Solo and Small Practice Section
The Solo and Small Practice Section serves as a clearinghouse for qualified law practice management and technology information for solo and small practice attorneys to support them in ethically conducting a profitable and satisfying business. The Section provides education for its members in areas of common interest and provides opportunities for members to become better acquainted with other members.
The Section provides benefits to members through frequent networking opportunities and continuing legal and other education to members engaged in solo and small firm practices, including the annual Solo and Small Firm Conference. The Section spends time reviewing pending legislation and developing proposed statutory enactments to improve and to facilitate the administration of justice. Other benefits include an active list serve and online resources.
Annual Report | Budget | Bylaws | Year in Review | Members Only | Background
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Section Executive Committee Elections
The Section is conducting elections for open positions on the executive committee.
Voting is scheduled for June 5-19, 2023. All voting members of the Section will be sent an electronic ballot from SurveyMonkey via email on June 5, 2023.
Candidate Information, Open Positions, and Terms
For more information about the Section and its executive committee, please review the Section's bylaws. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by position.
At-Large Member
One position open. Remainder of current term ending Sept. 30, 2024.
Candidate: Michele Moore | Candidate Materials
At-Large Member
Three positions open. 2-year term: Oct. 1, 2023 –Sept. 30, 2025.
Candidate 1: D. Bruce Gardiner | Candidate Materials
Candidate 2: Kari Petrasek | Candidate Materials
Candidate 3: Shashi Vijay | Candidate Materials
Questions? Email sections@wsba.org.
Executive Committee Suggestion Box
The Executive Committee (EC) of the WSBA Solo & Small Practice Section welcomes your input regarding such matters as the Section web page, members-only area, webinar topics, and Section activities. Please send suggestions to wsbasolo@gmail.com. This email address is monitored on a weekly basis; non-time-sensitive feedback will be shared with the EC at the next scheduled EC meeting.
Responding to Pandemic
Results of Member Survey: Impact of Pandemic on WSBA Members | COVID-19 Law Office Reopening Guide, produced by the WSBA Coronavirus Response Task Force |
Recommended Resources Forum:
Suggestions from Members
We invite section members to share information about resources and recommendations that may be of interest to other solo and small practice attorneys. Please send your suggestions to wsbasolo@gmail.com and they will be posted to an unmonitored Forum page within the Members-Only Area of the Section website. To review such postings, please access the Members-Only area and click on the category Recommended Resources Forum – Suggestions from Members. Contributions to the Forum will be posted without author attribution.
Access Members-Only Area
To access the Members-Only Area, login with username SSP@wsba.org (not an active email address), type in the password you received with your section sign up/renewal, and then click continue.
If you encounter a screen with a message such as "Someone is already using the username and password...," just click on “Log the other user off and enter” and retry logging in. Email sections@wsba.org if the problem persists.
Resources in the members-only area include:
- CLE Chapters and Articles
- Management Tools, Tips, and Forms
- Online Resources
- The Blogroll
Whom We Serve
Solo and small practice firms comprise more than 60% of practicing lawyers in Washington. Small firm practitioners must handle their finances, marketing, business decisions and growth without the help of law firm administrators, comptrollers, marketing personnel and executive directors.
The Solo and Small Practice Section of the Washington State Bar Association offers the resources to help manage these firms to maximum efficiency and profitability.
Who Serves You
The Section’s Executive Committee is made up of elected solo and small practice attorneys. They understand what you’re dealing with because they’re facing many of those same issues in their own practices. See the Section background page for member bios and photos.
The Executive Committee enjoys input from advisors, including consultants to the legal industry, providing added perspective on solutions to solo and small practice challenges.
Want to join us? Find out more about serving on the executive committee.
Member Benefits
Did you know there are several important member benefits and tools that come with WSBA membership including Practice Management Assistance, professional liability insurance, Casemaker, and Fastcase? Membership in the Section can put you in touch with resources that you can't find anywhere else. It's the next best thing to having your own law practice management consultant!
When you join the Section, you will enjoy full access to:
- List serve discussions where you can post questions for Section members and receive help with your most challenging issues. This vibrant list serve is a great tool for communicating with other Section
members to pose questions, seek recommendations, and share information.
(Please click on "List serve discussions" to reach the List Serve Guidelines.)
- Links on our Member-Only pages to numerous helpful resources, including podcasts, past webinars, articles, CLE Chapters, videos, law practice management tips, and forms. .
- Section-sponsored webinars with CLE credit throughout the year focused on solo and small practice issues and interests.
- Discounted tuition for the annual WSBA Solo and Small Firm Conference.
- Networking opportunities with other solo and small firm practitioners.
Starting in fall 2018, the bar began offering members a new resource when shopping for health insurance. Members can compare and purchase products from leading insurance providers through a private online exchange. For more information, please visit Health Insurance Exchange or contact HealthExchange@wsba.org.
Learn more about WSBA Member Benefits.
Section Impact
"You all have been a great resource for me, and I'd like to say THANK YOU. I am eternally grateful for any nuggets of direction and advice... You all take the time to write out beautiful explanations that I read word for word and cherish. Your time is valuable and I appreciate it."
Venu N. Sareen, Attorney at Law
From list serve post, May 7, 2015
Schedule of Upcoming Section Executive Committee Meetings
2023 Executive Committee (EC) Meetings currently are scheduled to take place noon to 2 p.m. via Zoom unless otherwise noted below. To join the 2023 Zoom Meetings please use the following link:
Solo & Small Practice Zoom Meeting Link
Or call-in at 253-215-8782; Meeting ID: 751 741 0489.
Currently scheduled EC Meetings include:
- June 15, 2023, Noon–2 p.m.
- Aug. 24, 2023, Noon–2 p.m.
- Oct. 5, 2023, Noon–2 p.m.
- Dec. 7, 2023, Noon–2 p.m.
Executive Committee
Chair: Jordan Couch (2022-2023) Chair-Elect: Darcel Lobo (2022-2023) Treasurer: D. Bruce Gardiner (2022-2023) Secretary: Shashi Vijay (2022-2023) Immediate Past Chair: Shashi Vijay (2022-2023) Board of Governors Liaison*: Jordan Couch (2022-2023) and Kari Petrasek (2022-2023) Young Lawyer Liaison*: Emily Albrecht (2022-2024) Practice Management Adviser, Liaison to the Executive Committee*: Margeaux Green | At-large Members: Adviser Members* *Nonvoting member |
Please contact committee member for details on their upcoming meeting dates and locations.
For general questions, or to switch your list serve settings to a daily digest, please email inquiries to sections@wsba.org. To get involved and learn more about the Solo and Small Practice Section, please contact the Section Chair Jordan Couch. For more information about the Executive Committee members, check out their biographies.
