Mrs Morshead said the hardest part of setting up on their own had been "getting everything done all at once".
"There's a lot of regulatory requirements to practice on your own," she said.
That included facing a panel of five Law Society practitioners, to be quizzed on their business plan and CVs.
Luckily, they got the go-ahead and are now fully ensconced in their Pukaki St offices. The pair have embraced the digital age, with a Facebook page and a website although the latter is still a "work in progress".
"We want to provide more information for the public about the various areas of law," said Mrs Morshead.
While it's still early days, both are confident the firm will succeed and grow.
"In a place like Rotorua the legal services market is an aging one," Mr Shaw said.
He said Rotorua had junior and senior lawyers but there was a "vacuum" at the mid level, a New Zealand-wide problem with lawyers heading off to practice overseas.
"We're in that middle band. We see a need going forward for Rotorua people to have practitioners [who are] able to serve them for the next 20 years."
Mrs Morshead said their previous employers had been supportive of the move, recognising both needed the challenge of running their own business.
She said many people weren't aware all lawyers "don't do everything for everyone all the time" and that if they had a specific need they should go to someone who dealt in that particular area.
"People don't have to stay with a lawyer just because mum and dad did."
Ros Morshead will be writing a fortnightly column in Tuesday's Rotorua Daily Post business pages.
