Successfully Launching and Running Your Own Practice: The Essential Guide
August 2018
Successfully Launching and Running Your Own Practice: The Essential Guide 18th Annual Program!
(Formerly Hanging Your Shingle )
Sponsored by the Professional Liability Section and the Solo/Small Firm Section of the Colorado Bar Association
Don't Miss the Networking Reception Wednesday Evening Sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Section!
ATTORNEYS in practice less than 5 years - Register for this program at $199, and you will be automatically signed up for the NEW LAWYER EDGE PARTNERSHIP at no additional charge!
Program Description:
Ready to launch into something new? Starting your own firm isn’t rocket science. For the 18th year, this CBA/CLE program is here to help you “hang your shingle.”
In this intensive course you will get the tools, information and building blocks you need to make your firm soar!
Did you just decide fly solo? Have you been building your firm for a few years? Have you been running a practice for years, but are looking to modernize? This program is for you! Make a commitment to your mission and REGISTER TODAY.
After attending, past participants valued their experience—
“One of the most useful [Seminars] I have ever attended in my 24 years in law.”
“Practical accounting, marketing and tech advice.”
“Thorough, comprehensive and detailed approach.”
“The speakers weren’t just knowledgeable and engaging, but [they] also seemed genuinely interested in helping the program participants.”
“This is truly fantastic!”
“Exactly what I was looking for.”
- All the Tools You Need to Open the Doors to Your New Firm
- An Emphasis on Technology and Cybersecurity: Electronic “Traps,” Ransomware and Social Media
- Hear from Attorneys Who Have Succeeded and are Thriving in Their Own Firms!
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION:
Please note: We are offering two scholarships for the Live program. Complete your application by Friday, July 6, by 5 p.m., and on July 11 we will notify everyone by email if you were, or were not, awarded a scholarship.
DIRECTIONS TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION:
Please click on the link below to provide details on your interest for the program and contact information.
Program Highlights:
GETTING STARTED
- Professionalism in Your Practice
- Day One on Your Own: Getting Started
- The Importance of Business Plans
- Show Me the Money: What Does a Bank Want to See Before It Loans Money or Extends a Line of Credit?
- Choice of Entity Options When Forming a Business:
- Accounting and Financial Controls Part I
- Accounting and Financial Controls Part II
- COLTAF Accounts
RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS: MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
- Technology: Your First Partner
- Marketing and Business Development for Your New Firm
- Ethics of Social Media
- Malpractice Insurance, Including Cyber Insurance
- Managing Your Malpractice Exposure
- Practical Applications of the Rules of Professional Conduct
- The Importance of Finding a Mentor and What CAMP Has to Offer
- Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP): What It Is and How It Can Help You
- From the Trenches: A Panel Presentation of Practical Advice and Traps to Avoid
SOCIAL MEDIA, CYBERSECURITY AND TAKING YOUR FIRST STEP
- The Importance of Social Media in Your Practice
- Cybersecurity, Cyberliability and Ransomware: What to Do When You Get Hacked
- The Resilient Attorney: Having the Confidence to Start and Run Your Firm
Special Thanks to Our 2018 Program Sponsors:
Sponsorship opportunities are still available! For more information, please contact Melissa Higham at [email protected]
Agenda
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1
GETTING STARTED
8:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:25 am
Welcome and Introduction
Extended by David Little, Esq., and Gerald Pratt, Esq., Program Co-Chairs
8:30 – 9:10 am
Professionalism in Your Practice
Presented by Honorable John Leopold (ret.)
9:10 – 10:00 am
Day One on Your Own: Getting Started
- Let the World Know You’re a Lawyer!
- Open Your Office
- Office Equipment
- Open a Bank Account
- Open a Trust Account
- Join the Bar
- Get Business Cards
- Create Your Website
Presented by Kirby Joseph, Esq., Strategy4Success, Aurora, CO, and April McMurrey, Esq., Deputy Regulation Counsel, Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, Denver, CO
10:00 – 10:40am
Getting Started Continued
- Client Intake
- Scope and Objective of Representation, Unbundled Legal Services
- Fee Agreements and Engagement Letters
- Informed Consent
- File Setup, Review, Diligence
- Working with Legal and Non-Legal Support Staff
- Diaries, Calendars, Tickling, Backup
- Managing Your Time
- Bank Accounts and Ledger Systems
- Client Confidentiality
- Billing Discipline
- How to Run a Conflict Check
Presented by Kirby Joseph, Esq., Strategy4Success, Aurora, CO, and April McMurrey, Esq., Deputy Regulation Counsel, Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, Denver, CO
10:40 – 10:50am
Networking Break
10:50 – 11:40am
The Importance of Business Plans
Presented by Qusair Mohamedbhai, Esq., and Siddhartha H. Rathod, Esq., Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC, Denver, CO
11:40 – 11:55am
Show Me the Money: What Does a Bank Want to See Before It Loans Money or Extends a Line of Credit?
Presented by Kelly Condon, Senior Vice President
11:55– 1:00m
Lunch Break (On Your Own)
1:00 – 1:50m
Choice of Entity When Forming a Business: Options; Tax Considerations; Partnership and Operating Agreements
Presented by Fay Chu Fong, Esq., Fortis Law Partners LLC Denver, CO
1:50 – 2:40m
Accounting and Financial Controls Part I
- Trust vs. Operating: Account Reconciliations
- Billing and Maintaining Your Accounts Receivable
- Optimizing the Billing and Collection Cycle
- Accounts Payable: Recording, Keeping, Maintaining and IRS Requirements
- Cash vs. Accrual Accounting Methods
- Monthly Reports: Billable Hours, Accounts Receivable and Projections
- Understanding How to Read a Financial Statement
- Year-End Tasks and Responsibilities
Presented by Steve Libhart, Managing Member, Numbers Matter LLC, Denver, CO
2:40 – 2:50m
Networking Break
2:50 – 3:40m
Accounting and Financial Controls Part II
- Importance of Having a Plan
- Advantages of a Business Plan
- Advantages of Budgeting
- Financing the Start-Up Period
- Tax Considerations
- Evaluating Costs of Doing Business
- Death and Taxes
- Being an Employer and Employment Controls
- Setting Billing Rates and Billing
- Monitoring the Evolving Plan
Presented by Ronald Seigneur, CPA/ABV/CFF ASA CVA CGMA, Seigneur Gustafson LLP, Lakewood, CO
3:40 – 4:30m
COLTAF Accounts
Presented by Sara Van Deusen, Esq., Assistant Regulation Counsel, Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, Denver, CO
4:30pm
Adjourn to Networking Reception Sponsored by the Solo/Small Firm Section
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2
RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS: MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
8:30 – 9:20am
Technology: Your First Partner
- What Will You Need, What Does It Cost and ROI?
- Defining Your Needs in Relation to Your Skills, Budget, Practice and Firm Size
- Key Hardware and Software for Managing a Successful Practice, Including When to Use Smartphones, Tablets, Hybrids and Notebook Computers
- Is the Cloud Just for Rainy Days?
- Dealing with the Software Merry-Go-Round
- Selecting Case Management and Analysis, Timekeeping and Billing Software
- CRPC 1.5: Ethical Issues When Billing
- E-Filing in the ICCES World
- CRPC 7.1 – 5: Establishing a Web Presence
- CRCP 7.1 – 7.5 – Practicing Ethically in a Digital World
- Do’s and Don’ts of Dealing with Metadata – CBA Ethics Opinion 119
- Cybersecurity
Presented by Phil Shuey, Esq., Phil J. Shuey, PC, Greenwood Village, CO
9:20 – 10:10am
Marketing and Business Development for Your New Firm
- Your Website, e-Marketing, Basics of Social Media, Such as LinkedIn and Facebook
Presented by Meranda Vieyra, Owner, Denver Legal Marketing, Denver, CO
NO CLE CREDIT OFFERED FOR THIS SEGMENT
10:10 – 10:20am
Networking Break
10:20 – 11:10am
Ethics of Social Media
- What Exactly IS Social Media?
- Confidentiality, Competency and the Cloud
- Marketing Through Social Media
- Really Dumb Things Lawyers (and Judges) Do on Social Media
- Online Attorney Referral Services
Presented by Charles Luce, Esq., Moye White LLP, Denver, CO
11:10 – 12:00pm
Malpractice Insurance, Including Cyber Insurance: A Very Unique Kind of Coverage
Presented by Amy DeVan, Esq., Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP, Denver, CO
12:00 – 1:00pm
Networking Lunch (Box Lunch Included in Your Tuition)
1:00pm – 1:50pm
Managing Your Malpractice Exposure
- Attorney/Client Relationship
- Identifying the Client
- Duties to Clients and Non-Clients
- Avoiding or Limiting Liability
- Malpractice Exposures
- Risk Management
Presented by John Palmeri, Esq., Gordon & Rees, LLP, Denver, CO
1:50 – 2:50pm
Practical Applications of the Rules of Professional Conduct
Presented by David Little, Esq., Montgomery Little & Soran, PC, Greenwood Village, CO
2:50 – 3:05pm
The Importance of Finding a Mentor and What CAMP Has to Offer (Pre-Recorded)
Presented by J. Ryann Peyton, Esq., Director, Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP), Denver, CO
3:05 – 3:20pm
Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP): What It Is and How It Can Help You
Presented by Sarah Myers, Esq., LMFT, LAC, Executive Director, Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program, Denver, CO
3:20 – 3:30pm
Networking Break
3:30 – 5:00pm
From the Trenches: A Panel Presentation of Practical Advice and Traps to Avoid
- Top Tips for the First Year
- Survey of Law Firm Business Models
- How to Stay Competent Within Your Field of Practice
- Technology and Social Media: How to Remain Current Without Getting Bogged Down
Presented by:
Jennifer Chamberlain, Esq.
Jay Tiftickjian, Esq.
Kim Willoughby, Esq.
Dave Ratner, Esq.
Moderator: Danaé Woody, Esq., Woody Law LLC,
Denver, CO
5:00pm
Adjourn
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3
SOCIAL MEDIA, CYBERSECURITY AND
TAKING YOUR FIRST STEP
9:00 – 10:00am
The Importance of Social Media in Your Practice
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Blogs
Presented by Dustin Ruge, Southwest Regional Manager, Thomson Reuters, Phoenix, AZ
10:00 – 10:10am
Networking Break
10:10 – 11:00am
Information Security & Ethics for Solo/Small Firm Practitioners
Presented by Austin Chambers, Esq., Lewis Bess Willimans & Weese, Denver CO
11:00 – 11:40am
The Resilient Attorney: Having the Confidence to Start and Run Your Firm
Presented by Honorable Marcia Krieger, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
11:40am
Adjourn
Location Information
CLECI Large Classroom
1900 Grant Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80203
Get directions
1900 Grant Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80203
Registration Fees
| Non Member | $399.00 |
| CBA Member | $369.00 |
| CBA Solo Small Firm Section Member | $319.00 |
| Attorneys In Practice 5 Years or Less | $199.00 |
| New Lawyer Edge Partner | $184.50 |
| BASIC Pass Holder | $109.00 |
| ELITE Pass Holder | $99.00 |
- General Credits: 19.00
- Ethics Credits: 7.00
- EDI Credits:
To join the CBA or add a Section to your membership click
Sponsor Information
- All the Tools You Need to Open the Doors to Your New Firm
- An Emphasis on Cybersecurity, Electronic “Traps,” Ransomware and Social Media
- Hear from Attorneys Who Have Succeeded and are Thriving in Their Own Firms!