Introducing The Law Practice Management School: Online Law Practice Management Instruction in marketing, technology, finance and management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Chicago) November 15, 2010

For further information contact: Nick Augustine (312) 854-7149 / nick@alrpra.com

Online Law Practice Management Instruction in marketing, technology, finance and management

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Webinar-based law practice management course material will be taught by The Law Practice Management School beginning January 5, 2011.  One hour classes meet online each Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm Central Time.  Course materials are designed to offer lawyers pragmatic law practice management tools.

Course subjects are split by week each month in the following order: marketing, technology, finance and management.  Periodic guest lecturers will share professional experience and advice on core topics.  Courses are offered in traditional academic quarters.

The online webinar platform makes attendance and participation easy.  Weekly lectures are recorded and available for later use and review.  Quarterly tuition is competitively priced to make The Law Practice Management School affordable to lawyers in need of practice management education.

The Law Practice Management School is a private organization funded solely through course tuition.  Instruction and administration are provided by ALR/PRA, Inc., a national law practice management agency headquartered in Chicago.

ALR/PRA President and founder of The Law Practice Management School, Nick Augustine, earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communications and Rhetorical Studies from Marquette University and a Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall Law School.  Augustine is active in the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association and also writes a weekly column for “Attorneys In Transition” a career resource published by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

The Law Practice Management School is currently taking applications for classes beginning January, 2011.  Interested applicants should send their inquiries through the contact portal on http://www.alrpra.com/.

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For interviews regarding The Law Practice Management School, and for information and applications, contact Nick Augustine at (312) 894-7149 or mailto:nick@alrpra.com

© 2010 ALR/PRA, Inc.

Nick Augustine speaks to “Attorneys In Transition” at Law Bulletin Publishing

Attorneys in Transition event – July 1, 2010

Law Bulletin Publishing Company (Chicago)

www.attorneysintransition.com

Speaker:  Nick Augustine

http://attorneysintransition.com/events/

This presentation offers instruction on how Lawyers can organize and leverage their professional brand during transitions to another firm, or solo practice.  Two main ingredients to success are practice development and lawyer marketing.  Practice development is a skill we learn and protect, and lawyer marketing is a means to the development end.  Practice development first requires us to recognize our professional brand and what qualities make us effective and memorable.

The biggest social media mistake that legal job candidates and professionals generally make is inundating their social networks with irrelevant material, causing confusion and irritation.  A working knowledge of your audience is essential before publishing targeted information.  In deciding how to best use social media to leverage your brand, start with a marketing plan you can maintain.  Remember, when planning your content, your reader is always asking “what’s in it for me.” Your response should be to that end.

Lawyers can best use social media when they approach it as a large canvas upon which they can paint their best professional portrait.  Understanding the style of each channel of social media communication will take time, but is worth the investment.  Although social media may be cost effective, successful usage requires long term planning and commitment.  Creating and using a profile is an ongoing journey and as the sites evolve, their platforms require active participation.

The main advice for lawyers looking to make a career transition is to start with a set of blindfolds, forget for a moment where you currently work or even that you went to law school.   Then, make a list of your strengths; an honest self-assessment is necessary to determine your best career goals.  Once you feel you are on a solid path towards a career transition, just do it and don’t look back.