My Shingle

April 2005

McMarketing vs. The Real Deal

April 29, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

For those of you who know me personally, you probably know that I’m not the world’s greatest marketer.  If I were, I’d probably have retired from the practice of law and would be blogging here full time.  But I think I have a pretty good eye, a sense of what works and what doesn’t, even [...]

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Loneliness and Isolation: Hazards of Solo Practice

April 25, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

Ironically, one of the greatest benefits of starting a law firm – being able to work alone – may actually be one of the greatest hazards of solo practices, as this Q&A from the Massachusetts Bar Association website points out (thanks to my fellow blogger David Giacalone for sending this article my way).  Here’s what [...]

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Go Ask A Blogger – It Works!

April 25, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

The greatest thing about blogs is that they give small lawyers like you and me access to resources that were once completely out of our grasp.  The reason is that at least now, most bloggers still blog because they’re completely enthusiastic about their field or enjoy sharing information. Tom Lincoln at the Trial Prep blog [...]

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Lawyer Rainmaker-Trainers Becoming More Popular

April 25, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

This article, Deluge of Clients the Goal for Legal Field Rainmakers (Philadelphia Biz Journal 4/20/05) reports on two Philadelphia rainmaking firms that provide rainmaking training to lawyers.  From what I’ve seen, I’m not impressed.  One of the training firms does have positive testimonials at its site, but it doesn’t specialize in lawyer rainmaking, nor is [...]

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Dealing With Difficult Clients

April 25, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

This month’s issue (April 2005) of Law Practice Today is devoted to malpractice – or rather, how to avoid malpractice.  All of the articles are pretty interesting; one in particular that stood out was Carole Curtis’ Dealing With Difficult Clients.  Tips include saving copies of all correspondence, being patient and clear about expectations.  Carole doesn’t [...]

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Lawyer Successfully Challenges NC Bar’s Comity Rules

April 25, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

This article, A Break from the Comity Routine, Cynthia Lane, ABA e-report (4/22/05) reports on lawyer Steven Morrison’s successful challenge to North Carolina’s rules on comity admissions.  Under the rule declared overly restrictive by the federal court, North Carolina allowed an attorney in a state with which North Carolina has a comity agreement to gain [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 1 comment

Solo Stories from the Front

April 21, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

Here are a couple of first hand accounts on going solo:  The First Year, a short blog post by patent attorney Russ Kraject (4/17/05) and Hanging Out A Shingle:  Following the Dream of Starting Your Own Firm, Jaime Levy Pessin reprinted from Law Bulletin at the Legal Match Weblog (3/16/05).

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Former Biglaw African American Associates Hang A Shingle

April 21, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

If you’re a biglaw associate, do you stay at your firm and let the partners get rich off your work and credentials?  Or leave and take advantage of that market yourself?  The latter approach is the one taken by five young African American attorneys and former associates at prominent large law firms who struck out [...]

Read more Biglaw to Solo 4 comments

Federal Judges Honor Pro Bono – But Exclude Solos

April 19, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

According to this Press Release, the Chief Judges of the D.C. Circuit will be honoring eight Washington D.C. law firms for commitment to pro bono as evidenced by meeting a benchmark of 40 percent of lawyers performing 50 hours or more of pro bono service.  But sadly, though I’m a member of the DC Bar, [...]

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Firms Are Starting Client Surveys

April 19, 2005 by Carolyn Elefant

Even if you own your own practice, don’t forget, you can still lose your job:  according to this article, Law Firms Learn to Measure Client Satisfaction, San Jose Biz Journal (4/8/05),  almost 60 percent of companies have fired or are considering firing at least one of their outside law firms, according to a survey conducted [...]

Read more Client Relations 2 comments

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