Session A: Practice Requirements, Accounts, and Licensing

Day 1 Session A: Practice requirements, accounts, and licensing 1. Professional liability insurance a. Places to call: a.i. Ahern a.ii. Mercer a.iii. LMK a.iii.1. “Start Strong Program” a.iii.2. $100,000/$300,000 a.iii.3. Things to know first: Letterhead, what areas of practice, conflict checking, calendaring b. Consequences of being insured b.i. LRS b.i.1. Legal-Aid b.i.2. OCBar b.i.3. LABar b.i.4. Application, Fee, Insurance, Number of Panels b.ii. If you go bare b.ii.1. Disclosure 2. Establish Business Entity & start firm a. Pros/Cons a.i. Sole proprietorship a.ii. Partnership a.iii. Corporation a.iii.1. APC a.iv. LLC a.v. LLP b. After decision b.i. Fill out correct paperwork b.ii. Get proper tax ID for business account 3. Banking, timing, and billing a. Accounts a.i. Go on to CalBar website a.i.1. List of approved banks a.i.2. Find one local a.i.2.a. Check out on-line access a.i.2.b. Look for apps for quick scanning of checks a.i.3. Pull IOLTA tax ID # to take to the bank a.ii. After you are at the bank and open and IOLTA account, you need to update your profile on StateBar with your trust fund account a.ii.1.a. This account needs its own checks b. Business account b.i. Same bank as trust fund is ideal b.ii. Own checks for this account, also b.iii. Credit card b.iv. Scanning checks and fund transfer options b.v. Make sure you have your tax ID with you & photo ID c. Time and Billing c.i. Your own system using something like Quicken or Excel c.ii. Other options (Allison has some contact info, if you want it) c.ii.1. CLIO c.ii.2. Cosmoplex c.ii.3. LexisNexis firm manager c.ii.4. WestLaw Time and Billing c.ii.4.a. Some companies can give you packaged deals d. When and how to move earned fee from trust account to business account e. Paying filing fees 4. Case management a. Program options a.i. CLIO a.ii. Granat a.iii. LexisNexis a.iv. Westlaw a.iv.1. Conflict check a.iv.2. Calendaring a.iv.3. Tasks a.iv.4. Checklists/reminders 5. Using the Law Library a. Joining b. Location c. Law school library 6. AND/OR Legal Research Engines a. Law.net b. Westlaw c. LexisNexis d. CEB e. Bloomberg 7. Interviewing Clients 8. Retainer—CALBAR website has samples a. Hourly b. Flat fee c. Contingent d. Deposit d.i. When earned 9. Zoning and other business license requirements a. Business license b. Zoning permit

Day 2 Setting up your office, office space and furniture 1. Phones a. Conflict checking b. Phone etiquette c. Proper voicemail d. Google voice 2. Fax a. Fax transmission coversheet b. Track send/receipt 3. E-mail a. Try to connect website b. Signature line b.i. Disclosure 4. Internet a. Cloud-based b. Bandwidth c. Security c.i. Antivirus, etc. 5. Work space a. Shared b. Virtual c. Filing cabinets/filing system d. Office supplies

How to market yourself to get and retain clients 1. Business cards a. Moo.com b. Vistaprint.com c. Layout sample c.i. Have someone spot check/opinion c.ii. Save the layout for quick reorder 2. Dress 3. Headshot 4. Internet presence a. LinkedIn b. Facebook c. Twitter d. Website 5. Marketing a. Where b. Prepaid c. LRS d. Round Table Pizza e. Church f. Pro bono g. Other attorneys h. Writing Articles 6. Media a. TV b. Radio c. Print d. Daily Journal 7. Biography a. Different ones for different purposes 8. Language capability a. What language you speak b. What procedures you need in place if your client struggles with English c. Procedures if opposing party is a non-English speaker 9. Where to meet a client a. First impression b. Starbucks c. Law library d. Courthouse e. Legal Aid 10. Networking to success a. Joining the bar association a.i. Mentoring a.ii. YLD a.iii. Sections a.iii.1. Family law a.iv. Bridging the gap Day 3 How to practice properly to avoid liability issues and common pitfalls 1. State Bar a. MCLE requirements to keep license current 2. Remind of tracking accounts a. DO NOT commingle money! (See day 2) 3. Tax Expert a. Filing taxes as a solo practitioner b. How to deduct business expenses 4. Filing Documents a. E-filing OC b. Los Angeles c. Attorney services d. Client to file 5. Court forms a. Mandatory b. Local Forms 6. Sample Pleading 7. Drafting a Business Letter 8. Court Websites a. OC a.i. Registering b. LA 9. Contracting with other attorneys 10. Opening a case file 11. Computing a. Laptop b. Dropbox c. Google docs 12. Wiki 13. Limited Scope 14. Special appearances a. Liability b. Retainer c. Fee You Can Charge 15. Conflicts 16. Confidentiality vs. Privilege a. 6068 b. EC 17. Negligent Referral

Moving beyond the beginning 1. Hiring staff a. Insurance b. Pay c. Taxes d. Healthcare e. Worker’s compensation

Benefits of/Incubator requirements 1. 300 hours of pro bono 2. Substantive law a. Family b. Bankruptcy c. Landlord Tenant d. Small Claims e. Collections 3. Procedural Law a. Build procedural background info a.i. Discovery a.ii. Forms a.ii.1. Statewide a.ii.2. Local a.ii.3. Local Local a.iii. Rules of Court a.iii.1. Statewide a.iii.2. Local a.iii.3. Local Local 4. Agreement with LASOC a. Rental b. Address c. Phones d. Paralegal e. Other support f. Copies g. Other resources 5. Weekly case review 6. Supervision 7. Mentoring 8. Free MCLE 9. 1st year of LRS dues waived 10. Ability to use office space 11. Discounted malpractice insurance 12. Free year of CLIO for case management 13. Access to Continuing Education of the Bar’s OnLaw 14. Opportunities to appear in court