Today is the first day of the 2020 Georgia Legal Accelerator Program (GLA), co-founded by Kurt Kastorf of Kastorf Law and Matt Wetherington of Wetherington Law.
What is the Georgia Legal Accelerator?
As described by the Fulton County Daily Report, the GLA is a “law firm ride along” for attorneys who either recently have or are planning to start small firms:
Kastorf, 39, emphasized that the program will be a collaborative effort between themselves and theother participants. He ha[d] been a partner for two years at The Summerville Firm, a five-lawyer litigation boutique, after a decade in Washington, D.C., working for the Department of Justice and then Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
“One of the things that impressed me most about leaving a massive firm and now working with attorneys who are primarily in small firms is how they band together and share resources,” Kastorf said. . . .
“That is something I think we can bring to our legal community. There is more sharing we can be doing,” he said. “The very successful trial attorneys are not just great attorneys—they’ve gotten very good at identifying a network and working with other firms.”
The GLA’s January Event
The Georgia Legal Accelerator’s program starts from the general, with goal setting, and moved to the specifics, with luncheons and summits on particular aspects of running a firm.
The January event kicked off with a presentation by Alvaro Arauz on finding a firm’s purpose, a panel of established practitioners, including Rod Dixon of The Dixon Firm and Cheryl Legare of Legare, Attwood, & Wolfe, and training on negotiations by Kenneth Menendez. The rest of day one will also feature a discussion on insurance strategies by Stuart Shapiro of Associated, a course on engaging co-counsel by Kurt Kastorf, and a panel of recent practitioners, including Tracee Benzo of Benzo Law, Alicia Mack of The Mack Law Firm, and Parag Shah of the Shah Law Firm.
Day Two includes practical workshops on developing an elevator pitch and developing a “ticket.” The ticket, one of the cores of the program, involves setting a particular business goal for 2020 and then dividing it into five actionable steps. Participants will work with individual mentors to choose their goal and plan implementation.
The event also includes team building activities, including a happy hour and a trip to Escape the Room.
The 2020 Course Agenda
After the GLA’s opening weekend, the rest of the year will feature luncheons and summits helping participants with the particulars of building a successful practice. Planned events include:
- Feb. 25: State Capital Luncheon
- Mar. 19: Marketing Summit, Part 1
- Apr. 16: Banking & Escrow Luncheon
- May 28: Finance & Accounting Luncheon
- June 18: Hiring & Compensation Luncheon
- July 16: Practice Management Software Luncheon
- Aug. 20: Marketing Summit, Part 2
- Sept. 24: Ethics & Malpractice Luncheon
- Oct. 22: Work Life Balance & Mental Health Luncheon
Sponsors
The Legal Accelerator Network, the parent organization of the Georgia Legal Accelerator, thanks its sponsors, which include CDRW, CP Healthcare, Faster Law, Law Pay, Abacus Advisors, Associated, Ringler, Thrivest Link, and RBC Wealth Management, for helping it run a successful program.
Applying for the 2021 GLA
The Georgia Legal Accelerator anticipates opening applications for the 2021 Accelerator in early Fall of 2020.