(OKLAHOMA CITY – Sept. 4) Newly admitted members of the Oklahoma Bar Association may have mastered the bar exam, but they may feel unprepared with the task of setting up their own law practices. The OBA wants to help.

The OBA will hold two free, full-day programs called “The New Lawyer Experience: Hit the Ground Running” to help new attorneys start their businesses off right. The program is also intended for the lawyer who is opening a new law practice or may be considering leaving an employed position to do so ─ no matter how many years the lawyer may have practiced.

The program will be held Sept. 28 at the Tulsa County Bar Center and Oct. 2 at the Oklahoma Bar Center.

Preregistration is required. There is no charge for the program and no MCLE credit is offered. Lunch will be provided by Oklahoma Attorneys Mutual Insurance Company.

“A private law practice is a business, as well as a profession,” said OBA President Stephen Beam of Weatherford. “In addition to all of the challenges of delivering appropriate legal services to clients, lawyers deal with many of the business management issues affecting any small business owner.”

These issues include a wide range of important matters such as physical location, supplies, insurance, overhead, budgeting, staff hiring and supervision, “customer” satisfaction, law office hardware and software, accounting and taxes. There are also issues unique to the legal profession, such as trust accounting and ethically marketing the law practice.

“Across the nation, some lawyers find themselves without much advance planning for being a business owner and operator. Attending this program will allow these lawyers in our state to get the necessary information to help them start their new law practice off right,” Beam said.

“We will cover a wide range of practice management issues and also direct our attendees to many books and online resources that can assist them,” said Jim Calloway, director of the OBA Management Assistance Program. “Our ‘Starting a Law Practice Web Directory’ has a great amount of great free content.”

The directory can be found online.

Registration information and a complete overview of the speakers and topics can be found at www.okbar.org. To register, call (405) 416-7026 or e-mail marks@okbar.org.