Solo & Small Practice Section
The Solo & Small Practice Section supports solo and small practice attorneys by providing important resources that help them to better run their practices, understand their ethical obligations, and grow their practice.
The Section provides complimentary educational programs on a regular basis in addition to collaborating with the WSBA for presentation of the annual Solo and Small Firm Conference, networking opportunities, a vibrant list serve, and a members-only area featuring helpful resources such as written materials from past conferences and video recordings.
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The Solo & Small Practice Section offers many resources and benefits for members. On this page you will find information about the section, their upcoming events and offerings, as well as information about the section's executive committee.
Upcoming ProgramsSection InformationMember BenefitsRecommended Resources | WSBA Discount NetworkExecutive Committee Suggestion BoxExecutive Committee MeetingsExecutive Committee |
Upcoming Programs
NEW Webinar! Hang Your Own Shingle: Starting a Law Firm Basics
Developed in partnership with the WSBA Solo & Small Practice Section and the WSBA Low Bono Section.
This CLE, presented by Margeaux Green, the Washington State Bar Association's Practice Management Advisor, provides essential guidance for legal professionals looking to establish and manage a solo or small firm practice. During this 60-minute session, attendees will explore crucial topics such as office setup, technology tools, client management, and compliance with ethical requirements. Additionally, the program will cover the key components of creating a comprehensive business plan tailored to your legal practice. Participants will gain practical insights into managing a firm efficiently while adhering to best practices for business development and financial planning. Whether you are new to solo practice or seeking to refine your existing firm, this CLE will offer actionable steps to improve your practice management skills and long-term success.
When: Oct. 30, 2024
Time: Noon–1 p.m. PDT
Credits: 1.00 Other
NEW Webinar! Low-Cost and No-Cost Alternatives to Westlaw and LexisNexis
Developed in partnership with the WSBA Solo & Small Practice Section
This presentation will cover low cost and free alternative legal research programs to Westlaw and LexisNexis. Our presenters from the UW Law Library are well experiences in the multitude of legal research programs.
When: Oct. 31, 2024
Time: Noon–1:30 p.m. PDT
Credits: 1.50 Law & Legal Procedure
NEW Webinar! Employees vs. Independent Contractors: What Law Firms Need to Know
Developed in partnership with the WSBA Solo & Small Practice Section
When a small business, like a law firm, brings on its first non-owner worker, it needs to be aware of when it can bring on that person as an independent contractor, or when it needs to pay them as an employee. This program will give you the following legal overview and practice information:
- Tests for independent contractors vs. employees
- Risks of misclassification
- Example agreements in the law firm context
- Example policies for your first employee
When: Nov. 21, 2024
Time: Noon–1 p.m. PT
Credits: 1.00 Law & Legal Procedure
Executive Committee Suggestion Box
The Executive Committee (EC) of the WSBA Solo & Small Practice Section welcomes your input regarding such matters as the Section web page, members-only area, webinar topics, and Section activities. Please send suggestions to wsbasolo@gmail.com. This email address is monitored on a weekly basis; non-time-sensitive feedback will be shared with the EC at its next scheduled meeting.
Responding to Pandemic
Results of Member Survey: Impact of Pandemic on WSBA Members | COVID-19 Law Office Reopening Guide, produced by the WSBA Coronavirus Response Task Force |
Recommended Resources Forum:
Reminder: Practice Management Discount Network
As a member of the WSBA, you have access to the Practice Management Discount Network, a collection of discounts on products and services to help you improve your law practice. For further details, please visit the Practice Management Discount Network page.
Suggestions from Members
We invite section members to share information about resources and recommendations that may be of interest to other solo and small practice attorneys. Please send your suggestions to wsbasolo@gmail.com and they will be posted to an unmonitored Forum page within the Members-Only Area of the Section website. To review such postings, please access the Members-Only area and click on the category "Recommended Resources Forum – Suggestions from Members." Contributions to the Forum will be posted without author attribution.
Access Members-Only Area
To access the Members-Only Area, login with username SSP@wsba.org (not an active email address), type in the password you received with your section sign up/renewal, and then click continue.
If you encounter a screen with a message such as "Someone is already using the username and password...," just click on “Log the other user off and enter” and retry logging in. Email sections@wsba.org if the problem persists.
Resources in the members-only area include:
- CLE Chapters and Articles
- Management Tools, Tips, and Forms
- Online Resources
- The Blogroll
Reminder: Practice Management Assistance Program Lending Library
You may want to visit the WSBA Lending Library page (a service of the Practice Management Assistance program) for information about a free service to WSBA members offering the short-term loan of books on topics related to practice management, wellness, and career development. The Library includes multiple titles regarding succession planning including:
- Lawyers at Midlife: Laying the Groundwork for the Road Ahead
- The Lawyer's Retirement Planning Guide
- Passing the Torch Without Getting Burned
- Lawyer Interrupted
- The Lawyer's Guide to Succession Planning
- Second Acts for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers
- Dangerous Opportunity: Making Change Work
- You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire
Reminder: Practice Transitions On-Demand Seminar in the WSBA CLE Store
The Practice Transitions Half-Day CLE seminar has three presentations: 1) Ethics of Practice Transitions, 2) Selling a Law Practice, and 3) a panel consisting of our ethics counsel and two attorneys, one who purchased a firm and another who sold their firm.
Section Information
Whom We Serve
Solo and small practice firms comprise more than 60% of practicing lawyers in Washington. Small firm practitioners must handle their finances, marketing, business decisions and growth without the help of law firm administrators, comptrollers, marketing personnel and executive directors.
The Solo and Small Practice Section of the Washington State Bar Association offers the resources to help manage these firms to maximum efficiency and profitability.
Who Serves You
The Section’s Executive Committee is made up of elected solo and small practice attorneys. They understand what you’re dealing with because they’re facing many of those same issues in their own practices. See the Section background page for member bios and photos.
The Executive Committee enjoys input from advisors, including consultants to the legal industry, providing added perspective on solutions to solo and small practice challenges.
Want to join us? Find out more about serving on the executive committee.
Member Benefits
Did you know there are several important member benefits and tools that come with WSBA membership including Practice Management Assistance, professional liability insurance, and legal research tool Fastcase? Membership in the Section can put you in touch with resources that you can't find anywhere else. It's the next best thing to having your own law practice management consultant!
When you join the Section, you will enjoy full access to:
- List serve discussions where you can post questions for Section members and receive help with your most challenging issues. This vibrant list serve is a great tool for communicating with other
Section members to pose questions, seek recommendations, and share information.
(Please click on "List serve discussions" to reach the List Serve Guidelines.)
- Links on our Members-Only pages to numerous helpful resources, including podcasts, past webinars, articles, CLE Chapters, videos, law practice management tips, and forms. .
- Section-sponsored webinars with CLE credit throughout the year focused on solo and small practice issues and interests.
- Discounted tuition for the annual WSBA Solo and Small Firm Conference.
- Networking opportunities with other solo and small firm practitioners.
Starting in fall 2018, the bar began offering members a new resource when shopping for health insurance. Members can compare and purchase products from leading insurance providers through a private online exchange. For more information, please visit Health Insurance Exchange or contact HealthExchange@wsba.org.
Learn more about WSBA Member Benefits.
Section Impact
"You all have been a great resource for me, and I'd like to say THANK YOU. I am eternally grateful for any nuggets of direction and advice... You all take the time to write out beautiful explanations that I read word for word and cherish. Your time is valuable and I appreciate it."
Venu N. Sareen, Attorney at Law
From list serve post, May 7, 2015
Executive Committee Meetings
2024 Executive Committee (EC) Meetings currently are scheduled to take place noon to 2 p.m. via Zoom unless otherwise noted below. To join the 2024 Zoom Meetings please use the following link:
Solo & Small Practice Zoom Meeting Link
Or call-in at 253-215-8782; Meeting ID: 751 741 0489.
View approved minutes for past Executive Committee Meetings and Annual Meetings by visiting the Meeting Minutes page.
Upcoming Meetings:
Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, Executive Committee Retreat
Executive Committee
Chair: Darcel Lobo (2024-2025) Chair-Elect: Nicholas Pleasants (2024-2025) Immediate Past Chair: Jordan Couch (2024-2025) Secretary: TBD (2024-2025) Treasurer: TBD (2024-2025) Young Lawyer Liaison*: Tyler O'Brien (2024-2026) Board of Governors Liaison*: Kari Petrasek (2024-2025) *Nonvoting member | At-large Members: D. Bruce Gardiner (2023-2025) Adviser Members*: Practice Management Adviser, Liaison to the Executive Committee*: Margeaux Green |
Please contact committee member for details on their upcoming meeting dates and locations.
For general questions, or to switch your list serve settings to a daily digest, please email inquiries to sections@wsba.org. To get involved and learn more about the Solo and Small Practice Section, please contact the Section Chair Darcel Lobo. For more information about the Executive Committee members, check out their biographies.
