My Shingle

July 2006

Flat Fees Are Fine, But Lawyers Can’t Have It Both Ways

July 31, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Like Chris Marston of Inside the Future of the Law Firm who raves about the benefits of fixed pricing, I’m also a fan of the flat fee or fixed price.  Chris focuses on how fixed pricing provides certainty to clients, but from my perspective, it makes my life much easier when I don’t have to [...]

Read more Business Models 27 comments

Can Small Fry Catch Big Clients? That’s My Shingle’s Raison d’Etre

July 31, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Over at What About Clients?, Dan Hull wonders whether a  how to marketing seminar on how small firms can snag big clients would catch on?  Of course, Hull knows the answer to that.  He writes: GCs are now smarter and bolder. Smaller firms can and do land and serve top clients. At top rates, too. [...]

Read more Big Law/Small Law 2 comments

MyShingle Reviews Blachman’s Anonymous Lawyer

July 23, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Let me start this book review with a confession:  when I first heard that Jeremy Blachman nabbed a contract to bring his Anonymous Lawyer (AL) blog to the printed page, I didn’t have high hopes.  While I read the AL Blog before Jeremy outed himself, I can’t say that I was a huge fan; as [...]

Read more Book Review 20 comments

Some thoughts on solo practice

July 23, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

This short piece, The not so lonely lawyer (WV Record 7/20/06) offers a couple of quick thoughts on solo practice.  Some of the views are positive; for instance, the article takes the time to dispell the myth that solo practice is a greater risk than staying at biglaw: However, for law firm marketing guru Mark [...]

Read more Legal Profession Trends 4 comments

More Biglaw Attorneys Downsize to Solo Practice

July 23, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

This article, Starting Over in the Big Pond (Richmond Business Journal, 6/28/06) reports on “the joys and tribulations of starting a small law firm” as told by former biglaw attorneys Greg Holland and Steven Setliff.  The pair describe some of the differences between biglaw practice and starting your own firm, from having to make decisions [...]

Read more Big Law/Small Law 0 comments

Cool marketing lessons from an Ivy League drug lawyer and an offbeat U-tube commercial

July 17, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

From brainy Professor Bainbridge’s blog, of all places, I learned about the coolest, most expertly executed marketing idea I’ve seen in a while:  a You Tube video by California criminal attorney Allison Margolin.  Why does the video work?  Several reasons.  First, the video gives Ms. Margolin’s potential clients an opportunity to see what’s she’s like [...]

Read more Marketing & Making Money 16 comments

In praise of the late bloomer

July 17, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

If like me, you sometimes feel a little down that you haven’t yet hit your breakout career stride or left your mark on the law, then check out this article, What Kind of Genius Are You?, David Galenson, Wired (7/06) (hat tip to Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity).  As Herz summarizes, Galenson describes two types [...]

Read more Encouragement 2 comments

Help, I forgot my business cards….

July 15, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Whenever I meet lawyers without business cards, I wonder about their professionalism.  Well, yesterday I joined that club when I came out to Oregon to speak at a conference full of prospects and I discovered that I forgot my business cards.  How embarrassing…what to do?  It was a short trip, so not enough time to [...]

Read more Marketing & Making Money 26 comments

How to politely decline…and avoid a lawsuit

July 7, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Recently, Allison Shields posted here on the benefits that lawyers can gain from hospitality, which is what excellent client service is all about.  But this article Thou Shalt Not… by Steven Lubet  (American Lawyer, 7/2006) got me to thinking that hospitality and just plain courtesy have other benefits as well:  they can spare you from [...]

Read more Client Relations 10 comments

Legal Research & Writing Pro Sponsors FREE Webinar With Ed Poll

July 5, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

FREE Webinar on Business Competency for Lawyers I’ve mentioned Ed Poll, one of today’s preeminent law practice management experts and coaches, a number of times on MyShingle (most recently in a post about New York’s new proposed attorney advertising rules), and a number of his articles are included in our Online Guide to Creating a [...]

Read more Announcements 2 comments

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