About the Committee

Mission

Welcome to the homepage of the Solo and Small Firm Committee. Our committee's goal is to deliver the benefits and provide the resources most useful to small firm and solo litigators.

While perhaps not as noticeable to the public eye, solo and small firm litigators are the backbone of our country’s civil justice system. Our committee’s purpose is to provide a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, and resources on issues uniquely impacting the solo and small firm litigator and that will enhance the effectiveness and enjoyment of our members’ litigation practices. Our goal is to “raise the bar” by serving as a clearinghouse on the many varied matters affecting your practice, including current litigation developments, important new decisions, articles on issues of substance and procedure, ethics, technology and Section news. Our success depends upon your participation. We need your help in shaping and defining the message of our committee so all our members can benefit by learning what works for you in your litigation practice.

We encourage you to contact us to get involved.

Message from the Chairs

Welcome to the Solo & Small Firm Committee page! We are delighted to chair the Solo & Small Firm Committee for the 2023–2024 bar year. The success of the Solo & Small Firm Committee depends on  the involvement of small firm lawyers like you. Our Committee members come from communities large and small, with different practice models, different concentrations, and diverse backgrounds, but together, we are a large and potent voice in the bar.

It is our hope that this committee will provide a resource for you and perhaps serve as a portal to greater involvement in the Section of Litigation. To that end, we are excited about the deliverables that the Solo & Small Firm Committee provides and hope that you will become involved in the committee work and leadership opportunities.

Our committee's website adds new content throughout the year and our social media accounts post news of significance to solo and small firm practitioners on a periodic basis. We are also working with other committees in the Litigation Section to provide roundtables, webinars, sound advice podcasts, CLEs, and regional meetings to our members. Please check your email and ABA Communities for announcements of these events. We are always looking for new content to post and resources to link. We currently have several leadership roles in the Committee that need to be filled including roundable, webinar and sound advice subcommittee chair and membership subcommittee chair. If you are interested in either of these positons or joining our committee, please reach out to either of us.

If you would like to contribute to the Committee’s newsletter, please let us  know. We would love to review your ideas and submissions for the newsletter. It is an excellent opportunity to obtain a publishing credit in a bar publication. If you are interested in joining the newsletter committee or chairing the committee, please let us know.

There are several CLE seminars being planned during this bar year and each will cover a variety of topics.

And, of course, the Section of Litigation Annual CLE Conference (SAC) will be held May 1–4, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Don’t forget one of the best Section of Litigation member benefits—free CLE programs! Taking advantage of this resource alone can justify your financial investment in the ABA and the Litigation Section each year.

We appreciate hearing from our members. Please contact us at any time with any questions or to express an interest in getting more involved.

We look forward to meeting you this year. Thank you.

Michael Steger
Alison Battiste Clement
Cochairs, Solo & Small Firm Committee

Announcements

Effective Representation of Elderly Clients: Key Considerations From Retention To Settlement

Tuesday, June 13, 2023
3:00-4:00 PM ET

Everything You Wanted to Know About Arbitration (But Were Afraid to Ask) Part 4: Final Hearing and Post-Hearing Matters

Wednesday, June 21, 2023
2:00-3:00 PM ET

Follow Us on Social Media

Follow the Solo & Small Firm Committee's hashtag #solosmallfirmlit on the Section of Litigation's Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts.

Writers Wanted

We need writers, and who couldn't benefit from authoring an article? If you are interested in writing for the Solo and Small Firm Committee in any form—long articles, short practice points, funny, serious, anything—please contact Michael Steger or Alison Battiste Clement.

Please Join Us for the Solo & Small Firm Monthly Catchup-All from the Comfort of your Own Office

The Solo and Small Firm Committee wants to network with you! Although one of the many benefits of ABA Membership are the relationships members forge with fellow attorneys from around the country, we know that getting to out-of-town, multiple day conferences can be tough. As a result, the Committee will be hosting a telephonic networking group that will meet by Zoom monthly. The idea: join together solo and small firm practitioners from across the country in a casual setting where they can share practice tips, exchange ideas, seek assistance from one another and simply get to know one another as friends and colleagues. If you are interested in joining this networking group, please contact cochairs Michael Steger and Alison Battiste Clement. We look forward to getting to know you!

Committee Leadership

Cochairs

Alison Battiste Clement
Michael Steger

Newsletter Editor

Laura Kirshenbaum

Website Editor

Jenna Brownlee