My Shingle

From the monthly archives:

November 2006

Loan Forgiveness – Why Not For Solos?

November 27, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

This article, Debt Relief May Be In Sight for Lawyers (Chicago Sun Times 11/27/06) reports on the status of legislation proposed by Senator Dick Durbin back in 2003, that would grant student loan relief to public sector lawyers in the criminal justice system.  From the article:
The average young lawyer from a private law school graduated [...]

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Holiday Gifts

November 23, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

With Thanksgiving now over, it’s time to start thinking about holiday gifts.  And Reid Trautz has some interesting suggestions in his 2006 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers.  Check it out!

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48 Years As A Solo Come To A Close

November 23, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

"If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life."
That’s the standard that Sauk Center, Minnesota attorney John Mayer has lived by throughout his 48 year career as a solo, which will now come to a close with his retirement, according to this profile from the Sauk Herald (11/21/06).  Articles like [...]

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Virtual Office Space Options

November 23, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

If you’re starting a firm and not sure that you want to work from home, but are concerned about the cost of rent, a virtual office might be right for you.  This  article from the Chicago Business Leader (11/20/06) gives an overview of the costs and services of HQ Global, one of the larger competitors [...]

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Keeping It Fresh

November 21, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

At the Legal Profession Blog, Jeff Lipshaw wonders whether it’s natural to spend one’s time "the same firm, doing the same kind of work, progressing in the level of oversight and client contact…."  As a solo, I don’t often feel that way, since I always have the opportunity to reinvent myself and my practice.  Yet [...]

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The best time to start….

November 14, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Seth Godin has some great advice on the best time to start a firm:  maybe last year, maybe never.  But the second best time is now.  So go for it (and read Godin’s entire post).

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Ivy League Solos

November 12, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Whether you like Harvard Law School or not, you have to agree that virtually every HLS graduate can write their own ticket to whatever job they want.  So it’s gratifying to see that with so many career options, young HLS grads are still choosing solo practice, as reported in this article from the HLS Bulletin, [...]

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When You Value Bill, Be Sure To Tell The Client

November 12, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Plenty’s been written about the evils of the billable hour; how the billable system measures time rather than value and in so doing contributes to inefficiencies and bill padding.   But criticism of value billing is harder to come by, and with the exception of David Giacalone’s writings, you don’t find much negative commentary about value [...]

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MSBA Conference This Saturday – Would Love to Talk To You!

November 9, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Readers – one last reminder that this Saturday, November 11, the Maryland State Bar Association is sponsoring its 8th annual conference on starting a law firm.  The information can be found here in this earlier post.
I’ll be speaking on blogging – you can view a sketch of my presentation as well as the more detailed [...]

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Great News for Law Firm Start Ups: 80 Percent of Dotcoms Survived!

November 8, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

I’ve always likened the rise of modern day independent practice (call it the Third Wave if you will) to the dotcom era.  Before dotcoms, small entrepreneurship wasn’t cool.  But the success of little garage companies forced our profession to look at law firm start ups in a different light.
And because law firm start ups have [...]

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