Use what you learned at Solo, Small Firm Conference

By Paul J. Sullivan

Did you recently attend the 2008 ISBA Solo and Small Firm Conference?

If so, you hopefully received lots of good information, networked with many of your peers, and on that Saturday afternoon, as you pulled out of the Pheasant Run parking lot, resolved to implement in your firm many of the good things you just learned about.

On Monday, when you returned to your office and filed away the materials you brought back from the conference, I pose this question to you.

Have those materials have been reviewed since then, or will they remain in the file cabinet until your retirement, or until it’s time to clean out your file cabinet to make more room for, what else - more conference materials?

There are always lots of good ideas and information you can pick up whenever you attend a conference, but it’s what you do with it afterwards that really counts.

I suspect everyone has good intentions to use this stuff, but if you’re like most of us, by the time you get back to the office those intentions get trumped by bigger and more pressing priorities.

You spent valuable time and expense to attend the conference. Although you’ll never catch up on post-conference intentions, with a little resolve you can at least give it a try.

Following are some tips to still get some benefit from either the sessions you attended or the people you met. But first: Did you tell someone that you would (fill in the blank). If so, and you haven’t followed up on it, do so right now so you don’t forget.

Were there any specific sessions that were particularly meaningful to you? If so, pull out those materials right now and make some notes.

Every session was recorded. DVDs and/or CDs will be available for purchase in the future. Being able to review that particular session over and over will almost guarantee you’ll further benefit from whatever information it had to offer.

Did you meet or network with anyone who gave you information you can use? Review the business cards you received and make notes. Follow up with those individuals, either through e-mail or by phone. Just because the conference is over doesn’t mean you can’t continue to network.

Review the conference brochure once again. Perhaps there was a session you wished you could attend but didn’t. The handout materials from each session were available to every registrant on a CD. Review those materials and, if it has further interest for you, look into purchasing the recording of that session.

Go to the ISBA Web site and review any discussions about the conference. If you found something particularly interesting, make a post about it. Your post may generate responses that give you even more meaningful information.

Of all the great things you learned and wish to implement, choose one to work on. You’re probably not getting anything done because you’re overwhelmed with lots of good ideas. The key to success is to pick something and make real progress on it.

Share what you’ve learned with other people in your office. If it’s a particularly exciting change or a great new idea, getting their support and enthusiasm will make it happen even more effectively.

Finally, if you didn’t attend the conference, there are still ways you can benefit from it. All the materials can be purchased from the CLE department for $75, and within a few weeks all the recordings will be available for sale.

Perhaps Abraham Lincoln said it best: “The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”

Paul Sullivan, a past chair and member of the ISBA Committee on Law Office Management and Economics, is office administrator for the Peoria firm of Quinn, Johnston, Henderson & Pretorius. He may be contacted at (309) 636-7252, or sullivan@qjhp.com for answers to management and economics concerns.