Aug. 19, 2009 – The fourth Annual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference, Oct. 29 -31, will offer more than 32 education and training sessions in four different tracks and plenary sessions. Regional, local, and national speakers will provide useful tips about the latest technology, and valuable ways to manage your practice, avoid malpractice, build client relationships, and deal with real-world issues that affect you every day.
Thursday, Oct. 29
New this year, is a special 2 ½-hour pre-conference program titled “How to Survive and Thrive in a Down Economy.” Dustin Cole will bring his 35 years of business development and business management to this special presentation. Cole will discuss what to avoid during the downturn, the biggest threats to your future, and key principles to a successful legal business.
Starting a new practice? Learn what some past attendees had to say about the value of the event.
The conference begins at 12:45 p.m. with “Building the Perfect Client Centered Practice,” presented by Jim Calloway, director of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Management Assistance Program.
Afternoon program tracks include:
- Recognizing the Elder and Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect and What To do About It
- Hanging Your Own Shingle and Building Your Law Practice: From the Nitty-Gritty to the Big Picture
- Time to Get Organized: Case Management for Solos and Small Firms
- Using Office Staff Effectively (a panel discussion)
- Modifying Placement or Support after a Divorce. What Constitutes a Substantial Change?
- Best Practices for Billed to Paid Invoices
- Effective and Economical Legal Research
- Withdrawal/Termination and the Implications for Lawyers Fees in Such Situations
Read program descriptions.
Wind down the first day at a reception. Mingle with colleagues, and meet representatives of companies and organizations that can help you practice law, manage business, and enjoy life.
Friday, Oct. 30
The morning plenary session, Everything I Know About Practicing Law I Learned from Rock and Roll, will be presented by Reid Trautz, Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Practice and Professionalism Center.
Mid-morning program tracks include:
- Using Employee Ownership in Business Transitions and Buyouts – Having Your Cake and Eating It Too!
- 60+ Best Practices in Marketing in 60 Minutes
- Tightwad Technology: 60+ Tips for Cheap and Free Practice Tools
- Good Will Towards Women: The Balance of Life and Lawyering
Afternoon tracks include:
- Ethical Considerations in Arts & Entertainment Law
- Managing Your Human Resources During Tough Economic Times
- From Paper to Pixels: How to Manage Paper Sanely and Greenly in Your Practice
- Getting Fired and Still Getting Paid - Withdrawal/Termination and the Implications for Lawyers’ Fees
- Oops, What Now? Everyone including Lawyers Make Mistakes
- Common Issues in Bankruptcy
- Office Manuals in this Day and Age for Solos and Small Firms
- Should I have a Blog? Should I Tweet on Twitter? Do I Need to be LinkedIn?
- Keeping Legal Minds Intact: Mitigating Compassion Fatigue for Attorneys
- Construction Disputes and the New Right to Cure
- Limited Scope Representation – Unbundling of Lawyer Services
- Adobe Acrobat 9: PDF Your Office
- Stressbusters: Practical Tips to Enhance Your Performance in the Day-to-Day Practice of Law
Read program descriptions.
Saturday, Oct. 31
| New at this year’s program – Cell Phone Recycling Donate your old cell phones and PDAs at the conference and receive a special gift. (One gift per person.) Legacy Cellular will donate between $1 and $25 for each cell phone turned in at the conference. Funds raised will go towards scholarships for future Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference registrations at reduced rates. Be sure to collect phones from your homes, offices, local bar associations, and civic groups.
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The morning tracks on this final day include:
- Immigration Law Basics: Keeping Families Together
- Ten Biggest Mistakes Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Make in Building their Practices
- Managed IT – The Flat Fee Promise and What to Look Out For!
- Developing an Employee Benefit Plan for Solo and Small Firms
- Considerations and Precautions for Crafting Partnership/Shareholder Agreements
- Tough Issues, Tough Clients – The Proper Approach to Sensitive Client Discussions and Issues
- The Law “Office” of the Future: Remote Access and Virtual Law Firms
- How to Run Your Office More Efficiently- Streamlining Using Systems to Balance Work/Life issues
Read program descriptions.
The final plenary session “60 websites in 60 Minutes, is a discussion with speakers Reid Trautz, Jim Calloway, Dustin Cole, and State Bar of Wisconsin Law Practice Management Advisor, Nerino Petro.
The conference concludes at 12:15 p.m.
The 2008 conference received 14 CLE including 8 EPR credits. General Program Approval has been awarded by the Board of Bar Examiners. Credits are expected to be finalized in September.
View complete conference schedule.
More about the conference
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