access and maintain it independently.

Ask about the CMS that will run your website. WordPress, for example, is used by 43% of all websites globally. It’s flexible enough to accommodate most firms’ design aesthetics but common enough that you can find someone to help you maintain the site if you ever split from your original designer. (The more tech-savvy lawyers may just seek YouTube tutorials for basic updates.)

As with your logo, insist on full ownership of your site through smart contract language. Take special caution with work-for-hire terms; typically, the IP rights for marketing projects revert to the client only after full payment for the project. With the never-ending design-build model, that could keep the IP rights with your vendor indefinitely. You are far better off purchasing your website outright, and many agencies will allow payment plans for startup firms.

To be sure, your startup law firm’s marketing to-do list doesn’t stop with a logo and a website. But starting out with clear ownership of your critical marketing assets will save you significant money and hassle later.

Image © iStockPhoto.com.