The week you hire, you become an employer — payroll, the Texas workers’ comp decision, EPLI exposure, and the benefits question. The setup list, in order.

No entity shields you from your own malpractice. What Texas firm structures actually protect, the repealed LLP insurance rule people still cite, and how entity choice interacts with coverage.

The operational checklist for opening a Texas law firm: entity, trust account, insurance, payroll, systems, in order, plus the traps that cost money.

Every hire changes your firm’s risk: payroll, workers’ comp, EPLI, benefits, limits. A headcount-by-headcount map from solo to five attorneys.

Accounting, payroll, HR, IT, benefits, insurance — the complete inventory of what a small law firm runs besides law, what cobbling it together costs, and the case for one curated back office.