Local Affiliate

Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association – Transition to Practice
By: Andrea M. Palmer

The Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association held its inaugural “Bridging the Gap: Practical advice for new attorneys you don’t hear in law school” CLE on October 8, 2015. The event was a success, with more than 40 young lawyers and law students attending for lunch, CLE hours, and a networking happy hour. A generous grant from the Texas Young Lawyers Association covered lunch, and the board handed out copies of “We’ve All Been There,” a booklet published by the TCYLA with tips and personal stories about coping with the stresses of the law profession. The Tarrant County Bar Association graciously offered its conference room and hosted the CLE.

President Amber Altemose, Treasurer Chris Gee, and Director Andrea Palmer developed the event to meet a need identified by many young lawyers in TCYLA. Law school trains lawyers on the law, the mandatory ethics CLE trains lawyers on ethics, but how does a young lawyer learn about “lawyering”? The committee chose topics and speakers to answer all the unspoken questions young attorneys have: How do I bill my time? Where do I find clients? How do I manage supervisors’ expectations? Should I start my own practice? All of the speakers were young lawyers themselves, with great first-hand, recent perspectives to share.

Amber Altemose welcomed the group and explained how the event had been developed. Chris Gee emceed the afternoon, introducing speakers and pointing everyone to the important things in life (i.e., lunch).

In the first panel, Vincent Circelli and Susan Smith discussed “The Business of Law Practice,” drawing on their personal experiences starting their own civil law practices. The attendees kept the discussion going with practical questions about obtaining funding, choosing office space, and setting up a website.

The second speaker, Chris Lankford, addressed “Criminal Defense.”  Chris walked everyone through the steps to getting court appointments, the economics of starting a criminal law practice, and shared some entertaining war stories.

In “Accounting 101,” Ryan Scharar and Clint Dennis went over basic financial documents that young lawyers may encounter, whether in representing clients or attempting to run their own practice. They shared some resources for anyone who wanted to learn more about financial documents, and Ryan gave away some useful books.

“If I Build It, Will They Come?” addressed what is often the hardest and least understood part of being a lawyer: Where do you find clients? Chris Stoy, Patrick Rose, and Tennessee Walker addressed the issue from different sides, giving advice for finding clients for your own practice, for building your own book of business as an associate at a firm, and some new ideas on networking and building your personal brand.

Finally, Andrea Palmer and Laura Docker gave advice on “Managing the Billable Hour ... And the Stress That Comes With It!” Laura shared the perspective and expectations of a partner reviewing the billable entries of junior associates, and Andrea talked about how to stay on top of your hours and gave some tips on how to draft entries.

After the event, the group moved next door for a networking happy hour. Many of the speakers joined and shared more advice one-on-one with attendees. The networking event was a great cap to the afternoon, letting everyone relax and get to know more young lawyers in Fort Worth. It was encouraging to meet so many law students, many from Texas A&M School of Law, who were eager to network and learn about the profession.

Based on the positive feedback from attendees and speakers, the TCYLA board is planning on holding this CLE every year, addressing the ever-changing concerns of young attorneys. Thanks to all of our speakers, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, Cindy Rankin and Trisha Graham with the Tarrant County Bar Association, and especially all of our attendees for a great event!

ANDREA PALMER is an attorney with Anderson & Riddle, LLP in Fort Worth, Texas.