ABA GP|Solo Division Presents 2009 Trainer Award to Alan J. Klevan

CHICAGO, June 10, 2009 – The General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division of the American Bar Association will recognize Alan J. Klevan with its Solo and Small Firm Trainer Award during its Division Council Meeting Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Swissotel Hotel in Chicago as part of the ABA Annual Meeting.

Klevan, managing partner of Klevan & Klevan LLP in Wellesley, Mass., will receive the Solo and Small Firm Trainer Award for his significant contribution to educating lawyers and law students about the opportunities of a solo or small firm practice.

Klevan, whose practice areas include workers’ compensation, general negligence and music law, also counsels sole practitioners and law firms on their law practice management needs.  For the past two years, he has served as the co-chair for the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section, where he has led several initiatives designed to help lawyers understand the many issues involved in embarking on a solo career.

One of his most successful programs, “Going Small or Solo…Now What?” brings information to law school students who are considering a solo career after graduation.  Klevan has presented the program at six law schools in Massachusetts, reaching more than 400 students and lawyers.

The program covers such critical issues for solo or small-firm practitioners as risk management insurance, managing conflicts, handling client funds, cost-efficient and effective marketing, finding a mentor and identifying the ideal technologies for a law practice, among others.

“The dedication that Alan Klevan has shown in helping lawyers establish solo or small-firm practices exemplifies the best of the legal profession,” said Robert A. Zupkus, chair of the GP|Solo Division.  “Alan’s free program delivers crucial information and is especially important as lawyers look for alternatives to practice in large firms.”

West, a Thomson Reuters business, is the sponsor of the GP|Solo awards.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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