TIME
1:30 - 2:30 p.m.: Ethics Do's and Don'ts for Lawyer Marketing/Advertising
2:40 - 3:40 p.m.: Paint Your Profit by the Numbers
3:45 - 4:45 p.m.: Ethical Considerations & Best Practices for Billing & Collections
4:45 - 6:00 p.m.: Complimentary Social/Happy Hour outside on the ECBA parking lot!
COST
Attend one CLE: $47 - ECBA Members (Judges & Attorneys) and their non-attorney staff; $60 - Non-members
Attend two CLEs: $85 - ECBA Members (Judges & Attorneys) and their non-attorney staff; $110 - Non-members
Attend three CLEs: $125 - ECBA Members (Judges & Attorneys) and their non-attorney staff; $160 - Non-members
Complimentary Social/Happy Hour
These courses have been approved for 2 Hours Ethics CLE and 1 Hour Substantive CLE
PROGRAMS
Ethics Do's and Don'ts for Lawyer Marketing/Advertising: This seminar will address the issues of lawyer marketing, advertising and solicitation as it relates a rapidly shifting, ultra-competitive marketplace. From the “traditional” (billboards, radio and TV) to the “modern” (websites, blogs and social media, ratings and rankings, reviews, referral services, and other “content”). Whether you are a solo practitioner marketing to consumers or a mega-firm focused on defense of corporate clients, the issues addressed will be relevant to your law practice.
Paint Your Profit by the Numbers: Do you seem to have more questions about your practice than answers? Is there information you’d like to know, but you have no idea how to find it? Law firms are businesses, but they are not like any other business. So the metrics which you should track; which drive your firm toward profit or loss, will be different than for other businesses. Most CPAs — unless they focus on law firms — don’t understand the meaningful numbers to examine in order to forecast and improve profitability. They can’t provide you with the guidance you need. This course is not about overwhelming you with new numbers. It’s about looking at just the numbers which will enable you to clearly understand how your practice is doing, in order to make better business decisions. This course will provide you with the metrics, formulas, and other procedural information you need, and explain which questions each piece of information will answer. It will enable you to focus in on just what you need to get the answers you seek. It will enable you to be proactive in addressing key areas to improve your financial health, and even improve your marketing efforts.
Ethical Considerations & Best Practices for Billing & Collections: Rules of Professional Conduct and related Opinions dictate what an attorney must do, as well as what an attorney cannot do, when it comes to billing clients and collecting what has been billed. This course will provide much-needed guidance to keep the attorney from straying off the path. How do you ensure you will get paid for the work you do? Unfortunately, there is no single magic secret to share as to why some firms get paid and others don’t. Rather, there is a proven methodology of best practices you can and should follow. This course will spotlight the essential steps which are guaranteed to reduce your receivables and improve your cash flow, without making ethical blunders.
SPEAKERS
Jennifer Ellis, Esq. is a legal ethics attorney in Pennsylvania assisting attorneys with issues such as ethical marketing for lawyers, electronic discovery, practice management and online presence. Previously, Attorney Ellis worked with a Philadelphia area personal injury firm, where she practiced legal ethics, managed the firm’s online presence, and oversaw its IT and security consultants. She also served as the Associate Director of Media Technology with the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, where she organized and presented courses on numerous issues, including law practice management, technology and ethics.
Ellen Freedman, CLM, is the Law Practice Management Coordinator for the PBA. She assists PBA’s members with management issues and decisions on the business side of their practice, including areas such as technology, financial management and profitability, human resources, marketing, risk management, starting a practice and so forth. She is founder and President of Freedman Consulting, which assists PA law firms with a full range of issues and projects on the business side of the practice. Ms. Freedman also publishes the Law Practice Management blog at www.PA-LawPracticeManagement.com. Ms. Freedman holds the designation of Certified Legal Manager through the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). She holds a Certification in Computer Programming from Maxwell Institute, and a Certification in Web Site Design and a B.A. from Temple University.
Reservations due to the ECBA office by Friday, August 6, 2021.
