Dr. Maya Thompson built a solid career as a podiatrist in Santa Barbara, working for a well-established medical group. But after years, she wanted more freedom to focus on sports medicine and serve her community in a more personal way.

By summer of 2025, she already planned to leave the medical group, set up her own podiatry clinic in California, and establish an online platform that educates people on the science behind footwear.

She reached out to Incorporation Attorney with great questions as she planned to open her own clinic by spring of 2026. Maya wanted to know when’s the best time to set up her private podiatry practice and wondered, “What if I want a creative brand name instead of something clinical?”

In this article, we’ll walk you through how we made sure Maya’s was building a compliant private practice—from the perfect timing of filing paperwork to creative branding and exploring an educational website project.

The First Step: Knowing the Right Business Entity for a Podiatry Clinic in CA

Maya came to us with several questions but, overall, her goal was to transition to private practice correctly according to the law. So, first, we explained to her immediately that California podiatry practices cannot form a general corporation or LLC.

Incorporating a podiatry clinic in California means she’s required to form a Professional Corporation (PC) under the CA Corporations Code § 13400-13410, also known as the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act.

This structure ensures that PCs remain compliant with the California Secretary of State and respective professional regulatory boards while providing key advantages:

  • Liability protections from business debts and contracts
  • Clear separation between personal and business finances
  • Professional credibility with banks, landlords, and patients

With clarity on which business entity she could choose, working out the rest of the crucial details that concerned Maya the most became clearer as well. That includes, among others, the timing of filing for incorporation, choosing a compliant business name, and making sure she’s not violating her employment contract.

Perfect Timing: Setting Up Private Podiatry Practice Ahead of Business Opening

More coming soon…