This is a practical checklist, not legal or regulatory advice. The rules on firm names, advertising and client money differ by state and country, so check each step against your bar or regulator.
1. Settle the details everything else depends on
Your website, Google profile and directory listings all repeat the same few facts. Decide them once, before anything goes online, so you never have to chase old versions across the web.
- Firm name. Some jurisdictions restrict trade names for law firms. Confirm yours is allowed before you buy a domain or print anything.
- Address. Google only shows an address where you meet clients in person. A virtual office or mailbox address will not qualify.
- Phone number. Choose a number you will keep for years. Changing it later breaks every listing that carries it.
- Practice areas. List the matters you actually want. Each one becomes a page on your site and a service on your Google profile.
2. Register your domain and set up email
Buy the domain in an account your firm controls, not in a web designer’s account. Use email on that domain, such as you@yourfirm.com. A free email address on your letterhead makes a new firm look less established than it is.
3. Put up a simple website
A new firm does not need a large site. It needs a clear one. Most solo and small firms can launch with:
- A home page that says what you do, where, and how to reach you
- One page per practice area, written for clients rather than other lawyers
- An about page with your background and admissions
- A contact page with a form, your phone number and your office hours
- Whatever disclosures your jurisdiction requires: attorney advertising notices in many US states, or the SRA badge, complaints procedure and price information for solicitors in England and Wales
Make sure the site works on a phone, loads quickly and has a visible call button. Most people who search for a lawyer do it on their phone.
4. Create and verify your Google Business Profile
For many searches, your Google Business Profile is the first thing a client sees, before your website. Create it under your firm’s Google account, verify it, choose the most specific category you can (for example, “Family law attorney”), add your hours and practice areas, and link it to your website. Our Google Business Profile guide for lawyers goes through each setting.
5. Claim your directory listings
Clients and search engines both check that your details match across the web. Claim the listings that matter in your market: your bar association or law society directory, and the main legal directories where you practise. Use exactly the same name, address and phone number everywhere.
6. Decide how enquiries will be handled
Before your first enquiry arrives, decide where each one goes and who replies. Write down:
- Where calls go when you are in court or with a client
- Who reads website forms and chat messages, and how quickly they reply
- What happens to enquiries that arrive at night or at the weekend
- When you run a conflict check, and what you ask before you do
A simple, reliable process beats a clever one. Our article on where law firms lose enquiries covers the common gaps.
7. Plan how you will ask for reviews
Reviews help new firms more than almost anything else, because a new firm has no reputation yet. Ask satisfied clients at the end of a matter, with a direct link. Follow your jurisdiction’s rules on testimonials, and never offer anything in return for a review.
8. Set up measurement from day one
Add your site to Google Search Console so you can see which searches find you and whether your pages are indexed. Keep a simple record of where each new client came from. After a few months, that record tells you what to do more of.
The checklist
- Firm name confirmed under your jurisdiction’s rules
- Real office address and a long-term phone number
- Domain and email in an account your firm owns
- Simple website with one page per practice area
- Required disclosures on the site
- Google Business Profile created, verified and linked
- Bar or law society directory and key legal directories claimed
- Written intake process, including after hours
- Review request link ready to send
- Google Search Console set up