The Oklahoma Bar Journal March 2023

L aw P ractice T ips

Fun and Tips Abound at the 2023 OBA Solo & Small Firm Conference

By Jim Calloway

E VEN AS WE ENDURE THE chilly winds of March, it is time to look forward to this summer’s Solo & Small Firm Conference, held June 22-24 at the Osage Casino Hotel in Tulsa. SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE From the conference kickoff with the ever-popular “60 Tips in 60 Minutes” to the closing session of “What’s Hot and What’s Not in Law Office Management & Technology,” the Solo & Small Firm Conference combines fun social events with 12 hours of MCLE credit, including two hours of ethics. This means attendees can satisfy all the year’s MCLE requirements at this event. Also, look forward to a poolside cookout Thursday evening, and make sure to join us Friday night for the pri mary social event. Did I mention there will be door prizes too? The conference coincides with the Young Lawyers Division Midyear Meeting, so this year, we focused on offering more selections for young lawyers. There will be a young lawyer/ new lawyer track offering each hour, including the session “How to Get the Most Out of Your Bar Association” with OBA President

Brian Hermanson and OBA Executive Director Janet Johnson. Other sessions include “How I Manage My Small Firm Criminal Defense Practice” with Oklahoma City attorney Ed Blau and “Estate Planning – Help Your Clients Leave a Fortune and Not a Fight” with Tulsa attorney Mark Darrah. We expect to see many veteran lawyers in the young lawyer track; young lawyers may also find an educational opportunity in one of the other two sessions offered at the time. Stanley Tate, an entertaining and dynamic speaker who has previously presented at ABA TECHSHOW, will be our special featured guest this year. Mr. Tate will present "Carving Your Path: Developing a Successful Law Practice in a Niche Area of Law" (Friday) and "Everything You Need to Know About Student Loans in 2023" (Saturday). He will also join us for 60 Tips in 60 Minutes to open the confer ence. Check out his website, www.tateesq.com, for a look at a lawyer site focused on answering potential clients’ questions. GREAT SPEAKERS AND PROGRAMS

Kenton Brice will be joining us again this year, presenting “Microsoft Word Add-Ins for Law Practice” and “Document Automation to Build an Unbundled Legal Product.” Mr. Brice is the director of technology innovation and the interim director of the Donald E. Pray Law Library at the OU College of Law. Kansas City lawyer Stanley Tate will be the featured guest during this year's Solo & Small Firm Conference. He will dive into the topic of student loan law as well as discuss how lawyers can use video for marketing.

56 | MARCH 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL