An increasing number of people are interested in moving to the United States to study, live or pursue a career. Consequently, there is an influx in immigration cases and immigration lawyers are high in demand. Immigration law is an area of law that involves complex legal requirements and regulations. For this reason, anyone who works in this field must have extensive legal knowledge.
Starting anything new can be overwhelming, and even though the idea of starting an immigration law practice may feel like a daunting task at first, if you have the right attitude and mindset, you might end up having the most rewarding experience in your career.
The most important thing is to know what you can expect from running an immigration law firm as you will be asked to handle many different immigration cases on a daily basis.
The article below will outline some of the most important things you should consider when trying to get off the ground in this area of law and build a successful firm.
Attract Clients
When starting your immigration law practice, you must have an effective system in place to attract new clients. The legal field is pretty competitive as there are more than 1.3 million lawyers in the US so you must figure out certain ways to make your practice stand out and bring more qualified leads through the door.
One of the best ways to attract new clients is to invest in the right tools and technology. It’s about having access to timely, secure data, and reliable systems. Implementing immigration software for attorneys, especially when handling heavy caseloads, will allow you to take advantage of automation opportunities and reduce manual effort and errors while streamlining workflow from start to finish.
This software solution can serve as a central hub for every piece of information and keep track of important data and details secure, organized, and consolidated. On top of that, it will help your team stay on the right track and focus on providing legal advice and counsel to your clients.
Hire a Good Team
Your employees are the lifeblood of your immigration law practice so you must make sure to hire employees who are licensed to practice law in your state. They must have the knowledge and experience to understand issues that arise in immigration cases and help clients get through the process more quickly.
As with any other business, hiring an employee can be costly and requires time for training before they can start working on immigration cases, especially if they are inexperienced or paralegals.
Set a Budget
Estimating your initial budget is a crucial step since overspending is a major cause of businesses failing in the early stages of working. If you have no experience in creating a budget, it’s easy to get started by considering your idea of what makes a successful business as you outline the range of what you plan on earning and spending.
Your biggest budget costs will be labor, whereas rent, internet, and phone are additional costs that you’ll be responsible for right away. Your job is to continually refer to your budget as you choose what to spend as additional costs.
Obtain Insurance
Even your immigration law practice needs insurance as a way to protect itself. There are several types of insurance coverages you can obtain, with liability, legal marketplace, and cyber liability insurance being the most common ones. In some states, the Bar might even mandate that you purchase malpractice or liability insurance.
The main purpose of these types of insurance is to protect yourself against alleged actions of malpractice, as well as any suits that may arise from misinterpretation of the law, poor counsel, missed deadlines, or conflict of interest. If you plan on hiring other employees in your immigration law practice, do your research and look around for employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), workers’ compensation, and directors and officers insurance (D&O).
Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
When starting a new immigration law firm, the first thing you should do as an immigration attorney is step out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges. This also means networking with other legal professionals and engaging with potential clients. You must be willing to take risks, adapt to uncomfortable situations, and learn new skills and all this will slowly help you chart a path to success.
Final Thoughts
Starting an immigration law firm requires a significant commitment and readiness to carefully plan in advance so you can set up and launch it successfully. Embracing the right technology, hiring good employees, and setting up a budget are just some things you should focus on that can help you along the way.
