Plan to Attend the Solo & Small Firm Section ’ s Upcoming CLE Luncheons : September 17 and november 28 !
CHAllenge Yourself to groW Your prACtiCe tHis YeAr solo & small Firm section Chairs : Matthew Crist – Crist Legal | PA & Gian-Franco Melendez – Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez , LLC
You need to work on your law firm , not just work in your law firm . remember , you are not an employee . You are an entrepreneur .
Welcome to another year for the Solo & Small Firm Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association ! I am honored to continue to serve as your co-chair , and it is my pleasure to introduce and welcome Gian-Franco Melendez , who will be serving as the Section ’ s co-chair this year . Gian-Franco and I are excited about the coming year and the opportunity to grow the Section , continue providing great educational opportunities , organize some networking events , and create opportunities and build relationships for our members to grow their practices .
Our group of solo and small firm practitioners primarily includes members who are both lawyers and small business owners . To run our law firms , we do the “ lawyer stuff ” ( meeting with clients , drafting motions , preparing for hearings , etc .), and we do the “ small business owner stuff ” ( we maintain our trust account , pay the bills , negotiate pricing terms with vendors , etc .).
But let ’ s say your goal is not to just run a law firm . Let ’ s say your goal is to grow your law firm and get to the next level . Then you have to do more . You need to work on your law firm , not just work in your law firm . Remember , you are not an employee . You are an entrepreneur .
That means resisting the urge to micromanage and instead focus on delegating . If you don ’ t think you have enough employees to delegate , take advantage of technology . You can hire a virtual bookkeeper to keep track of your firm ’ s finances . You can hire a virtual paralegal to help you keep your cases moving . You can hire a contract attorney to draft briefs . There are countless other examples .
Getting into the mindset of working on your business rather than in your business keeps you focused on the big picture and your vision . It leverages your firm ’ s greatest asset : You . Your vision , your knowledge , your skills ,
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your relationships . This mindset lets you spend your time thinking strategically about where you want your firm to go and targeting the types of clients you want to attract .
Being active in the HCBA and in the Solo & Small Firm Section will help you with that goal . We will have several meetings this year , including informative CLE presentations , networking meetings , and practical practice-building sessions . Please come join us for these meetings , which are great opportunities to talk to fellow lawyers and members of our section and grow your firm .
Whether you are a current solo or small firm practitioner , or are thinking about taking your career in that direction , I hope you will join us this year . Gian-Franco and I look forward to working with you to grow and strengthen our businesses and the Solo & Small Firm Section .
Author : Matthew Crist – Crist Legal | PA
Plan to Attend the Solo & Small Firm Section ’ s Upcoming CLE Luncheons : September 17 and november 28 !
S E P T - O C T 2 0 1 8 | H C B A L A W Y E R
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