Like many lawyers today, you might be feeling a call to go solo, to open your own office, and to build your own destiny. It’s a tough decision to make. And as those who make it know, there’s so much to do and so little time to do it, it’s hard to know where to start should you choose to set out on your own. To help guide your thinking, let’s take a look at the major expenses of opening a solo practice.

Technology has conspired with traditional attitudes to make many sole practitioners believe they truly can go it completely alone. The flexibility offered by word processing and billing software, voice mail, e-mail and other electronic tools is real. However, it can become dangerous when combined with the entrepreneur’s “I can manage 100 cases by myself ” mentality. In your solo practice, how often do you tell yourself the following?

A job in a small-town firm can seem like the consolation prize to a new call who yearns for the pay and prestige that come with an associate’s position at a big firm. But as speakers on a panel discussing small-town and rural firms told the CBA Mid-Winter Meeting of Council, starting small has its benefits, including mentorship, interesting work on a wide-range of files, and sometimes a contract provision that lets you take mornings off to ski.

Whether you’re a new call in a small firm, or a seasoned practitioner who’s just hung out a shingle, there are things you should know about taxes that you might not have learned in school or in a larger firm. James Careless offers up some tips for giving the tax man everything he wants the first time.

When a practitioner in a large firm wants to retire, he or she looks around to see who is best suited to take over the files and closes the door on the way out. When a solo or small practitioner wants to retire, it quite often means selling your practice – and buyers might not be lining up at the door for those outside the big centres, writes Becky Rynor.

Client relationship management is important. But CRM programs often end up running out of steam.

Advertise widely and wisely for maximum effect.

When a lawyer with a large firm decides it's time to close up shop, much of the stress associated with the change—such as the massive task of packing up of an entire practice—is offset by the fact that his or her associates and partners can usually take the reigns in a reasonably timely fashion.

Web-based file archiving and data sharing solutions can increase productivity while adding peace of mind

Taking a vacation is so much more complicated than just not going to work — particularly for solo practitioners and lawyers in small firms. What if something big comes up? Who will keep an eye on things? And how can you afford it? The better question really is can you afford not to take a break? Becky Rynor has some tips and tales from the legal trenches.