My Shingle

From the monthly archives:

May 2008

Rhode Island Family Lawyer Joyfully Goes 100 Percent Virtual

May 31, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Back in 1999, seven months pregnant with my younger daughter, I surrendered the Washington D.C. office around the corner from the White House that I’d occupied for half a decade.  Though the rent was bargain basement cheap – around $500 including the phone line – I realized that I’d only used the space a dozen [...]

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Look Who’s Discounting Their Fees

May 30, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

If you’ve ever discounted your fees, either voluntarily to lure a client to your firm or involuntarily because  your client ran out of cash, you’re in strong company.  As I posted over at Legal Blogwatch, 76 percent of law firms discount their fees.  But what’s even more interesting is that 89 percent of the discounters [...]

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Stumbling Into Solo Practice

May 27, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Some law firms start with fancy business plans and grand visions.  Others happen seemingly by accident – and yet if we look back, we can trace the result to a series of choices earlier made.   In this nostalgic post, New York Personal Injury Attorney Eric Turkewitz shares how his firm was born out of a [...]

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Should I Turn Down A $50k Bonus Clerkship Bonus To Start My Own Practice?

May 26, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Here’s a question from a reader of this site and Solo by Choice:
I spent two years at a large law firm and now clerk for a federal district court judge.  I want to start my own practice after my clerkship concludes, but if I do, I’ll be turning down the $50k starting bonuses that firms [...]

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Real Life Marketing Lesson: Are You Charging Clients Like American Airlines?

May 21, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Not surprisingly, many American Airlines customers expressed significant outrage over the airline’s recently announced plans to charge passengers additional fees for checking bags and for certain services related to reservations. Indeed, the news may have irked you as well. But before you start venting, ask yourself whether your billing policies “nickel and dime” [...]

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Why You Can Succeed In Starting A Firm Even If You Floundered At Your Job or In Law School

May 20, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Some lawyers want to start law firms, but fear that they’ll fail either because they floundered at their previous place of employment or performed poorly in law school. If that’s where you find yourself, worry no more. According to new research, a lack of control in a job situation has a fundamental effect on [...]

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Announcing the Winners of the Book Contest

May 18, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Well, I’m a couple of days late in getting around to announcing the winners of this& contest. My delay is attributable to a massive struggle with my video camera, the microphone (the first version really didn’t work) and the iMovie editor (which is not nearly as intuitive as I’d thought). Anyway, all of my [...]

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If You Just Started a Law Firm, Hire A Summer Associate

May 15, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

OK, so I realize that my headline sounds crazy.   After all, you just started a law firm four or six or eight months ago.  You’re barely covering your expenses, you still have no idea what you’re doing, you’ve chosen – by design or necessity – to work from home so you don’t have an office [...]

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Still Time to Win A Copy of Solo by Choice

May 10, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

There’s still time to download a copy of an e-book and win a copy of Solo by Choice.  The contest closes May 15, 2008 (you have until midnight) and I’ll be drawing two winners on May 16, 2008.  I may (or may not) do a public drawing online, but I won’t announce the winners pubicly [...]

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What the Paul Hastings Associate’s Performance Review Shows About Law Practice

May 10, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Not to draw further attention to the Paul Hastings associate, Shiyung Oh’s termination, but I’m fascinated by the new information about life at large firms that’s emerging as a result of the story.  For example,  the Wall Street Journal obtained a copy of Oh’s review, which showed that Oh excelled at her work, but which also [...]

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