Back when I first considered starting my law firm nearly 25 years ago, I attended a bar-sponsored event where the speaker advised us that we’d need at least $30,000 on hand to get a law firm up and running, what with the need to find office space, hire a paralegal and receptionist and cover the cost of legal research  That price tag nearly dashed my plan to start a firm. Fast forward to today - and technology has either substantially reduced many of the startup costs that once existed (such as legal research, word processing tools and marketing) or replaced the need for staff with automation, online scheduling tools, and more.