Please Take This Short Survey!

The rising increase in the number of attorneys practicing in small law firms across the nation has provided an expanded market for law students and new graduates. As a result, law school career services offices (CSOs) are interested in reaching out to smaller firms to introduce services they can provide to the firms as well as to let them know more about their law schools, their students, and alumni. This survey is designed to assist CSOs with learning the most effective ways to conduct outreach or connect with small law firms.

If you are a solo or small firm practitioner, we ask for your help in completing this survey which has a total of nine questions. Total completion time is between 5–10 minutes. Please note that we will not ask you to divulge your firm name, and answers will be shared only in aggregate. The survey can be found here.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. We appreciate your time and participation!

Samantha Williams, Esq.
GPSolo Law Student Committee Co-Chair and NALP Liaison to GPSolo
Director of Employer Relations
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University
480-727-7092 | Samantha.C.Williams@asu.edu

Solo/Small Firm Forms Library

Gain instant access to convenient forms, letters, checklists, and agreements developed specifically with the solo/small firm practitioner in mind. Written by some of the top legal professionals in their field, the material in the GPSolo Division's Forms Library is organized by practice area, making it quick and easy to find the forms you need. Click here to find out more.

Brown Bag Sessions

Next session: April 10, 2013, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Central

As a Division member, you have complimentary access to GPSolo’s Virtual Brown Bag Sessions, which are short, informal educational events on timely topics held entirely by teleconference. The sessions are held monthly and normally last one hour during lunch hours. Due to the informal nature of the programs, and the fact that accompanying written materials may not always be prepared and distributed, the Division does not offer CLE credits for these programs.

Past Brown Bag Session topics included:

• Cybersecurity and the Solo, Small Firm Lawyer
• What Solos and Small Firms Need to Know About Avoiding Ethics Complaints and Malpractice Claims
• How to Make Money with Group Legal Plans
• Going Solo: Practical and Useful Tips for Starting and Running a Solo Practice
• Peace and Protection
• Words With Friends, Acquaintances, and Potential Clients: Practical Tips & Potential Pitfalls for Lawyers Who Blog or Want to Get Started
• Are you Running Your Practice Like a Business?
• A Primer on the Debt Collection and Credit Reporting Acts: The Basics That Every Practitioner Should Know
• Everything You Need to Know About Successfully Representing Traffic and DUI Clients—Trial Tips for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers
• Technology Tips to Manage, Grow, and Enhance Your Practice
• Is Your Client in a Divorce Eligible for Equitable Relief as an “Innocent Spouse”?
• Consumer Bankruptcy Grab Bag
• Retirement Saving During Tough Economic Time
• A View From the Bench: The Solo and Small Firm Lawyer in the Courtroom
• Promoting Diversity in the Legal Profession 
• Technology Tips, Tricks and Tools to Succeed as a Solo and Small Firm

You can access these sessions and more on the Division’s website.

Committee Leadership Appointments: 2013–2014 Bar Year

It is the time of year again for the Division’s Chair-Elect to appoint members to the numerous committees within our Division. The Division is the voice of the solo and small firm practitioners, as well as the general practitioners throughout the country. Our committees’ work is the lifeblood of the success of the Division. We are looking for individuals willing to step up and volunteer to provide leadership, content, product, and ideas that will be able to assist the solo and small firm lawyer in your community and elsewhere.

If you are interested in getting involved, please visit the Division’s website at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/gpsolo/news_announcements.html and complete the online application. You must be a member in good standing of the Division in order to receive an appointment. There is no guarantee that you will receive your first appointment request. However, we will attempt to do whatever we can to fulfill your appointment and committee preferences. The application deadline is March 29, 2013.

2013 Solo and Small Firm Awards

GPSolo 2013 Solo and Small Firm Awards celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of outstanding solo and small firm practitioners, as well as bar leaders and bar associations. Winners will be honored at the GPSolo 2013 Spring Leadership Meeting’s Awards Program at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, AK, on May 24, 2013.

• Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award: Recognizes solo and small firm attorneys who are widely accepted by their peers as having significant lifetime distinction, exceptional achievement, and distinction in an exemplary way. The winners will be viewed by other solo and small firm practitioners as epitomizing the ideals of the legal profession and of solo and small firm practitioners.
• Solo and Small Firm Project Award: Rewards bar leaders and associations for their successful implementation of a project or program specifically targeted to solo and small firm lawyers.
• Solo and Small Firm Trainer Award: Recognizes attorneys who have made significant contributions to educating lawyers or law students regarding the opportunities and challenges of a solo and small firm practice.

To submit a nomination for a solo and small firm award, please review the information & application instructions here. Applications must be submitted by email or postmarked no later than March 29, 2013. If you have any questions, please contact Dee Lee, GPSolo Program Specialist, at 312-988-5659 or via e-mail.

Call for Applications: Diversity and Young Lawyers Fellowships

We are pleased to announce the sponsorship of four Diversity Fellowships in the Division during the 2013–2014 bar year. The program is designed to promote diversity within the Division and the ABA, while providing leadership development opportunities within the Division for women, attorneys of color, those with disabilities, and persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities.

We are also pleased to announce the sponsorship of two Young Lawyer Fellowships in the Division during the 2013–2014 bar year. GPSolo is committed to increasing the participation of young lawyers in Division activities. This program will provide young lawyers the opportunity to become actively and integrally involved in the Division’s meetings and committees.

Applications and nominations for both Diversity and Young Lawyer Fellowships must be received by April 30, 2013. Successful applicants will be notified in early June 2013. For more information about these fellowship programs, visit our website.

Diversity Fellowships Application

Young Lawyer Fellowship Application

For Only $1 per Month, ABA GPSolo Members Can Access Total Attorneys’ Robust Practice Management Software

For only $1 per month, ABA GPSolo members can access Total Attorneys’ robust Practice Management Software. The cloud-based system includes a client portal, case management tools, time keeping, invoicing, document management and much more.

As one of the founding members of the Legal Cloud Computing Association, Total Attorneys Platform provides attorneys with a unique collection of safeguards and features to deliver services online or work remotely. Total Attorneys enables law firms to deliver online services, including automatic jurisdiction and conflict checking, online retainer agreements and quotes, in a completely secure environment.

Ready to get started? Click here to set up your account.

For more than a decade, Total Attorneys has been helping thousands of solo to small law firms run their practices more efficiently. They hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and are a proud Sponsor of the ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division.