On Demand
Audio
Ethics & the SmallLaw Practitioner Update
Produced on February 27, 2016
Course Information
Course Description
It can be a challenge for solo and small firm (“SmallLaw”) practitioners to ensure their practice complies with the rules of professional responsibility. Since lawyers in solo or small firm practice don’t have the luxury of having a large number of other attorneys in the office, SmallLaw practitioners have to rely on themselves to ensure they abide by the ethics rules. Questions such as whether an attorney can collect a referral fee and when an attorney can spend a retainer can be difficult to answer and often that answer will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Furthermore, SmallLaw practitioners normally serve as their own marketing, administration, billing, and collections departments, all of which raise ethical concerns that may not be applicable to other attorneys.
In this program, attorney Gary J. Ross updates his previous course examining many of the ethical issues pertaining to solo and small firms and addresses some of the major concerns of SmallLaw practitioners.
Learning Objectives:
I. Access sources to ethics rules for attorneys
II. Recognize the reasons SmallLaw attorneys tend to have more ethics violations than other attorneys
III. Understand common ethical concerns for solo and small firm attorneys
IV. Review how to properly operate your law practice in accordance with the ethics rules
This course originally appeared as a part of our February 2016 Bridge the Gap Event.
Credit Information
Faculty
Gary J. Ross
Ross Law Group, PLLC
Gary J. Ross advises venture capital funds, angel investors, and emerging growth companies a variety of transactional, disclosure, corporate governance and compliance matters. He founded Ross Law Group, PLLC in 2017, a boutique law firm that focuses on corporate and securities law, investment funds, and startup law. Gary previously worked at Jackson Ross, another firm that he founded, for four years, and previous to that he worked in the Corporate Transactions & Securities and Capital Markets practice groups at Sidley Austin LLP and Alston & Bird LLP.
From 2009 to 2012, Gary served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he managed conflicts of interest issues pertaining to contractors and financial agents engaged by Treasury to provide asset management, advisory, and other services relating to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In that capacity, he developed and recommended compliance standards and regulation interpretation guidelines and designed the on-site testing carried out by the TARP audit department, during which he served as the subject matter specialist. He also helped draft the federal regulation for conflicts of interests as they pertained to TARP, and prepared the official conflicts of interest responses to Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) inquiries.
Mr. Ross is an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School and Seton Hall Law School and has lectured at schools such as Penn State Dickinson Law. He has been quoted in articles in MarketWatch, Corporate Counsel, The New York Times and the Associated Press.
Gary received his J.D. from Northwestern Law School in 2004 and earned a B.B.A. from the University of Miami in 1994. Prior to attending law school, Gary worked as a Case Manager for the Tennessee Department of Human Services.
Gary is admitted to practice law in New York, the District of Columbia, and Georgia.
(Website www.rosslawgroup.co)
Reviews
excellent coverage of ethics
The instructor spoke clearly and used simple, easy-to-understand concrete examples to illustrate the various ethics rules.
Excellent.
Thanks
Very nice speaking style! Good info, good perspective!
Excellent presentation and "whatnot"
Great Information
very good class and clearly explained
Informative, clear and easily understandable course that covered a field that has few black and white absolutes. The presenter was personable and obviously well prepared for this presentation. A terrific and important course to be used for your Ethics requirement
Very helpful AND very informative. After this course, I will create and maintain a Client Intake and Confllict Checklist
Good presenter, good presentation.
Good coverage of important and sometimes overlooked areas.
very good real life examples. thank you!
Very well done, Mr. Ross knows his stuff.
Learning to operate a small practice is something I’ve always wanted to do, so this was a great course to learn.
Good practical advice
Excellent course. Speaker was very knowledgeable and spoke often of his own real world experiences. I highly recommend for all solos and small firm attorneys.
Thank you
Very thorough presentation
excellent
Excellent
This was an excellent course on ethics.
Comprehensive course material. Presentation was informative and made enjoyable by a clear conversational flow. Highly recommended!
Good presentation.
Very comprehensive and practical.
Great class
clear and practical
Extremely thorough!
good course
Really well done.
Well done
very good course, informative
Thank You.
Interesting information.
Easy to follow and listen to.
Very nicely done, with good practical advice. Thank you
Great course
Gary Ross sounds like a knowledgeable attorney with high moral standing!
The speaker was prepared.
very comprehensive
Easy going attorney with sound background and knowledge. The time went fast.
Good lecture of a variety of ethics topics.
This was a truly excellent, useful course.
I like his use of practical problems rather than reading the rules to us!
Very good
Great Review of the Rules! Thank you!
This was one of my favorite programs as a person starting off a small practice from a large law firm background. Highly recommend. The practices that a big firm has you do has roots in protecting yourself and the firm and this tells you why.
Excellent content and really enjoyed the speaker.
Very practical, would love to see more on this topic by this presenter
Excellent review
broad ranging, helpful for small practice
Very good overview of ethical issues in small practices. Interesting that small practices often deal with more ethical issues than larger firms.
Right in point to the issues discussed.
Very helpful even for an experienced attorney
Good presentation of the material.
Excellent presentation. The instructor covered a lot of material during the session.
Good basic discussion
Very well presented.
common sense based presentation, easy to follow.
thanks
Well done. The presentation notes were very good.
Useful lecture
Great overview
Great presentation.
Good speaker. Clear and concise.
Well organized. Good Presenter. Useful information.
Very informative and to the point. Enjoyed it. Good written materials too. Makes it easier to follow.
Very well organized and presented.
Very practical advice.
thank you
Very good, practical advice. Well done.
Great course!
Well organized
Very good emphasis on small firm, which often is not found. Liked it a lot.
Great course!
I enjoyed the speaker.
Good material presented well.
very good
Thank you, Mr. Ross. Very clear and useful review.
good general program on ethics.
Excellent practical information - well done
Good presentation.
More specific examples in presentation would be helpful.
Very informative
Great detail with important reminders.
Informative
Extremely good speaker; knowledgable
Great video!
One of the best speakers on Lawline.
very well presented
Nice presentation.
I learned a lot - excellent presentation!
Very interesting
Good practical points
Very good specifics for ethical concerns.
very practical and worthwhile
Very good course for solo practitioners, regardless of how long in practice.
super
Very informative and useful for common ethical questions that arise
Excellent content.
very informative
sound, practical advice for small law offices
Excellent presentation
Nice presentation
good overview covering a very wide range of topics.
Very informative
A lot of information in a short period of time. Great handouts and nice presentation style/substance.
Very concise and informative
Useful refresher on Ethical considerations for small firm practitioners.
Well presented. Nice overview
This was a good run down on ethics for a solo attorney.
Reasonable presentation
Very clear and concise. Great tips from a knowledgeable speaker.
This was the best Ethics Course I've taken in over 25 years of practice. it was extremely well done and to the point!
Excellent speaker!
necessary review
excellent information
Very good presentation
Very Good! Home run!
Great presentation, especially for the solo practitioner.
Interesting presentation, because the lecturer personalized many examples explained very well, with good examples of difficult situations.
Good class.
Good refresher course!
Good course.
Precise, informative
Well done
Excellent presenter.
Thank you.
very good course!! Helpful suggestions when dealing with clients, excellent discussion of the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct!!!
Great
Practical, good program.
Slides were very useful
Very enjoyable and energetic. Learned a lot
good program; experienced instructor; kept it moving along
this was another excellent course - I enjoyed it very much!
Great overview. While I knew much of the info, this would be great for a new startup solo or if someone did not know about marketing through social media.
excellent on engagement letters and fee collection issues
Very clear, well-organized and well-presented. Excellent program.
Well done.
Very well organized presentation.
very good for small firms !
The course information was presented in a clear and concise manner and will be useful to my practice.
Excellent tour of ethics. Thank you.
Very helpful course