Hanging Your Shingle 2014: Your Future Begins Now
August 2014
Hanging Your Shingle 2014: Your Future Begins Now
Sponsored by the Professional Liability Section and the Solo/Small Firm Section of the Colorado Bar Association
Program Highlights:
- Things to Consider When Deciding to Open Your Own Practice: Is It the Right Decision for You?
- Writing Your Business Plan
- What Does a Bank Want to See Before It Loans Money or Extends a Line of Credit?
- What Type of Entity Should You Choose When Starting Your Law Firm?
- All Things Accounting and Finance: From Accounts Payable to Billable Hours to Accounts Receivable
- Trust Account Management and Fee Agreements
- Key Aspects of Law Practice Management
- Manage Your Malpractice Exposure
- Malpractice Insurance
- The Practical Application of the Rules of Professional Conduct
- Marketing and Business Development
- Technology: Your First Partner
- The Importance of Social Media in Starting Your Own Firm
- Ethics of Social Media
- Professionalism in Your Practice
Program Description:
The practice of law is demanding. Our profession demands we give it our best: our time, our intellect, our ethics-our best selves. Today's legal world is also complex: in this vast ocean of constantly changing laws, technology and social media, where do you begin if you have decided to venture out on your own and open your own firm?
You begin by attending Hanging Your Shingle.
In two and a half days, you will get the tools, information and building blocks you need to confidently open the doors to your new firm.
Register today. Your future begins now.
SPONSORS:
Agenda:
Thursday, August 14
GETTING STARTED
8:00am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:25am
Welcome and Introduction
Extended by David Little, Esq., and Gerald Pratt, Esq., Program Co-Chairs
8:30 - 9:10am
Things to Consider When Deciding to Open Your Own Practice: Is It the Right Decision for You?
Presented by David Graf, Esq.
9:10 - 10:00am
Writing Your Business Plan
Presented by Qusair Mohamedbhai, Esq., and Siddhartha Rathod, Esq.
10:00 - 10:15am
Networking Break
10:15 - 10:45am
What Does a Bank Want to See Before It Loans Money or Extends a Line of Credit?
Presented by Kelly Condon, Regional President
10:45 - 11:45am
Choice of Entity When Forming a Business
Options; Tax Considerations; Partnership and Operating Agreements
Presented by Jacqueline Benson, Esq.
11:45- 1:00pm
Lunch Break (On Your Own)
1:00 - 2:00pm
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 Linda Gross, Firm Administrator
2:00 - 3:00pm
COLTAF Accounts
Presented by Katrin Miller Rothgery, Esq.
3:00 - 3:15pm
Networking Break
3:15 - 4:15pm
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 Ron Seigneur, MBA CPA/ABV, ASA, CVA, CFF
4:15pm
Adjourn to Networking Reception at the Warwick Hotel Sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Section
Friday, August 15
YOUR LAW FIRM AS A BUSINESS
8:30 - 10:00am
Key Aspects of Law Practice Management
- 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 Charles “Chip” Mortimer, Esq., and Reba Nance, Director, Law Practice Management/Risk Management
10:00 - 10:10am
Networking Break
10:10 - 11:00am
Malpractice Insurance
A Very Unique Kind of Coverage
Presented by Carolyn Fairless, Esq.
11:00am - 11:50am
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.
11:50am - 1:00pm
Networking Lunch (Lunch for Purchase)
1:00 - 2:00pm
Rules of Professional Conduct
Practical Application
Presented by David Little, Esq.
2:00 - 3:00pm
Marketing and Business Development for Small and Solo Firms
- Differences Between Marketing and Business Development and What Each One Does
- What's in a Marketing/Business Development Plan and How Do You Create It?
- Steps to Crafting an Actionable Marketing and Business Development Plan
- Must Haves in Solo Marketing/Business Development Plans - Focus on Essential Tactics Like
- Website, e-Marketing, Basics of Social Media (Focus on LinkedIn for Lawyers)
Presented by Martha Cusick Eddy, Director, and Phil Nugent, Esq.
3:00 - 3:15pm
Networking Break
3:15 - 3:30pm
The Importance of Finding a Mentor and What CAMP Has to Offer
Presented by John Baker, Esq.
3:30 - 5:00pm
From the Trenches: A Panel Presentation of Practical Advice and Traps to Avoid
Presented by:
Marie Drake, Esq.
Barbara Cashman, Esq.
David Graf, Esq.
Qusair Mohamedbhai, Esq.
Siddhartha Rathod, Esq.
Jay Tiftickjian, Esq.
Moderator: Gerald Pratt, Esq., Program Co-Chair
5:00pm
Adjourn
Saturday, August 16
TECHNOLOGY
9:00am
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
Presented by Phil Shuey, Esq.
10:00am
Networking Break
10:10am
The Importance of Social Media in Starting Your Own Firm
- How Blogs and Social Media Work for Attorneys
- How to Create a Successful Social Media Strategy for Your Practice
- Social Media Best Practices
- How to Use Social Media to Build Your Referral Networks
Presented by Dustin Ruge, Regional Manager
11:00am
Ethics of Social Media
- Confidentiality, Competency and the Cloud
- Marketing Through Social Media
- Really Dumb Things Lawyers (and Judges) Do on Social Media
Presented by Charles Luce, Esq.
12:00 - 12:30pm
Professionalism in Your Practice
Presented by Honorable John Leopold
12:30pm
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 | $339.00 |
| CBA Member | $299.00 |
| CBA Solo Small Firm Section Member | $269.00 |
| New Lawyer - Not a CBA Member; in practice 3 years or less | $249.00 |
| New Lawyer - YLD Member; in practice 3 years or less | $149.00 |
| CLEACCESSPASS--ELITE Pass Holder | $79.00 |
- General Credits: 18.00
- Ethics Credits: 6.00
- 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
- Key Aspects of Law Practice Management, Technology and Business Planning
- Hear from Attorneys Who Have Succeeded!