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For Immediate Release: May 20, 2008

Witkin Legal Institute Teaches Lawyers About Client Releations
Continuing Legal Education Program Helps Lawyers Develop Operating Procedures

OAKLAND. May 20, 2008 - National law practice management expert, Ed Poll JD MBA CMC, will be one of two presenters today for the tenth annual Bernard E. Witkin Memorial Symposium focused on "Client Relations in a Changing World." Poll, the founder of LawBiz® Management Co., will present his program "Managing Client Expectations" to lawyers and firms from California. The program is accredited for the state's Continuing Legal Education program and is co-sponsored by the Bernard E. Witkin Alameda County Law Library, Witkin Legal Institute, and the State Bar of California Law Practice Management and Technology Section.

Poll will emphasize the importance of how client services affect the success of a financially sound firm - the leading reason why clients both refer and leave lawyers. His presentation touches on the correct ways to start relationships with potential clients by learning their expectations and needs and then crafting an engagement and fee agreement with their goals in mind. Poll will also explain how firms can improve their service offerings, once clients are on board, by providing them with feedback, and highlighting their commitment.

Poll's presentation addresses the operations and practice development issues that lawyers are not formally trained to perform. As a former practicing attorney and CEO in the manufacturing industry, Poll understands that the business strategies that make companies profitable are fundamentally the same for law firms. He believes that for some lawyers there is a disconnect between focusing on the output of a firm, in terms of handling case loads and briefs, and crafting a business plan that includes a formal billing process and marketing strategy.

"It's a great honor to be invited to present for the Witkin Memorial Symposium," says Poll, who just released his newest book Law Firm Fees & Compensation: Value & Growth Dynamics (LawBiz® Management Co., 2008). "Like Bernie Witkin, but in a different context, I develop my presentations with lawyers in mind, so that they can bridge the gap between law and business and implement policies that will have a lasting effect."