Houston Bar Association Continue Legal Education September 25, 2015 Ruby L. Powers and Karleana Farias

Biographies of Panelists Karleana Farias Karleana Farias Partner at The Farias Law Firm (Houston) Licensed in 2010 (Texas), District of Columbia (2011) Ruby L. Powers Ruby L. Powers Owner of the Law Office of Ruby L. Powers (Houston) Licensed in 2008 (Texas) Board Certified, Immigration and Nationality Law AILA Law Practice Management Chair,

Vision What do you want to be known for? What is your mission statement? What are you trying to accomplish? Periodic evaluations to gauge progress

Planning General Practice vs. Narrow Areas Choosing you business entity Short term and long term goals for finances and cases Analyze your budget Exit Strategy

Marketing and Advertising Knowing your audience, your message and who you want to target Online Advertising Print Advertising Social Media The art of the follow up

Networking Having a card Always follow up ( , Linkedin, CRM) Budget for shadowing/learning/lunches Set goals, it can be overwhelming

Organization Processes and Templates Case management and software Not reinventing the wheel

Staffing and Labor For hiring staff: Checking references personality test trial periods Get the right people in the right seats Hire for the position don’t find the position for the person

Overhead Cost Office Space Labor Furniture Services Marketing Supplies

Liability and Ethics Professional liability insurance Procedures to make sure that we're following all the rules Every case you take speaks volumes about the kind of firm you want to have. Cases that are ethically questionable. Reputation precedes you. Important liability considerations

Hardware Analyzing costs of operating Phones – costs vs. quality of life Hardware for your staff, resources (hardware and software) Spend time looking into free resources available to you Texas Bar page KNOW YOUR INDUSTY’S NEEDS IMMIGRATION (FORMS), FAMILY (MOTION PRACTICE), CRIMINAL (CALENDARING/MOTION/EVIDENCE REVIEW), REAL ESTATE (FORMS)

Technology Maximizing technology Latest Apps VOIP High speed internet and wifi hot spots

Storage Comparisons

Accounting IOLTA Contracts Free Consultations vs. Fee Consultations Keeping records, understand how to use your IOLTA account, Business checks and business credit cards Payment Processing systems Get a professional Re-evaluate, assess, restructure.

Accounting Websites Frequently asked questions: How to open an IOLTA account: Trust accounts: Do you need an IOLTA account? Financial Considerations: Eligible Financial Institutions: IOLTA Notice Form:

Continued Education and Resources Keeping up to date, don't have to do bare minimum, if you're in a specialty, go to that annual conference and keep up to date. ATTEND COURSES THAT WILL ENHANCE YOUR PRACTICE, MAKE YOU UNIQUE Mediation, case updates, presentations on how one area of the law merges with the other Consider this into operating costs Consider how your STAFF may benefit from CLEs

Ruby L. Powers (713) Karleana Farias (713)