The Advisor

The Solo and Small Firm Section hosted a Dinner for a Dozen in Santa Rosa on February 26, 2026. Meeting and learning about my kind, friendly, and accomplished colleagues was both delightful and humbling.  Read more

Recently, I had a chance to serve as a volunteer judge for the San Luis Obispo County high school mock trial competitions. The high school students were exceptional, and as a non-litigator, I was impressed by their thoughtful and impassioned presentation of the fictional case! Read more

If you're new to surrogacy practice in California, you need to understand why California became the nation's surrogacy capital—and why the road here was paved by one of the most controversial custody battles in American legal history. Read more

After the first in-person Solo and Small Firm Summit in Newport Beach concludes, the section will begin preparing and hosting a series of webinars based on the section’s book Opening and Managing a Law Office, last published in 2020. Read more

Spring has finally arrived and now is the perfect time to take a break and meet your local CLA neighbors! Put your parkas and umbrellas back in the closet and join the Solo and Small Firm and Law Practice Management and Technology Sections for a “Night of Networking,” an evening mixer celebrating the legal community across California. Read more

California’s aging population is not simply a demographic trend; it is a defining practice opportunity for solo and small firm attorneys. Adults over 65 represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the state’s population, and increased longevity brings expanded legal complexity. Read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a more prominent tool used in the practice of law. While this emerging technology has promising uses, it is important to ensure that all attorneys proceed with caution when implementing AI as it poses some concerns for ethical practice. The current state of AI is not yet at the point where it can be relied on to produce ethical content. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind the standards to which all legal professionals are held and to take extra care to ensure all work produced using AI meets the requirements of professionalism. Read more

Most law firms don’t resist change because they are stubborn. Instead, they struggle with change because lawyers value independence and autonomy. If you are a managing partner of midsized firm or a solo practitioner who has grown into a small firm, you may be trying to grow your firm in very practical ways. Take for example, implementing new technology. You may be:  Rolling out an electronic practice-management system to replace email threads and personal task lists Asking lawyers to use the firm’s document-management system instead of saving files locally Investing in AI-assisted research or drafting tools to improve speed and consistency Standardizing time entry policies, billing narratives, or processes to intake new matters so the firm has useful data Read more

The Los Angeles Incubator Consortium (LAIC) supports newly licensed and early-career lawyers in building sustainable, community-focused law practices throughout Southern California. The program is grounded in the belief that strong legal careers and access to justice go hand in hand. Read more

We are so happy to bring you our next issue of The Advisor which we aim to bring to you monthly, along with our colleagues at the New Lawyers and Law Practice Management Sections. Read more