Who
Should Attend the New Lawyer Experience?
- New admittees who will be opening their own practices
- Experienced lawyers who are leaving employment to
open their own practices
- Young lawyers who wish to improve their law office
operations
- Lawyers considering a change in a practice setting
|
| 8:30 |
Registration
and Continental Breakfast |
| 9:00 |
OPENING
A BUSINESS
a. Resources for starting a law practice
b. Being an employee versus the business owner
c. Business entity selection
d. Physical location/practice setting options
e. Liability insurance and other aspects of risk management
f. Business planning |
| |
Jim Calloway |
| |
Director, OBA
Management Assistance Program, Oklahoma City |
| 9:50 |
Break |
| 10:00 |
MANAGEMENT
- MANAGING YOUR FINANCES, YOUR FILES, AND YOUR STAFF
a. Profit, loss, and the importance of good financial reports
b. Establishing practice areas
c. Setting fees
d. The importance of building work flow systems and tracking work
in progress
e. Client file management
f. Billing (retainers, mechanics of billing, “alternative billing,” getting
paid)
g. Disaster planning |
| |
Jim Calloway |
| |
Director, OBA
Management Assistance Program, Oklahoma City |
| 10:50 |
Break |
| 11:00 |
MANAGEMENT
(CONTINUED)
THE CRITICAL NATURE OF GOOD COMMUNICATION
a. Client communications - Easy in theory, often hard in practice
b. Establishing reasonable client expectations
c. Communication and dealing with other attorneys
d. Communication with the court
e. Technology and communication tools
f. Dealing with “bad news” and “bad clients” |
| |
Jim Calloway |
| |
Director, OBA
Management Assistance Program, Oklahoma City |
| 11:30 |
Ethics
Counsel’s Perspective
a. The role of Ethics Counsel
b. Most common questions of the Ethics Counsel
c. Trustworthy Trust Accounts
d. File and document retention
e. Q & A |
| |
Gina
Hendryx |
| |
OBA Ethics Counsel,
Oklahoma City |
| 12:00 |
Lunch
provided by Oklahoma Attorneys Mutual Insurance Company |
| 12:30 |
Malpractice
Insurance and Other Risk Management Issues |
|
Phil
Fraim |
| |
President, Oklahoma
Attorneys Mutual Insurance Company, Oklahoma City |
| 1:00 |
PROFESSIONALISM
IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW
a. Your Actions and Appearance
b. Dealing with Clients
c. Dealing with Other Attorneys
d. Dealing with the Courts |
| |
Hon.
Justice Steven W. Taylor |
| |
District 2, Oklahoma
Supreme Court, Oklahoma City |
| 1:30 |
“REAL
WORLD” LEGAL ETHICS
General Counsel’s Perspective
a. Ethical issues facing small firm lawyers
b. Simple guidelines for ethical conduct
c. Role of OBA General Counsel
d. Ethics resources |
| |
Dan Murdock |
| |
OBA General Counsel,
Oklahoma City |
| 2:00 |
Break |
| 2:15 |
MARKETING
a. Developing a marketing plan
b. Ethical marketing strategies
c. Differences in marketing vs. public relations
d. Budgeting - Marketing on a tight budget or no budget
e. Generating referrals - Word of mouth is your best marketing tool
f. Advertising: From the newspaper to the Yellow Pages
g. Internet-based marketing
h. Analyzing your marketing efforts |
| |
Jim Calloway |
| |
Director, OBA
Management Assistance Program, Oklahoma City |
| |
TECHNOLOGY
a. Law office hardware, from computers to copiers to phones
b. The small law firm technology software shopping guide
c. Practice management software
d. Using technology to provide better client services
e. The Internet and the 21st Century lawyer - Online research and
other resources
f. Mobile phones, PDAs and other gadgets. What do you really need?
g. Q & A |
| |
Jim Calloway |
| |
Director, OBA
Management Assistance Program, Oklahoma City |
| 4:00 |
Adjourn |
