Archive for November 2004
What’s A Fair Rate for Court Appointed Counsel?
Over at David Giacalone’s web log, there’s more coverage of the situation with Massachusetts court appointed attorneys. In case you missed David’s prior coverage (which he links back to extensively in his post), a group of Massachusetts court appointed criminal attorneys first initiated a boycott to protest $30/hr fees (now raised to $37.50) and now…
Read MoreWould Biglaw Pay More to Help A Legal Aid or Solo Attorney?
Let’s say two law students, neck and neck in class rank graduate law school with $80,000 in student loan debt (including interest) – or roughly $8000/year over a ten year period. Student A goes on to his dream job at a large New York firm, starting salary $125K while Student B follows his dream to…
Read MoreA Welcome Change: New England States Ease Up on Stringent Bar Rules
As reported in New Rules May Spur Competition for Maine, NH and VT Attorneys, (AP)(11/29/04), courts in these three states will allow some out-of-state lawyers to be admitted to the bar without taking the bar exam, under a reciprocal admission agreement. A lawyer from any of the three states can apply for the right to…
Read MoreIn Defense of Word Perfect
Dennis Kennedy is apparently a Word 2003 fan who doesn’t get the Word Perfect phenomenon. Perhaps this clever defense of Word Perfect, "Show Me the Codes" by New York solo attorney David Leffler will give Dennis some insight into why those of us loyal WP groupies resist crossing over to the other side: Show Me…
Read MoreOur Site’s Current Status
Yes, it’s been a week since joining the Law.com Blog Network and we’re still scrambling to repost nearly two years of archives. I have finally located a server company which seems capable of helping MyShingle make the transition – and which I will thank publicly and frequently if it can get this to happen. Still,…
Read MoreAn Idea from India
These days, the legal profession is sending work out to India. But here’s an idea from India that might be worth a look over here. According to this article, Lawyers Demand Stipends, Loans cities.expressindia (11/26/04), the Kharar Bar Association is demanding stipends and interest free loans from the government for junior lawyers to enable them…
Read MoreLawyers Outside the Law
This past weekend, I came across four articles about lawyers – mostly those who’ve started their own practices – who’ve found success but nevertheless left the law for non-legal careers. There’s Noah Lippman, a 45 year old criminal defense attorney on Wall Street with his own lucrative practice who’s now a high school history teacher…
Read MoreSolo, But Never Alone
When you start your own practice, you may be solo but you’re never alone. You can’t be – or you won’t succeed. This article, No Lawyer Is An Island, Guy Harrison, Small Firm Business (11/29/04) highlights the necessity for solo and small firm lawyers to build relationships with others – from attorneys to support staff…
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