Services · Starting the firm
Deciding to start a firm is the hard part. The paperwork after it is not hard, just long, unfamiliar, and easy to get slightly wrong in ways that cost money later: a missed registration, a tax account opened in the wrong order, a trust account that was never registered with the bar. You are a lawyer; the entity decision is yours. We take the details you give us, prepare every filing, submit them in the order the dependencies require, and hand you a complete binder.
Who this is for
What is included
A written guide to the professional entities your state allows for a law practice, what each requires, and what each costs to form and maintain. General information, so you can make the choice; we do not make it for you.
Formation documents prepared from the details you provide, filed with the secretary of state, with any publication requirement handled where it applies. You name the registered agent, yourself or a commercial agent you choose.
EIN, state tax accounts, local business registrations, and the professional-entity registrations your state bar or court requires, each filed once the one before it exists.
An operating or shareholder agreement template written for a law practice, which you complete and adopt. Operating and trust accounts opened at a bank that supports IOLTA in your state, with the trust account registered as your rules require.
How it works
Who is in the firm, which state, what practice, and what is already done. We send the decision guide and the complete filing checklist for your situation.
You tell us the entity, the name, the owners, and the registered agent. We come back with a flat fee for the filing package, with state fees listed separately.
We prepare every document from your details, you review and sign, and we file in dependency order. You see the status of each item as it moves.
A binder, digital and paper if you want it, with every filing, confirmation, and account detail, plus the calendar of renewals and annual reports.
On the platform
The software is a separate subscription and never required. Firms that use it get these handoffs out of the box.
Ask once. Clients upload from a phone, reminders run daily until each request is answered, and files land on the Case organized by request.
See the featureAnnounce the dates that matter, change a moved one once, and find out when your client is free, with no calendar accounts to connect.
See the featureSpeak with an expert
A short consultation, then a written scope and a number. No retainer, no long-term contract, and nothing starts until you approve it.
BetterDocket is not a law firm, a CPA firm, or an insurance agency, and nothing on this page is legal, tax, or insurance advice. Where a service requires a licensed professional, that work is performed by a licensed professional in your state, either on our team or through a partner we vet. Every engagement is scoped and quoted after a consultation.
No. We send a written guide to the professional entities your state allows for a law practice and what each involves, and you decide. If you want advice on the choice or a tailored agreement, engage a business attorney licensed in your state for that piece; we file whatever you decide.
No. BetterDocket is not a law firm. We prepare and file documents from the details you give us, the way a filing service does, and the legal decisions stay with you.
No. You name the registered agent on the filing: yourself at the firm's address, or a commercial registered agent you choose. We can point you to the options in your state.
Common. We check what exists against the checklist and file what is left. The quote covers only the remaining items.
We open it and register it as your state requires, and set up the books. Keeping it reconciled every month is the trust accounting service, which many new firms start at the same time.
The BetterDocket team delivers most of this work directly: the technology, web, and search work by the engineers who build the product, and the bookkeeping, tax, and payroll work by the CPA on our team. When a service requires a license we do not hold, or our team is at capacity, we bring in a vetted partner and stay your single point of contact.
Every engagement is scoped and quoted after a short consultation, and most are flat fees so you know the number before work starts. Ongoing services, such as bookkeeping or SEO, are quoted monthly with no long-term contract.
More in starting the firm
BetterDocket is not a law firm, a CPA firm, or an insurance agency, and nothing on this page is legal, tax, or insurance advice. Where a service requires a licensed professional, that work is performed by a licensed professional in your state, either on our team or through a partner we vet. Every engagement is scoped and quoted after a consultation.