Just back from Toronto where I co-chaired (with Dan Pinnington) the 4th Annual Solo and Small Firm Conference and Expo (May 7, 2009) which was a great success. The conference was sold out! Throughout the day, there were many enthusiastic and very positive comments from attendees. It was great to see the results of months of planning and preparation. Lots of great, practical ideas were shared. Attendees were extremely engaged with speakers and with each other. The fact that we were all together for the day made for great networking opportunities (continental breakfast, buffet lunch and cocktail reception at the end of the day meant that no one had to leave to get food elsewhere).
Besides co-presenting at two sessions (‘Going Paperless’ and ‘Human Resources in a Small Firm’), I was fortunate to participate in the 4-person panel, a plenary session that started the day. It’s called ’60 Tips in 60 Minutes’ and is very popular. Each of four panelists, Catherine Sanders Reach, Reid Trautz, Sheila Blackford, and I, had 15 minutes, one minute per tip presented in rotation, to share a practice management idea, a useful website, free software, etc. The hour flew by and attendees were on the edge of their seats eagerly soaking up the rapid-fire tips. Sometimes a panelist swaps out of a more conservative tip substituting a hilarious tip designed to get the audience laughing. That happened during Thursday’s session and helped set the tone for a fun-filled day of learning and sharing.
David Bilinsky, a practice management advisor from B.C., was tweeting throughout the plenary session. David was also a presenter at the Conference. Check David’s tweets (micro-blogs up to a maximum of 140 characters) at twitter.com/david_bilinsky Haven’t heard of twitter? Check back for future blogs in which we’ll talk more about twitter and how we use it at my office. My twitter name is donnaneff. You can see my tweets at twitter.com/donnaneff
It was a privilege to participate in this popular Conference and especially to share Co-Chair responsibilities with Dan Pinnington, a veteran of such conferences and past Chair of TechShow, organized annually by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section. Dan is a legal technology guru and Director, practicePro at the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company, Toronto.
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