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Starting a Solo Practice in New York 2022 – Part I: Business, Marketing, Personal and Ethical Considerations

Starting a Solo Practice in New York 2022 – Part I: Business, Marketing, Personal and Ethical Considerations

Starting a Solo Practice in New York_ Part 1_675

Are you considering opening your own firm? Are you a recent law school graduate just starting out? Are you considering leaving your place of employment and starting your own practice? Starting up a solo or small firm has its own unique financial, technical and practical concerns, but beginning a practice also has its own set of rewards, fulfillment, and accomplishments. To maximize your chances of success, you must have a plan. 

Part one of this two part series is an overview of business, marketing, personal and ethical considerations when starting your solo practice, including: 

Creating Your “Launch Plan” 

• Your Business Plan (Yes, You Need One) 

• What Type of Law Will You Practice?

• Home Office or Rented Space?

• Should You Form a Professional Corporation or LLC?

• What Equipment and Technology Do You Need?

• What are the Five Things Every Solo Law Practice Must Have to Be Successful?

Ethical Client Generation: The Do’s and (Especially) Don’ts of  Marketing Your Solo Practice

• The five pillars of a solo practice marketing plan

• Identifying the “right” clients for your practice

• Your firm name, business cards and marketing materials

• Networking, public speaking and social media – in person and online

• Creating a robust referral system

Maintaining Your Professional Image When Working from a Home Office

• Can you really work in your bathrobe?

• What kind of networking works best for a home lawyer?

• Should you say you work from home on your social media profiles?

• Should you use Facetime or one of the other face-to-face apps for client

 or prospect meetings?

• Your “duty of competence” when working from home

• Maintaining your clients’ privacy

• Keeping your clients’ information confidential

Your Law Practice LinkedIn® Profile

• How to tell better “why you do what you do,” on LinkedIn® to differentiate yourself  from the competition, attract clients, and develop business

• The best ways to use all sections of the LinkedIn® personal profile to market your past and present experience, and describe your skillset 

• How to refer others effectively

• The 5 major sections on LinkedIn® that are search term-sensitive for your best marketing opportunities

• Best ways to produce meaningful, fresh content to readers for brand recognition and thought leadership

Ethical Challenges of Solo Practice Business Models  

• Generating new clients – key ethics considerations for advertising and referrals 

• Get the help you need – Review key ethics rules when outsourcing and building a “virtual” law firm

• Smart strategies to grow and scale your firm 

• Modern law firm business models that make sense as well as cents

• Stay compliant with duty of technology competence via top tech tools for solos

Time Management for the Solo Lawyer Who Has No Time to Manage His/Her Time

• How to prioritize your daily workload

• How to separate the “urgent” from the “important”

• How to manage client expectations without losing business

• How to tame your e-mail Inbox and cellphone

• How to develop and use “interruption protocols”

• How most common “time vampires,” and how to deal with them

Start Date:
  • May 4, 2022
Start Time:
  • 9:00 AM
End Time:
  • 1:00 PM
Areas Of Professional Practice Credit(s):
  • 2.0
Ethics and Professionalism Credit(s):
  • 1.5
Law Practice Management Credit(s):
  • 1.0
Total Credit(s):
  • 4.5
Region:
  • Virtual Participation
Format:
  • Webinar
Product Code:
  • 0LU41A
NYSBA Member Price: $200.00 Join (or renew) for special member pricing
Non-Member Price: $300.00
Sponsoring Committee Group
  • Committee on Continuing Legal Education
  • Committee on Law Practice Management