Foley Griffin partner, Thomas J. Foley has been hosting an innovative new program at the Nassau County Bar Association. In conjunction with the Academy of Law, Tom, the Assistant Dean at the Academy, has been presenting a series of lectures on starting, maintaining and marketing a law firm. To date programs have included starting your own law firm, time management, and developing a “niche practice.” Future programs will focus on the marketing essentials for lawyers.
At the initial program, Tom, along with attorney Gary Port from Port & Sava, discussed the various issues and challenges confronting attorneys starting their own law firm. Topics included finding space for an office, hiring and retaining staff, paying the bills and handling the legal work. The audience members were either already running their own law firm or in the process of deciding to leave a current job and go out on their own.
The next lecture was hosted by Tom and attorney James P. Joseph of the Joseph Law Group. Tom and James lectured the attorneys on how to better manage their time. Tom and James recommended having a daily schedule that is created in advance of the start of the work day. This schedule addresses both legal obligations, as well as business and marketing. Tom and James recommended to plan for the unexpected, meaning expect problems to arise and plan accordingly.
The final program of 2015 was giving by attorneys Scott Limmer and Oscar Michelin. Scott and Oscar discussed how their practices have changed and how they have adapted their practices to the changes in the marketing. Both Scott and Oscar started off as criminal defense attorneys in private practice and have now moved on to a more diverse civil practice. Scott and Oscar also host a podcast and recommended that attorneys in the audience develop a similar innovative way to market their practices.
Future programs in this series will be addressing the marketing needs and concerns of attorneys. Mainly attorneys complain that with the overwhelming crush of legal work, they don’t have time to market. Tom will address these issues and make recommendations consistent with the prior time management program.