Login | March 29, 2024

Solo & Small Firm Practitioners Section profiled

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter

Published: October 2, 2015

It’s been less than four years since attorney John W. Becker left his job as senior litigation counsel for Arthur Middleton Capital Holdings in North Canton to start his own practice.

“I think there are some people with the drive and confidence, and I’m one of them, to prefer being the lead dog so to speak,” said Becker, who opened The John W. Becker Law Firm in March 2012. “Although I did love the in-house experience, I felt that starting my own practice was a more appropriate plan at that stage of my career rather than continuing with the company or seeking out a larger law firm.”

Born in Youngstown, Becker received his juris doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Over the years, he tried on a variety of legal hats, working for a small firm in Cleveland, serving as a partner in the Business Litigation Group at Roetzel & Andress and managing the nationwide litigation docket at Arthur Middleton.

Despite his extensive experience, Becker said he wanted a support system for his new endeavor, so he joined the Akron Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Section shortly after opening his Fairlawn practice.

“I wanted to associate with other people having the same practice experience that I was having,” said Becker, the new chair of the Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Section, who now focuses on civil litigation. “I hoped there would be synergies and potential for referrals, which proved to be 100 percent accurate and true.”

In the case of Vice-Chair Terri Brunsdon, she joined the Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Section in 2007, the same year she graduated from The University of Akron School of Law and opened the Brunsdon Law Firm. The firm recently became an affiliate of Day Ketterer.

“I saw the need to network with other attorneys in similar situations,” said Brunsdon, a tax attorney and certified public accountant. “I have formed many solid relationships with area attorneys. Participating in meetings is a great way to consult with your peers. It has also produced cross-client referrals. ”

The section often incorporates CLEs into its regular meetings, which take place on the third Tuesday of each month at 11:45 a.m. at the Akron Bar Association (with the exception of December, July and August).

“I have presented CLEs on tax issues for small businesses and implementing legal technology solutions such as cloud-based practice management applications like Clio, secure portals to exchange information with clients, virtual answering services and other technology-related services,” said Brunsdon.

“Using technology is key because it will reduce the administrative burden of running a solo practice.

“In the CLEs, I also try to convey some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years,” said Brunsdon. “For example, when it comes to advertising, your focus should be on the Internet. You can have a phone book listing, but your marketing dollars are better spent on developing and maintaining a website and purchasing targeted Internet ads. A web page that is also mobile friendly is very important.”

Brunsdon has also discussed virtual office options, which she said make a lot of sense for people who are just beginning.

“Virtual spaces provide mailing addresses, an answering service, and most importantly a place to meet clients. If you are working from home, a virtual arrangement will allow you access to a conference room for client meetings.”

The section currently has 67 members. Becker and Brunsdon have noticed a recent uptick in members. However, they said there is still a low participation rate at meetings.

“Getting attorneys to attend meetings is definitely tough,” said Brunsdon. “Solo and small practitioners juggle a lot of balls and may not be able to spare time to drive to the bar association for a meeting.

 “Many of our members also don’t have administrative staff who can pick up the slack while they are away. At some point, the section may need to look into conducting virtual meetings as a means of boosting section participation.”

Becker said the other problem is that while all the members are in a similar work situation, there is little commonality in practice areas.

“It is kind of like an island of misfit toys,” said Becker. “Our strength is also our weakness. All of our members share a similar business model, but their areas of focus run the gamut.

“So the challenge is how do we find topics that will appeal to a member who practices family law and one who practices criminal law?”

Becker said he is looking at partnering with the New Lawyers Section.

“We have a lot of experienced attorneys and we have been considering having them put on CLEs for the newer attorneys,” said Becker.

In addition, Becker said Patrick Gaughan, an associate professor and executive director of the Innovation Practice Center at The University of Akron School of Law, approached him about having a member or members address one of his classes about the business of practicing law.

“Nothing is scheduled at this point,” said Becker.

Former section chair Gina Nennig-Henry also addressed the low participation at meetings.

“Last year, we had a CLE that dealt with the basics of municipal courts and another one that provided an introduction to wills and estates,” she said. “They were pretty popular, but even then getting people to show up when they have such busy schedules and few coverage options was pretty difficult.”

She said the bar association has started to make some of the section’s CLEs available on CD for members who cannot attend.

“Much of my focus while chair was on office management and professionalism issues, like ethics,” she said. “We invited Bar Counsel Thomas Kot to speak to the members.

“Many sole practitioners run afoul of the rules not because they are bad people, but because they become so overwhelmed they sometimes overlook things or are not familiar with some of the rules.”

A native of New Philadelphia, Nennig-Henry joined the Akron Bar Association shortly after receiving her juris doctor from The University of Akron School of Law in 2007.

She opened Gina Nennig-Henry, Attorney at Law in 2009.

Nennig-Henry, who lives in Green with her two children, said having her own practice provides the flexibility she requires to raise a family. In July, she became of counsel at The Law Office of Donald Gallick and now splits her time between her new job and her practice.

She said she joined the section looking for networking opportunities, but quickly discovered that it provided many other resources, including assistance with technology.

She served as vice-chair in 2012/2013 and as chair in 2013/2014 and 2014/2015.

While chair Nennig-Henry developed a document bank, which contains sample pleadings, fee agreements, new client engagement letters and other forms that sole and small firm practitioners might need.

“The document bank is a convenient way for attorneys to get answers to some of their questions without having to call anyone. Lawyers can also add new motions and other documents into the bank,” said Nennig-Henry.

“Anyone who is a member of the Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Section can have access to this great resource.” 


[Back]