From e-discovery to employee wage issues, the 2018 Solo Summit offered its more than 100 attendees vital knowledge for sole practitioners at every stage of practice on November 9 at Maryland Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, Maryland.

The daylong conference touched on, among other things, marketing, courtroom and practice technology, and accounting best practices.

Tatia Gordon-Troy, of Ramses House Publishing, LLC, presented two programs – “Getting Published: Writing to Position Yourself as an Expert” and “Nuts & Bolts of Social Media Marketing”. Business development, she said, is especially critical for solo and small firm practitioners. “It’s very important for them to figure out what exactly will work for them.”

Publishing, noted Gordon-Troy, spotlights an attorney’s knowledge and experience, and can help “catapult their business to a new level.”

Presenter Melanie Glickson drew upon her 17-year career as an employment law sole practitioner to underscore the importance of proper payment and employee classification.

“There are a lot of traps for the unwary when it comes to independent contractor misclassification of exempt versus non-exempt workers,” said Glickson.

Other Summit highlights included Bar Counsel Lydia Lawless’s presentation on ethical considerations when marketing one’s practice; Dave Pantzer (Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland) and Siobhan Madison’s (Civil Justice, Inc.) deep dive into expanding one’s practice through limited scope representation; and Howard Metro’s exploration of the “Rules, Ethics and Common Courtesy” that underlie career transitions.

The Summit also included a meeting of the MSBA Solo & Small Firm Practice Section, which hosted the event, as well as a post-Summit networking happy hour at Centerstage in Live! Casino.

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