The fall months always serve as a chance for my two law partners and me to reflect on our past and look to our future. We started our firm on Oct. 1, 2015. Now a five-attorney firm, we use our anniversary date to measure how far we have come.

Autumn is also when the State Bar of Wisconsin holds the annual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference (WSSFC), which took place again last month in Wisconsin Dells.

The WSSFC focuses on what solo and small firm lawyers can expect moving forward. Not only does it offer traditional substantive continuing legal education (CLE) programs to expand lawyers’ knowledge of evolving legal topics, but it also provides insight into effective and efficient practice management to help streamline the operations of a solo or small firm.

When we took the plunge to open our firm in 2015, growth stagnated. In 2018, we decided to invest our efforts in networking with other attorneys, particularly those in small firms of similar size. At that point, the firm took off with steady and then strong growth.

The best decision we made in service to this new approach was to attend the WSSFC. That decision’s return on investment is difficult to calculate precisely, but it is easily apparent. Beyond the opportunity to earn CLE credits, the WSSFC offers the invaluable chance to network with other attorneys who are facing, or have faced, the same challenges almost all solo and small firm attorneys face.

The conference is filled with presentations by individuals with hundreds of combined years of experience and organizes built-in networking activities between sessions and evening social events such as bowling and dining groups to encourage fellowship and camaraderie at local restaurants.

I never wanted to be a business owner. Upon graduating from law school, I suffered some career setbacks from circumstances outside my control. Thus, five years into my career, I decided that if I were going to fail, I would do it on my terms.

The WSSFC helped me do the opposite: succeed. I can honestly say that without the benefits offered by the WSSFC, our firm would not be in the position it is today. Every year, the WSSFC energizes me and fills me with new ideas for improving my legal practice, my business, and my network.

As a bonus, it is always fun, too. I am confident it will do the same for you. There is nothing better I could recommend for any solo or small firm lawyer, but particularly for new lawyers who are anxious about their first steps and more experienced lawyers looking to branch out and carve a path for themselves. If you missed WSSFC this year, I hope to see you in October 2025.