legal sole practitioners - guide me please

[sololaw]

Are you glad you did it? Are your PII premiums as bad as their reputations? Is the SRA governance side of things awful? How did you go about preparing the required business plan for the PII? Would you do it all over again or is it just not worth it? I think I've just about talked myself out of going down the solo law route - after initially being quite fired up to just take a risk and give it a go! Any advice will be very much appreciated. I'm a commercial lawyer by the way.

Very glad I did it, primarily for the work life balance. I would definitely do it again rather than stay full time in house, as I was before I set up on my own.
PI is expensive and the biggest stress each summer before renewal. My business plan for my first year was just my CV! Not sure they would be OK with that now, but I only had one client, and had no intention of finding any more in the short term at least, so no real plan. Now I pay around 6 or 7% of my fee income and as a sole pract, I can't see this reducing.
Have not found the SRA to be a problem, except this year when I converted to a limited company and my authorisation took a very long time. Don't forget the SRA fees though which are not insignificant.
Do you have any certain clients who will instruct you on startup? I have to say, i would not have started without that guarantee. The other thing to keep in mind is the run off cover, usually 2 years of your PI costs, which does put a lot Of people off.

Hi grape999, thanks so much for taking the time to reply. It's interesting that you mention the work/life balance - that's exactly what I'm trying to achieve! So it has worked for you then? That's good to hear. Yes, like you I think I will have an initial client & I also hope to get a few more on board fairly quick - few potentials in the pipeline. I really don't know what to estimate as my first year turnover though. I really can't predict it - it could be very low to start off. Is the 6 or 7 % you mention your PII fees? Are there additional SRA fees on top of prac certificate renewal? I was going to research run-off cover tomorrow - so will it amount to about 2 year's PII premium fees (payable over 6 years presumably) from retirement/company wind-up. I got a bit stressed out by the SRA governance matters after speaking to them on the phone - all about COLPs and COFAs - it just put me off! Thanks again - if you have any other thoughts/ideas to give me, please respond again - I found your reply really useful! P.S. Are you a green or red grape?

Am shortly going to be enjoying a red grape!
Yes, 6-7 is for PII cover. For run off, I have a feeling that you pay it in one go or maybe over a year if your broker agrees. I'd be surprised if they agree to payment over 6 years, but I'venot asked. I estimated a fairly low year 1 income, and got good terms as a result, and there is no 'come back' for exceeding the estimate. However, I guess if you go low, you need a business plan to reflect how it will increase, otherwise, you might not get offered any terms.
The SRA fees are worked out on a previous years income, some strange formula that is supposed to be fairer than before, and I think I pay a little under £1,000, so as I said, worth remembering. As a sole prac, you will be the COLP, COFA, not to mention the data protection officer, money laundering officer etc. You will write your name a fair few times on the various forms!
Let me know if you have any other ques, I was vey reliant on a friend who had setup before me when I took the plunge!