2013 VBA SOLO & SMALL FIRM CONFERENCE

Transcription

1 2013 VBA SOLO & SMALL FIRM CONFERENCE MAY 16-17, 2013 BASIN HARBOR CLUB Pre-registration is required LEARN - NETWORK - RELAX Earn up to 12.0 Credits Including 5.0 Ethics

2 Join us for the Fifth VBA Solo and Small Firm Conference, May 16-17, at the Basin Harbor Club in Vergennes. The program this year features 12 hours of MCLE credit, including 5.0 ethics. We will offer tracks of programs on starting your own practice, on managing your practice effectively and efficiently, on the latest in law firm technology, and on the life cycle of the small or solo firm. Joining us are nationally known practice management speaker Dustin Cole, long-time New Hampshire practice management adviser Donald Coker, our old friend and nationally known speaker Arthur Greene, as well as Joshua Lenon from Clio. Programs will examine specific practice topics as well as broader questions about the future of the legal profession and of small firm practice in Vermont. All this plus a full range of exhibitors with products you can use and loads of opportunities to network with fellow practitioners and our speakers in a relaxed and comfortable environment. Bring your family and take advantage of all the Basin Harbor Club has to offer, including golf, hiking, and boating or just kicking back and enjoying the scenery. The VBA Solo & Small Firm Conference is designed to offer you a relaxing opportunity to learn and network. Dress throughout the two-day event is casual. Come, relax, enjoy, and reinvigorate your professional life! The VBA Solo & Small Firm Conference is much more than a CLE program it s a unique event that you simply have to experience for yourself. When you do, you won t want to miss it again. Don t miss out! Sign up today!! This was the best and most relevant seminar I ve attended in my 40+ years of practice What a bargain! This is a wonderful conference. Great Job! Great Location! Great Price! Thank you very much for this conference. I look forward to a repeat - the price is great for us little guys and the topics relevant and timely. This is the best deal I ve had for legal education credits in 15 years

3 Thursday, May 16, :30-9:45 The Solo and Small Firm Coffee Shop and Registration 9:45-10:00 Welcome and Conference Overview 1) 10:00-12:00 Plenary Session When Worlds Collide: The New Economy, Technology, and the Future of the Legal Profession (Dustin Cole) Are you ready? Nationally acclaimed law firm development expert Dustin Cole shares his insights on the tsunami of changes facing the legal profession and how to prepare for them. These two hours will change your thinking about the future or validate it! 12:00-1:00 Lunch 1:00-2:30 Concurrent Sessions 2a) 15 Things You Need to Know to Start Your Own Firm (Jim Knapp) Have you ever thought of starting your own firm? Or is it time to rethink your current firm? In this program, VBA Practice Management Coordinator, Jim Knapp, offers a checklist of things you need to know to invent, or reinvent, a small law firm. 2b) Integrated Practice Management (Donald Coker) Join New Hampshire Practice Management Adviser Donald Coker for this overview of how to create a practice management system for your firm that pulls together your calendar, contacts, matter information, billing, trust accounting, financial reporting, and document assembly. 2c) The Ethics of Internet Marketing (1.5 MCLE Ethics Credits) (Mike Kennedy and Kevin Ryan) The Internet offers many new opportunities to market your legal services, from websites to social media to blogs to new ways for clients to review and rate your work. What are the ethical concerns that you should know about as you market your firm in these new ways? 2d) Independent Operation of a Business While Practicing Law (Includes 0.5 Ethics Credit) (Dan Smith) What are the issues involved in running a small business simultaneously with a solo or small law practice? This program looks at those issues and more technical guidance on keeping the two ventures separate, consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct. 2:30-3:00 Visit Our Exhibitors 3:00-4:30 Concurrent Sessions 3a) Small Firm Business Models: What Entity is Right for You? (Arthur Greene) Starting a new firm or reconfiguring an old one? What business entity is right for you? Arthur Greene, who has spent years advising lawyers, will take you through the possibilities and discuss law firm structure and the critical provisions that should be in all law firm agreements in order to protect the firm and prepare it for succession. 3b) IOLTA and File Retention (1.5 MCLE Ethics Credits) (Mike Kennedy) Join bar counsel Mike Kennedy for this timely look at the practical and ethical aspects of trust accounts and file retention. This is information you need to know in order to ensure that your processes and habits fit the requirements of the Rules of Professional Conduct. 3c) Security in a Brave New (Digital) World (David Fenster and Kevin Ryan) In this reprise of a program offered at the VBA Mid-Year Meeting, David Fenster and Kevin Ryan expand their discussion of the steps you need to take to ensure physical and digital security in a more mobile practice environment. This program is filled with tips and practical advice you can use immediately to make your work and your clients property more secure. 3d) Take Control of Your Time, Your Technology And Your Profits (Dustin Cole) The continued success of any law practice is based not simply on the attorney s legal skills, but increasingly on their willingness to increase their management skills in four areas: Managing themselves, their team, their technology, and their referral sources. Find out how in this not-to-be-missed session with Dustin Cole. 6:00 Reception ~ 7:00 Dinner

4 Friday, May 17, :00 Morning Wake-up Activities for Participants and Family Members (TBA) 7:00-8:15 Breakfast 8:15-9:45 Concurrent Sessions 4a) Billing Matters: Flat Fees vs. Hourly Rates, Hybrid Models, Retainers (Arthur Greene) There has been much talk about alternative billing strategies over the past decade. Legal industry futurists tell us that the old hourly rate model will soon be forced out of existence by changes in the practice environment. So what can take its place? Join Arthur Greene for this discussion of the pros and cons of a range of billing strategies. 4b) Advanced Client Development Tools and Skills (Dustin Cole) In this program, Dustin Cole examines simple and powerful tools for building business through personal referral marketing. Based on Cole s twenty years of work with successful rainmakers, this program will provide you with tips for increasing your client base. 4c) Blogging for Fun and Profit (Dan Richardson, and others) Blogging can be a source of new business for your firm. It can also be fulfilling personally. Join ScovLaw Blog s Dan Richardson and his panel of bloggers for a look at how blogging could be part of your future. 4d) How Paralegals Can Help Your Law Practice (Carie Tarte, Barry Butkus, Ashley LaRose, Laura Gorsky) What is a paralegal? What kinds of tasks do paralegals perform? What are the advantages to your practice of using paralegals? How do you find a paralegal who s right for you? Our panel of experienced paralegals address these questions and more in this intriguing program. 9:45 10:15 Visit Our Exhibitors 10:15-11:45 Concurrent Sessions 5a) Human Resources Issues for Solo and Small Firms (Steve Ellis and Caroline Earle) Do you have a staff in your firm? Virtually everyone does, but the legal aspects of managing that staff may be known only superficially. In this program, employment law experts Steve Ellis and Caroline Earle provide you with the detailed information you need to know to address a wide range of human resource issues. This program is not to be missed! 5b) Local Digital Marketing for Attorneys (George Aspland) Digital marketing is rapidly coming to be recognized as the most effective way to attract new clients and retain old ones. How can you increase leads from search marketing, local online marketing, and other strategies (including social media)? Find out with SEO (search engine optimization) expert George Aspland, founder of our sponsor, evision. 5c) Build Your Own Virtual Law Firm (Joshua Lenon) Rising in popularity, virtual law firms enable small firms to grow quickly and compete effectively against the bigger players. Find out how with our sponsor Clio s Communications Director and lawyer Joshua Lenon. 5d) Back to the Basics (Donald Coker) Billing, financial reporting, and document production and management are keys to the more efficient practice demanded by today s emerging legal market. Practice management expert Donald Coker explores these keys in this worthwhile program. 6) 12:00-1:15 Lunch and Plenary Session The Future of Legal Practice Where Are We Going and How Will We Get There? (Kevin Ryan (Moderator), Tom Lyons, Dustin Cole, Dan Richardson, Donald Coker, Joshua Lenon) Sponsored By: evision Pinnacle Financial Clio

5 Friday, May 17, 2013 (continued) 1:15 1:30 Visit Our Exhibitors 1:30-3:00 Concurrent Sessions 7a) Planning for Retirement: The Financial Aspects (Mark Candon) When it s time to step back from the practice of law, will you be ready? You need to start now to plan for the financial aspects of retirement, and this program provides you with the basics to get you going. 7b) 10 Apps You Need to Improve Your Practice of Law (Kevin Ryan, and others) Do you use mobile devices in your practice? If so, you ll want to join this discussion of applications you can use to improve the quality, efficiency, and pleasure of your work. Learn what you colleagues around the country find to be the most useful apps for solo or small firm practice. 7c) Managing Your Practice in the Cloud (Jim Knapp) Increasingly, law practice is headed to the clouds. In this program, VBA practice management guru Jim Knapp takes you through the systems, the programs, and the strategies for managing your practice using cloud-based resources. 7d) Building a Practice with Public Defense Contracts (Matt Valerio) Okay, you need to find a practice area that will bring clients and money in the door, provide you with court experience, and be rewarding to boot. Join Defender General Matt Valerio for this look at how you can build your small firm practice with public defense contracts. 8a) Succession Planning (Dustin Cole) 3:00 3:15 Break with the Exhibitors 3:15-4:45 Concurrent Sessions What will happen to your legal business when you decide to hang up your spikes? This is a question we all need to think about, and yet few of us take the time to do so. Join Dustin Cole for a detailed exploration of what you need to do in order to develop your succession plan. 8b) Building, Managing, and Repairing All Your Documents (Jim Knapp) Key to contemporary small firm practice is the ability to manage the documents generated by your practice. Join Jim Knapp for a detailed, practical look at how you can better create, manage, and edit your documents. 8c) How to Make Money in a Small Firm (Kevin Ryan (Moderator), Steve Ellis, Brian Monaghan, Dan Richardson, John Thrasher) The basic requirement of a small firm or solo practice is to make enough money to stay in business. But how best to do that? We have put together a panel of experienced practitioners of the art of small firm profitability who will share their insights and cautions with you. 8d) The Security and Ethics of Cloud Computing (1.5 MCLE Ethics Credits) (Joshua Lenon) Clio s Joshua Lenon returns for this look at cloud computing in law practice from the standpoint of someone (like you) concerned about security and ethics. If you plan to take advantage of the greater flexibility and efficiency of cloud-based practice, this program is a must-see! Exhibitors: Arthur G. Greene Consulting, LLC Clio Donald J. Coker, PA evisionlaw Jo Ann Thibault & Associates Liberty Mutual Insurance Pinnacle Financial RD Legal Funding, LLC Vermont Attorneys Title Corp.

6 2013 VBA Solo & Small Firm Conference ~ May 16-17, 2013 Basin Harbor Club R e g i s t r a t i o n F o r m Name Payment Information: No refunds after May 6, 2013 Organization Enclosed is my check for $ Address: O Visa O MasterCard O Discover O American Express City, State, Zip Card# Telephone : Exp. Date: *Please specify if you need special accommodations: Thursday, May 16, 2013 (Please check the programs you plan to attend) 10:00-12:00 1) When Worlds Collide: The New Economy, Technology & Future of the Legal Profession 1:00-2:30 Concurrent Sessions 2a) 15 Things You Need to Know to Start Your Own Firm 2b) Integrated Practice Management REGISTRATION FEES VBA Members $ Day Conference & All Meals Non-VBA Members $ Day Conference & All Meals 70/40 Members $ Day Conference & All Meals Guest Meals $ per guest CONTACT BASIN HARBOR DIRECTLY TO MAKE YOUR ROOM RESER- VATIONS BY APRIL 30, LET THEM KNOW YOU RE WITH THE VBA TO GET OUR LOW GROUP RATE! Call NO REFUNDS AFTER Thursday, May 6, c) The Ethics of Internet Marketing (1.5 MCLE Ethics Credits) 2d) Independent Operation of a Business While Practicing Law (includes 0.5 MCLE Ethics Credit) 3:00-4:30 ~ Concurrent Sessions 3a) Small Firm Business Models: What Entity is Right for You? 3b) IOLTA and File Retention (1.5 MCLE Ethics Credits) 3c) Security in a Brave New (Digital) World 3d) Take Control of Your Time, Your Technology And Your Profits Signature: Friday, May 17, 2013 (Please check the programs you plan to attend) 8:15-9:45 ~ Concurrent Sessions 4a) Billing Matters: Flat Fees vs Hourly Rates, Hybrid Models, Retainers 4b) Advanced Client Development Tools and Skills 4c) Blogging for Fun and Profit 4d) How Paralegals Can Help Your Law Practice 10:15-11:45 5a) Human Resources Issues for Solo and Small Firms 5b) Local Digital Marketing for Attorneys 5c) Build Your Own Virtual Law Firm 5d) Back to the Basics MAIL/FAX Please enclose your payment and mail or fax this form. Faxes will be accepted for credit card registration ONLY. 6) 12:00 1:15 Lunch Plenary: The Future of Legal Practice 1:30-3:00 ~ Concurrent Sessions 7a) Planning for Retirement: The Financial Aspects 7b) 10 Apps You Need to Improve Your Practice of Law 7c) Managing Your Practice in the Cloud Vermont Bar Association PO Box 100 Montpelier, Vermont Phone: Fax: d) Building a Practice with Public Defense Contracts For directions to Basin Harbor please visit: 8a) Succession Planning 3:15-4:45 Concurrent Sessions 8b) Building, Managing, and Repairing All Your Documents 8c) How to Make Money in a Small Firm 8d) The Security and Ethics of Cloud Computing (1.5 MCLE Ethics Credits)