Forming a Solo Law Firm: Entity Choice, Registration, and Firm Naming Rules

PLLC, PC, or Sole Proprietorship: Confirm What Your State Actually Permits

Most states allow attorneys to form a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC), which provides liability protection for business debts — leases, vendor contracts, software subscriptions — while allowing pass-through taxation, though it does not protect you from your own malpractice liability, which only insurance does. Some states instead require or default to a Professional Corporation (PC or, in some states, a professional law corporation with a specific registration process). Practicing without any entity makes you a sole proprietor by default, with no separation between business and personal liability for anything other than malpractice, which is governed separately either way. Confirm which entity types your specific state bar and secretary of state actually permit for law firms before you file anything — this is one of the areas where assuming your state works like a neighboring state causes real rework.

The Formation Sequence: What Has to Happen Before What

Getting the order right saves you from redoing steps. First, confirm your entity type and firm name are both permitted under your state bar's rules — name approval sometimes has to happen before or alongside entity filing. Second, file your formation documents (Articles of Organization for a PLLC, Articles of Incorporation for a PC) with your secretary of state. Third, obtain an EIN from the IRS, which is free and typically issued immediately online. Fourth, register your firm with your state bar as a distinct step from your individual bar membership — many states require this and treat it separately from your personal license status. Fifth, open your IOLTA trust account and a separate operating account. Sixth, secure malpractice insurance before you take your first client, even in states where it isn't strictly mandatory.

Firm Naming Rules: What Most State Bars Actually Restrict

Law firm names are more regulated than ordinary business names because attorney advertising rules apply to them. Common restrictions across states: a name can't imply a partnership or multiple attorneys when the firm is a true solo practice, can't be misleading about the services offered or your credentials, and can't include a trade name that isn't clearly identified with a responsible attorney in some states. What's generally permitted: your own name ('Jane Smith Law' or 'The Law Office of Jane Smith'), and in many but not all states, descriptive trade names that don't imply false size or specialization claims. Read your specific state bar's advertising and firm-name rules before you commit to branding, print materials, or a domain name — a name that's fine in one state can require modification in another.

Registering With Your State Bar as a Firm, Not Just as an Individual Attorney

Individual bar admission and firm registration are frequently two separate administrative processes, and new solos sometimes miss the second one because they assume their personal license covers it. Requirements vary significantly: some states require a distinct firm registration with its own fee and renewal cycle, some require updating your individual bar profile with firm information rather than a separate filing, and some states with specific entity types (law corporations, in particular) require registration with the state bar itself, not just the secretary of state. Check your specific state bar's website for firm or entity registration requirements as a distinct checklist item from your individual license status — don't assume one filing covers both.

Getting the EIN and Bank Accounts Set Up Correctly

Once your entity is filed, get your EIN from the IRS directly at irs.gov at no cost — be wary of third-party sites that charge a fee for something the IRS provides free. With your EIN and formation documents in hand, open two separate accounts at minimum: an operating account for firm expenses and earned fees, and an IOLTA trust account for unearned client funds. Not every bank branch is set up to handle IOLTA accounts correctly, so call ahead and confirm the branch has experience with attorney trust accounts before you show up with paperwork — this is a common source of delay for new solos.

Formation Mistakes That Create Rework Later

The most common mistake is filing the entity before confirming the firm name is permitted, which means refiling if the bar objects. The second is treating firm bar registration as automatic once you're individually licensed, then discovering months later that a separate filing was required and is now overdue. The third is opening a single bank account and manually tracking which funds are trust versus operating in a spreadsheet — this works until it doesn't, and the failure mode is a commingling problem that's much harder to explain to a bar auditor than the ten minutes it takes to open a second account correctly from the start. A fourth, easy to overlook: forgetting to update your state bar profile with your new firm name and entity information once formation is complete, which can leave your official bar record out of sync with what's on your letterhead and website.

Take this further

RECOMMENDED TOOLS

Affiliate links: some links below are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. How this works

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS