Solo & Small Firm Task Force: Fostering a Diverse Network of TIPS Committees and Practice Areas

More than a third of TIPS members are solo or small firm practitioners (a firm with nine or fewer attorneys). Solo and small firm members are decision makers, entrepreneurs, and true utility players in the practice of law. We must attract, retain, and effectively represent clients, in addition to exercising sound business judgment. Our task force is a resource to help these members get the most out of their TIPS membership and facilitates relevant programming and leadership opportunities for our members.

Given the breadth of practice areas of our membership, our task force intersects with nearly every TIPS general committee, standing committee, and task force. The Solo & Small Firm Task Force presents fantastic opportunities for networking, referrals, and professional collaborations, in addition to a plethora of writing and speaking invitations. This fun community of members provides a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive home for solo and small firm attorneys within TIPS. The relationships developed within the task force are a proven foundation for additional leadership roles in TIPS and the ABA community as a whole.

Our task force meets quarterly and regularly partners with other committees on CLE programming, Member Mondays, and Lunch & Learns. On February 5, 2021, we cosponsored a Lunch & Learn on “Leadership, Culture, and Collegiality in the Post-COVID Law Firm,” along with the TIPS Law Practice Management Task Force, TIPS Staff Counsel Committee, and TIPS Standing Committee on Outreach to Young Lawyers. We also provide our members with opportunities for reduced-rate CLE credits.

In addition, our task force is working closely with the TIPS Standing Committee on Outreach to Young Lawyers on the relaunch of the “Anatomy of a Trial” program, anticipated in the coming 2021–2022 bar year. We are working closely with other committees to bring this content to the broader membership, while also laying the groundwork to further increase membership of the task force.

Many of our members are leaders on other TIPS committees, including the Standing Committees on Ethics and Professionalism, Diversity and Inclusion, and Outreach to Young Lawyers, in addition to substantive practice areas including the Business Litigation, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, Employment and Labor Law, Automobile Litigation, and Admiralty and Maritime Law Committees. This broad network within the task force helps attorneys in solo and small firm settings foster relationships with mentors, provides access to subject matter experts, and affords opportunities to develop leadership skills, particularly important to young solo and small firm lawyers.

If you are a solo or small firm lawyer and new to TIPS, feel free to reach out to discuss how you can get involved. If you are a longtime TIPS member, please let us know how we can work and partner with your committees. We look forward to the return of in-person TIPS events in the near future. As a task force, we embrace the opportunity for in-person networking, social events, and public service projects offered through TIPS and find great value in enjoying the fellowship of our peers and having fun in informal settings. On our task force, acquaintances become friends and colleagues. Please come join us!

To learn more about the Solo & Small Firm Task Force and to join, please visit our page at https://www.americanbar.org/groups/tort_trial_insurance_practice/committees/solosmallfirm or email me at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @abatipssf and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12058833.