GP|Solo's theme this year is Celebrating America's Main Street Lawyer. To recognize the achievements and contributions of this backbone of the legal profession, we will be collecting short essays from Main Street lawyers.

Entries should be 250 words or fewer. Selected narratives will be posted on GP|Solo's website and highlighted in future issues of The Buzz and may be edited.

Tell us what makes you a Main Street lawyer!

ABA Presidential Appointments

ABA President-Elect Karen J. Mathis is seeking applications or nominations for appointed positions throughout the ABA. President-Elect Mathis, a past Chair our of Division, will be filling vacancies on the ABA Standing and Special Committees, Commissions, Working Groups, Task Forces, and other ABA entities for the 2006-2007 Association year. Please note that all recommendations must be made using the online nomination form. The deadline for submitting recommendations is March 1, 2006.

GP|Solo Division

We will soon be sending out information about how to apply for Committee appointments for within the GP|Solo Division.

February 9-12, 2006
Chicago, IL
Hyatt Regency Chicago

Register online for the ABA Midyear Meeting (Free)

GP|Solo's schedule (PDF)

Solo Day Flyer (PDF)

CLE offerings

Purchase tickets for the Keithe E. Nelson Memorial Military Law Luncheon
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Ticketed $25.00

Is there a list of things you need, want, or desire to do next year? Is one of them to get published? Well, here’s your chance. GPSolo magazine is soliciting articles telling us what you are currently doing for yourself, the profession, or the community. Articles are due February 1, 2006 and should be 500 words in length.

Find out more about this opportunity.

Visit GPSolo magazine online.

Educate and Mentor Law Students by Becoming an Interview Coach.

Our Division is one of the fastest growing entities within the American Bar Association.  In large part this is due to the more than 18,000 law students who have joined GP|Solo.  We realize that many of these students have joined our Division because they are interested in learning more about small firm or general practice.  One of the best ways for them to prepare to enter into these exciting practice settings is for them to connect with our attorney members. 

Download the survey in MSWord format and share your best advice for how to prepare for practice. 

Survey results will be posted to the GPSolo's website, and shared through our cooperative efforts with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) with law students throughout the nation.

Solosez is an electronic mail discussion list that has matured into a worldwide community of more than 1800 solo and small firm practitioners.

Solosez has been getting a lot of press recently in the ABA Journal. Read the two most recent articles:

• The Virtual Solution (Dec. 05)
• A Birthday to Celebrate (Nov. 05)

For a taste of what Solosez has to offer, check out the popular threads on Solosez's website. Last month's threads were:

• Accessing The Officer Computer From Home
• Are Most Solos GP’s?
• Does Anyone Use A Mac In The Law Practice?
• Duct Tape Removal
• Where’s The Best Place To Store A Will?

Former Diversity Fellow Elizabeth Castilleja, has been named as a King County Superior Court Commissioner in the State of Washington. Congratulations Lisa!!

Jeff Allen, editor of GPSolo's Technology & Practice Guide and the Technology eReport, has been selected as National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws' Approved Advisor to the Drafting Committee on a Discovery of Electronic Records Act. Congratulations Jeff!

ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law
National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities
May 22-23, 2006
Renaissance Washington Hotel
Washington, D.C.

American Bar Association President Michael Greco, the ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will host the first National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities. Former Attorney General of the United States and Governor of Pennsylvania, Dick Thornburgh, will be the Keynote Speaker on the first evening.

More info about the Conference

The Northwest Indian Bar Association (NIBA) recently gifted $13,000 in scholarships to 11 Northwest Native law students as part of an ongoing effort to support Indian students seeking a legal education. The Indian Legal Scholars Program was recognized in 2004 by the Division's Solo and Small Firm Project Award.

Find out more about the Indian Legal Scholars Program on Washington State Bar Association's Indian Law Section website.

Congratulations to Wendy Marie Nichols! She won an iPod Mini in a quarterly contest for law students sponsored by the National Arbitration Forum. A special thank you to GP|Solo sponsor NAF for providing the iPods! 
Students, if your name isn't Wendy Nichols, expect another chance soon!

Congratulations to Angela Dixon who won last issue's contest to win a copy of our eBook, How to Build a Law Firm Brand!

We would love to know what you think about The Buzz. Please email us your comments, compliments and criticisms.