My Shingle

September 2010

Solos in The Mainstream Media

September 29, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

These days, getting your name in print – or digital print, anyway – isn’t all that difficult.  Most online publications content starved and you’re bound to find a few that will accept a guest blog post or article. Getting face time in print media is another story.  Even though traditional newspapers are considered down for [...]

Read more Marketing & Making Money 1 comment

Lawyers Want to Be Good, So Why Does the ABA Make It So Darn Hard?

September 29, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Tomorrow, the ABA will post its ethic Opinion 10-457 (August 5, 2010) on ethics issues related to lawyers use of websites.  OK, so the decision comes a good fifteen years after lawyers, myself included, first started using the web, but better late than never, I suppose.  In any event, the opinion was circulated this afternoon [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 18 comments

Round Up of Resources on the Amorphous “Of Counsel” Relationship

September 27, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Nearly every lawyer has heard of the “of counsel” relationship, yet few understand what it is.  That’s not surprising, because of the many different variations of “of counsel” relationships, from the retired senior partner who stays on with the firm in an “of counsel” capacity to the part-time lawyer who doesn’t generate enough business to [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 0 comments

Tip Round Up: Keeping Receipts, Cheap Legal Research and More

September 22, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I’ve been so preoccupied with big picture issues that I’ve neglected the other aspets of this blog that make it useful: the practical tips.  I’ve been compiling a bunch over the past few weeks, so here they are: Ernie the Attorney offers two great tips, one one using FedEx’s print online service in lieu of [...]

Read more Legal Research Options 4 comments

ABA Commission on Ethics 2020 Wants Your Comments

September 22, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Update, 9/23/2010 :  Please review the comments from one of the Ethics 2020 reporters.  Seems that I was not sufficiently precise in describing the Commission’s activities to date, so let me clarify.  The Commission has, at this point, released issues papers, nothing more.  It hasn’t proposed rules (as I implied) or taken a position on [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 5 comments

Why It Matters That Solos Aren’t the Main Event

September 20, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Bruce Macewen’s blog Adam Smith, Esq. is to big law practice what this blog, on its best days, aspires to be for solos and small firms.  Always substantive, always skeptical (one of a minority of credible law practice management types who didn’t unquestioningly embrace Richard Susskind) and always spot-on (read his series on business models [...]

Read more Big Law/Small Law 6 comments

Yes, It’s Really Hard

September 15, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

You thought you’d done everything right in starting your law firm.  Read the blogs and the books, talked to a couple of solos around town, wrote a business or marketing plan, bought the business cards and set up a decent website, sent the announcements out to everyone and their brother too. Yet here it is, [...]

Read more Encouragement 12 comments

Let’s Pay New Lawyers To Do CLE

September 15, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Let me start by saying that I don’t like mandatory CLE (I’m not alone in this view either). Frankly, CLE doesn’t improve our profession and worse, gives the public a false sense of security that lawyers are competent. Let’s face it: those lawyers who take their obligations seriously will always take classes, follow relevant blogs [...]

Read more Gaining Competence 1 comment

Solo & Small Law Hit the Big Time With ABA Soloing Center & Above the Law’s Small Law

September 8, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Looks like I (along with the other solo practice bloggers) are part of the cool crowd now. Where MyShingle was once the sole solo blog online, now solo and small firm blogs and websites are cropping up everywhere, including the least likely of places: the ABA website and Above the Law! Last month, the ABA [...]

Read more Solo Practice Trends 1 comment

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