My Shingle

February 2009

The $100,000 Law Firm

February 27, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Imagine having $100,000 to start a law firm.  That’s the consolation prize for the 190 associates laid off today by Latham and Watkins:  six months of severance pay, capped at $100,000, reports AmLaw Daily. I realize that when you’re saddled with student loans and the accoutrements of a biglaw lifestyle, $100,000 doesn’t seem all that [...]

Read more Biglaw Practice and Issues 3 comments

It’s Not Your Imagination…More Lawyers Are Starting Their Own Practice

February 26, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Over the past few months, it seems to me that the number of lawyers starting their own practice is on the rise.  My perception is based largely on anecdotal evidence, from increased traffic to this site (both direct hits and from search terms like “starting a law practice,”) a bump in sales of Solo by [...]

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How to Use the Bars Reviewed: A Practical Guide

February 23, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Last week, I unveiled the Bars Reviewed 2009, which surveys the services that bar associations are providing to solo and small firm practitioners.  I’ve received really valuable feedback in the comment section and I’ve been working to continuously incorporate the comments into the chart. But the survey isn’t just a vanity tool to generate visibility [...]

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Criticize My Site, If You Will… But Don’t EVER Accuse Me of Lacking Transparency

February 22, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

In response to my post on The DC Bar and Avvo, I received a comment from DC Attorney that angered me enough to write this post.  Specifically, DC Attorney attacked my integrity, and the integrity of this site with the following remark:    Regardless, since it’s obvious Carolyn and Josh King have a financial stake in [...]

Read more MyShingle Solo 4 comments

Oh, Biglaw: Why Pay $60k for Lawyers to Do Non-Profit Work When You Could Pay Them To Build A Lucrative Practice?

February 20, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Update – please see the comments, as they are very informative.  I think perhaps my position may be too extreme – funding a couple of non-profit positions or funding indigent criminal defense prgrams may not, on further reflection, be a bad idea (although in many instances, solo and small firm lawyers handle these kinds of [...]

Read more Biglaw Practice and Issues 8 comments

The Bars, Reviewed: What Has Your Bar Association Done for You Lately?

February 19, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Summary Update (7 pm, 2/19/09) More comments below, with links to additional NC Bar resources and Canada resources too.  In response to Eric’s question, the review took place strictly based on websites alone  – I personally visited about 30 of them, and delegated the remaining review, then did additional link checks.  Talking to bar personnel [...]

Read more Law Practice Management 14 comments

The Year Since Solo by Choice: How to Be The Lawyer You Always Wanted To Be

February 19, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

[Note- the tape cuts out at 50 seconds - music continues because I could not split the track] It’s been a little over a year since the release of my book, www.aSolo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be.  My book, which was the first book on law practice in [...]

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Why, In An Economic Downturn, Is the DC Bar Trying to Kill One Tool That Can Help Lawyers Find Clients and Jobs?

February 17, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

The legal profession is on the skids like never before — though you’d scarcely realize it from visiting a bar association website.  As law firms shed attorneys at an unprecedented rate — 4376 layoffs since January 1, 2008, 2614 in calendar year 2009, and 700 on a single Black Thursday, one would think that the [...]

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Solomarketing List, Blawging for Lawyers and the Question of Blogging for Love v. Money

February 16, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

I don’t generally post endorsements or recommendations about products or services at my site.   But every so often, as now, I’ll make an exception where I believe that the service is worth passing on to others. First up is my friend and colleague Jon Stein’s lawyer marketing email list.  Jon put the list together a [...]

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Be Back Up & Running in A Few Days

February 8, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Sorry for the silence here at MyShingle.  I was out on travel last week, and juggling two deadlines and an argument at the D.C. Circuit through the end of this week.  In the interim, you can take a look at some of my marketing related posts at Nolo’s Legal Marketing Blawg.  For those who don’t [...]

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