My Shingle

December 2006

I Am Done…

December 31, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

No…I’m not done with MyShingle, though my infrequent postings over the past few months may have given you that impression.  Rather, I am done with the initial draft of a book project on a topic related to starting a law firm that I have been working on for the past two and a half years.  [...]

Read more Books 10 comments

The Smallest Things Have the Biggest Impact

December 17, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

When I reflect on my thirteen years as a solo, what comes to mind first aren’t my major victories, but instead, my small moments.  I actually have at least three small moments that have influenced the course of my practice, but today, I’ll discuss just one:  the day I changed a judge’s mind. Back in [...]

Read more Celebrating Solos 16 comments

Lawyers as the Bearers of Bad News

December 17, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

The recent shootings at a Chicago law firm by Joe Jackson, a disgruntled and crazed client have spawned a search for reasons behind the tragedy.  This article, Lawyers balance inventors’ hope (12/17/06) explores one rationale: that Jackson, like other inventors who seek patents, hold an unrealistic hope of success.  According to one  patent attorney quoted [...]

Read more Client Relations 6 comments

SIGN UP NOW – FREE TELESEMINAR AND CHANCE TO WIN A DELL!

December 15, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Readers – I’m happy to announce that Nader Anise is holding his annual FREE teleseminar for lawyers.  I’ve called in twice now and both times, have come away with some really interesting information.  In contrast to many others who hold free "give-aways" like this, Nader does not use it as a "teaser" – he gives [...]

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Even the Best Lawyers Have Bad Days – But They Know How To Cover When They Do

December 10, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Perhaps the greatest fear that I hear from most shinglers-to-be is the fear making mistakes.  For example, many lawyers contemplating solo practice, whether fresh out of school or after a tenure at biglaw, have never argued a motion, filed a complaint or taken a deposition (sometimes they’ve never even observed others doing it).  They’re afraid [...]

Read more Gaining Competence 6 comments

Bill Less and Prosper!

December 9, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Yeah, yeah, I know – it’s not about price, it’s about value; talk about price and you’ll forever be haggling over cost with your clients.  I buy all of that…and yet, sometimes, clients do measure value in terms of price.  Let’s be honest – aren’t there matters where clients would hire a 700 person law [...]

Read more Big Law/Small Law 2 comments

Sometimes, A Bright Line Rule Just Isn’t Fair

December 9, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

This week’s ABA e-report (12/8/06) includes this article Bright Line Blunder, about a Virginia Court of Appeals decision to dismiss a litigant’s notice of appeal filed by her attorney during a period of time when his license was suspended and he didn’t even know about it. From the article, these are the relevant facts, which [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 0 comments

The Limits of Managing Client Relationships

December 9, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

More lawyers are focusing on managing client relations, adopting techniques from putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes to soliciting feedback through surveys to treating them with respect.  But sometimes, no matter what we do, clients get frustrated and angry – often not with their lawyers but with the inherent limitations of our justice system – [...]

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Calling All Solo and Small Firm Lawyers Nearing Retirement

December 8, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

For those who aren’t aware, I’m currently finishing up a book on solo and small firm related matters.  But my publisher is also at work on a terrific guide to retirement for solo and small firm lawyers.  He’s looking for lawyers in their 40s, 50s and 60s for a questionaire to find out how they’ve [...]

Read more Announcements 0 comments

My Shingle Turns 4 (slightly revised as of 12/7/06)

December 6, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

In honor of MyShingle’s 4th anniversary, here’s a gift for readers.  First, my original Welcome Message which I retrieved from the Wayback Machine since I still haven’t successfully uploaded my pre-Typepad files (I still long for the days of slash).  And here’s a look perhaps into MyShingle of the future:

Read more Announcements 7 comments

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