Thinking About Launching Your Own Law Practice?

By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director

Twice a year, the OBA Management Assistance Program offers Launching Your Law Practice: A Hands-On Workshop, and our next program is coming up Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Oklahoma Bar Center.

This program is designed for new lawyers, lawyers considering private practice and, frankly, anyone who has discovered that knowing how to practice law and knowing how to run a law practice are two vastly different things. The workshop is free, although registration is required.

We are covering quite a bit in one day.

We’ll begin with a Business Planning Lab, where participants will start putting together a basic business plan and a process and procedures manual. The goal is not to spend an hour talking theoretically about business planning. I want attendees to leave with something they can continue building when they get back to the office.

Then we’ll turn to artificial intelligence with “Cross-Examining Your AI: Sycophancy, Risks and Responsible Strategies for Legal Professionals.” We’ll talk about prompting for legal research, drafting and productivity, but also about why lawyers still need to question what these tools tell them.

Phil Fraim, president and CEO of Oklahoma Attorneys Mutual Insurance Co., will cover malpractice insurance and risk management, including what lawyers should understand when starting coverage.

After lunch, I’ll be back for “Building Your Law Firm Tech Stack: Tools with ROI in Mind.” We’ll look at practice management, document automation, communication systems and other technology with a particular focus on choosing tools that make financial sense for a law practice.

Finally, Jeff Trevillion of Crowe & Dunlevy will tackle a subject that new law firm owners cannot afford to ignore; tax accounting fundamentals, including financial statements, deductions, liabilities and other accounting considerations relevant to running a practice.

The workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. It does not qualify for MCLE credit, but sometimes the most useful education for running a law office does not come with CLE hours attached.