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August 25, 2008

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION CREATES SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SOLO AND SMALL FIRM PRACTICE

New York State Bar Association President Bernice K. Leber (Arent Fox LLP) announced today that the Association has created a Special Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practice to study the issues and challenges currently confronting attorneys who work in solo practices and small firms.  Chaired by Past Association President Robert L. Ostertag (Ostertag O’Leary and Barrett) of Poughkeepsie , the committee held its first meeting last week in New York City.

“Solo and small practice firms represent nearly 60 percent of the Association’s membership, and we are always looking to provide new ways to help these firms succeed,” Leber said.  “Coupled with the recently created Solo/Small Firm Practitioner Resource Center on NYSBA’s Website, this new special committee will be a tremendous asset that provides even more opportunities for solo and small practice firms to grow and thrive.”

The Committee will undertake a comprehensive study of specific issues and challenges facing solo practices and small firms, and recommend ways in which bar associations, the Courts, and other entities can assist them in meeting these challenges.  The Committee also will recommend new programs, benefits, resources, and services that should be developed in the future, with an eye toward achieving successful law practices and balanced lives for the attorneys working in these firms.

Special focus will also be paid to the report of Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye’s Commission to Examine Solo and Small Firm Practice, issued in 2006.  Committee members will report on the progress made in implementing the recommendations of that report, while making additional recommendations regarding further steps that may be needed to fully achieve the report’s goals.

The 74,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New Yorkand the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation.  Founded in 1876, NYSBA programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.