My Shingle

December 2009

In Praise of the Long Journey

December 22, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

In an age where we envy quick success – the dotcom that grows from garage to gargantuan in eighteen months, the blogger who gets a book deal after three months – artist in turn lead to break-out success.  Five years later at 94, Herrera is savoring the financial remuneration and notoriety from a lifetime of [...]

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An Ebook on What Matters

December 17, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

One of my favorite “ideas” people (for want of better classification) is Seth Godin.  Godin has an eye for trends.  No other blogger spots them as far in advance or articulates them quite as well.  This week, Godin is offering a freebie:  an ebook entitled What Matters Now.  The book is comprised of contributions from [...]

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Blogging: It’s a Matter of Trust

December 14, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that my word is my bond, something that you can trust.  My blog is comprised of many, many words, all of which form a trusted bond with my audience and other bloggers.   I worked hard to establish this trust and I take it seriously, as do most legitimate [...]

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MyShingle Turns Seven

December 9, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Today, MyShingle celebrates its seventh birthday.  When I started back in 2002, there were only 100 blogs and now, blogging is all the rage.   And though I do take some pride that I was ahead of the curve, I didn’t start MyShingle to be trendy.  Instead, I wanted to shine a spotlight on what’s been true [...]

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Keep Your Eye on the Prize: Advice for Solos & All Lawyers from Marc Randazza

December 9, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

So how does a real estate associate who barely found a job at a small local firm become one of the nation’s pre-eminent First Amendment lawyers with his own practice, representing clients like Above the Law or the guy who went head to head with talk radio superstar Glenn Beck in a battle over a [...]

Read more Finding Your Passion 1 comment

Profile of New Solo, Jamison Koehler, Washington D.C. Criminal Defense Lawyer, Washington D.C. DUI Lawyer

December 8, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Every so often, I like to post a profile of a lawyer who’s just opened a solo practice.   This month, it’s Jamison Koehler of Koehler Law.  Jamie is a criminal and DUI defense lawyer in Washington D.C. and here’s what he had to share about his background, his reasons for going solo and how [...]

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Social Media Brings Lawyers Back to the Future

December 6, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

H/T Amy Campbell’s Weblog (I threw in this video because it’s somewhat related to my post but more so for marketing to a company.  My post relates to consumer marketing.  Read on and you’ll see what I mean). When it comes to social media, most lawyers aren’t first movers.  And in light of this recent [...]

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Why Big Firms Don’t Blog Well: Not Too Much Risk, But Too Little Passion

December 3, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Chalk one up for the solos and small firms.  For what it’s worth, we dominate the ranks of the Third Annual ABA Blawg 100.  By contrast, only two large firm blogs made the cut, Mark Herrmann observes at Drug and Device Law, one of the chosen. Mark contends the lack of an engaging voice accounts [...]

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Some Free Tools for Starting A Law Firm

December 2, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Two weeks ago, I presented a nearly full day CLE in Oregon on Solo by Choice in the Current Economy, with a summary by Beverly Michaelis, one of the Oregon Professional Liability Fund’s Practice Management Advisors.  But below are a couple of slides that I used for the Oregon program and others, highlighting many of [...]

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