State Bar of Wisconsin's video: Small Firms Big Community: Attend the Wisconsin Solo Small Firm Conference

Solo and small-firm lawyers looking to take their practices to the next level should attend the annual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference, presented by the State Bar of Wisconsin, http://wssfc.org/. For the first time in three years, the conference will be held in-person on Oct. 27-29 at Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. A virtual replay of the conference is scheduled for Nov. 14-16. Brent Hoeft, chair of the conference’s organizing committee, said the conference allows solo and small firm lawyers to build their support networks. Attendees can bounce ideas off colleagues, Hoeft said, and meet lawyers from a variety of practice areas, which comes in handy when you need to refer a client with needs in an area outside your practice. Building your network, Hoeft said, gives solo and small firm lawyers, “that ability, if you have questions, to call someone or go to, especially as a young attorney.” “I made a great network there,” Hoeft said. “It’s a great group of people and it’s always fun to go back and see them every year and see how their firms are developing.” Hoeft said the switch to virtual lawyering forced by the pandemic has been hard for many solo and small firm lawyers. “Lawyers are a risk-averse group. If we don’t really understand a technology, we’re probably not going to use it. And solo and small firms are juggling so many balls that often it’s just a matter of ‘I don’t have time to learn something new.’” Hoeft said he’s looking forward to attending the conference in-person. “That’s what this conference is about,” Hoeft said. “It’s about seeing the people you maybe see only once a year … It’s just a really fun conference.”