The Firm Retreat - Richmond Afternoon
- Average Rating:
- 699
- Faculty:
- Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esq. | Barbara Saunders | Jeff Geiger
- Duration:
- 3 hours w/ 15-min break
- License:
- Not Applicable
- Location:
- Greater Richmond Convention Center - Richmond, Virginia
Tags: Virginia CLE
Description
“The Firm Retreat” is a 3-hour, in-person CLE Ethics Program offered free for Virginia attorneys in partnership with the Virginia State Bar.
Each program will show three videos taking us behind the scenes as a law firm holds its annual staff retreat. A panel of your peers will apply the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct to their analysis of the issues presented. During the panel discussions, attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and share comments.
Ultimately, the goal is for you to leave the program with a greater sensitivity of the many ethical issues that can be in play any day of the week, be better prepared to view these issues as learning opportunities, and be more willing to take advantage of these opportunities in order to see that the issues are responsibly addressed and resolved.
The issues raised in Vignette One “The Plan Comes Together” include communications between an attorney proceeding pro se and an opposing party who is represented, concerns with the use of “reply all” when responding to an email, application permissions when using a smart phone for work, the tension between client confidentiality and courthouse security, and issues surrounding the filing of a disciplinary complaint.
In Vignette Two “Down to Business,” the panel will discuss the issues raised when a client dies during settlement negotiations, concerns surrounding the use of crowdfunding, use of the term “minimum fees” in an engagement agreement, and the responsibilities that arise when deploying generative AI in the practice of law.
Finally in Vignette Three “The Debrief” the program will conclude with discussions on the tension between wellness and burnout in the practice of law, the benefits and risks that come with deploying communication channels intended to replace traditional email, attorney departure concerns (to include when an attorney retires), and the use of independent contractors and legal staffing companies to meet staffing needs.
Credits
Handouts
| Firm Retreat Materials Part 1 (10.6 MB) | 15 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Faculty
Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esq. Related Seminars and Products
Risk Manager
ALPS
Since 1998, Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esq., has been a Risk Manager with ALPS, the nation’s largest direct writer of lawyers’ malpractice insurance. In his tenure with our company, Mr. Bassingthwaighte has conducted over 1200 law firm risk management assessment visits, presented over 600 continuing legal education seminars throughout the United States, and written extensively on risk management, ethics, and technology. Mr. Bassingthwaighte is a member of the State Bar of Montana as well as the American Bar Association where he currently sits on the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility’s Conference Planning Committee. He received his J.D. from Drake University Law School.
Barbara Saunders Related Seminars and Products
Assistant Ethics Counsel
Virginia State Bar
Barbara Balogh Saunders is Assistant Ethics Counsel for the Virginia State Bar. She has held this position since June 2001. Ms. Saunders staffs the Ethics Department’s “hotline,” providing ethics advice to members of the Virginia Bar, and also is staff counsel responsible for reviewing and investigating unauthorized practice of law complaints.
Prior to joining the Virginia State Bar, Ms. Saunders was in private practice for twelve years. She was a partner at the law firm of Poindexter & Schorsch in Waynesboro where her practice focused on domestic relations, Workers Compensation, and Social Security disability. Prior to practicing in Waynesboro, Ms. Saunders practiced in Richmond.
Ms. Saunders graduated from Mary Washington College in 1983 with a BA in International Affairs. She graduated from T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond in 1989.
Jeff Geiger Related Seminars and Products
Sands Anderson
An AV rated lawyer, Jeff Geiger serves as Firm Counsel and on the Board of Directors. Jeff served as the firm’s Litigation Group Leader for over a decade prior to being elected to the Board by his fellow shareholders in 2018. Intellectual Property Virginia Business magazine has listed Jeff as being among the Virginia Business Legal Elite, as selected by his peers, since 2005. In addition, Jeff has been listed among Virginia’s Super Lawyers® and was named in 2013 a “Leader in the Law” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Jeff has served as lead counsel and local counsel in dozens of trials in state and federal courts, appellate courts and administrative agencies.
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Overall: 4.8
Total Reviews: 699
Location
Greater Richmond Convention Center
