Lawyers running their own books face the same three problems as every other professional service: S-corp election that nobody raised, retirement stacking that stopped at the 401(k), and (uniquely for lawyers) IOLTA trust accounting that's one bar audit away from a disaster. We do the tax + bookkeeping + trust-account discipline as one engagement.
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Lawyers come to us with three problems: S-corp election that should have been filed years ago, IOLTA compliance keeping them up at night, and (for contingency firms) income whiplash that destroys quarterly estimate planning.
"I left BigLaw to go solo. Year one I made $480K. My old firm's accountant filed everything on Schedule C. Two years later I learned about S-corp. I'm out $40K of savings I'll never get back."
Boutique litigation · year 3 · Apr 2026
"I have $2.1M in IOLTA right now across 80 client matters. My bookkeeper can't tell me where any specific client's funds are. State bar audit coming. I'm losing sleep."
Family law solo · $620K rev · Mar 2026
"I run a contingency-only practice. Some years are huge, some years are zero. My quarterly estimates are theater. April is either a refund or a heart attack."
Plaintiff attorney · year 8 · Feb 2026
Attorneys clearing $200K+ net almost always benefit from S-corp election. For a $500K-net solo practitioner, S-corp savings typically land $15K–$25K/yr. Reasonable comp benchmarked against state-bar attorney income data + practice-area + tenure. Documented + defensible.
Lawyers running trust accounts have state-bar-specific compliance requirements on top of the tax + GAAP layer. We coordinate the IOLTA bookkeeping in Kick (with sub-accounts per client matter) + reconciliation discipline that holds up under state-bar audit.
Contingency attorneys face two real questions: (1) when is revenue earned (judgment, settlement, payment)? and (2) which case costs should be capitalized vs. expensed? Most firms expense everything — wrong. Proper capitalization smooths income across years and lines up the tax with the work.
Multi-attorney firms running as partnerships need profit-share + capital-account + draws + guaranteed-payment structures that match the actual work being done. Most are using a structure that hasn't been re-modeled in 5+ years. We rebuild.
Attorneys are high-income candidates for retirement vehicle stacking. Solo 401(k) on the S-corp practice income, Cash Balance plan, mega-backdoor Roth — for a partner clearing $700K, $80K–$140K/yr of deferred-tax shelter is realistic. Most attorneys are at ~$23K (401(k) only).
Selling a law practice (book of business, name, goodwill) has its own tax-allocation rules. Personal goodwill vs. enterprise goodwill matters a lot — for cap-gains treatment vs. ordinary income. We model these 18–36 months before a sale or merger.
Late S-corp election filed, reasonable comp set at $185K, Solo 401(k) profit-share + Cash Balance plan opened. Year-one savings $22.4K, recurring annually, plus retirement vehicles now stacked properly.
IOLTA rebuilt in Kick with per-matter sub-accounting. Three years of reconciliation work completed. State bar audit conducted post-cleanup — zero findings. Bookkeeper trained on going-forward discipline.
Case-cost capitalization restructured (was expensing everything immediately, creating year-by-year income whiplash). Quarterly estimates rebuilt against rolling 3-year average. Income smoothing + correct deductibility = $28K saved in year-one tax.
3-year scope · S-corp + reasonable comp benchmarking · IOLTA reconciliation review · case-cost capitalization analysis · partnership-share structuring (multi-partner) · retirement stacking · ranked next-step list.
Solo attorneys under $300K net: Standard ($2.5K). Multi-partner firms or attorneys actively selling/merging a practice: Strategic ($10K).
Yes. We've supported clients through Texas State Bar audits and coordinated with attorneys in other states going through their bar's specific procedures. Trust-account compliance is a real risk for lawyers and we treat it as such.
Yes. Case-cost capitalization (Section 162 vs. capital treatment), IOLTA sub-accounting per client matter, contingency-revenue recognition timing. All standard parts of our law-firm engagements.
Yes. About half our attorney clients are out of state. Bar-specific compliance varies; the tax + bookkeeping framework is consistent.
Partnership engagement covers the firm. Each partner typically does their personal return separately, which can also run through us (bundle pricing). Or partners can keep their personal returns with their existing prep. We coordinate either way.
Bring last year's practice P&L, your IOLTA balance + matter count, and (if applicable) your partnership agreement. We'll quote the right tier and timeline before any work begins.
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