Do Successful People Give or Sell?

Over at his My Law License blog, my friend and co-defendant Brian Tannebaum adeptly summarized a thought to which I’ve devoted far too many words without ever getting to the point. Specifically, Brian asserts: Successful people give away advice on success, unsuccessful people sell it. Initially, I thought that I could refute Brian’s comment by…

Read More

Three Lessons for Small Firms from Small Farms

This New York Times article, Small US Farms Find Profit in Tourism does triple duty as an analogue for a law firm niche practice , business model and marketing idea. The Times reports on the trend of farmers creating additional streams of revenue in the form of bed-and-breakfasts, horse-rides and corn mazes to supplement their…

Read More

Summertime, Selling and the Solo

So, it’s summertime for the solo, and surprisingly, the selling is easy. At least, I’ve always thought so. For starters, lots of law practices slow down, what with clients, other judges and lawyers on vacation and many lawyers have time on their hands. Moreover, with the economy in its current state, it’s a buyer’s market…

Read More

Musings from the Other End of the Pleading

For the past month, ever since I learned that I’d been named as a defendant in Rakofsky v. the Internet, I’ve been getting acclimated to life on the other end of the pleading. In my seventeen years as a solo, I’ve inhabited a comfortable spot on the signature line. I still get a thrill at…

Read More

The North Carolina Bar’s Double Standard for Data and Dollars

Two months ago, North Carolina released Proposed Formal Ethics Opinion 6 , Subscribing to Software as a Service (SaaS) While Fulfilling the Duties of Confidentiality and Preservation of Client Property. As others, including my Social Media for Lawyers co-author Nicole Black, NC Bar LPM Advisor Eric Mazzone, e-lawyering pioneer Richard Granat and North Carolina virtual…

Read More

A Tentative Thumbs Up for LawyerUp

Update – 6/19/2011 – opposing views, end of post As proprietor of MyShingle, a hub for solo and small firm lawyers, I receive calls and emails every few days pitching the latest, greatest online marketing tools. When I don’t jump at the chance to hop into an affiliate relationship (which I don’t do ) or…

Read More

ABA report: No New Rules Needed for Law Firm Rankings

The following is a guest post by Roy Ginsburg When U.S. News & World Report decided to rank law schools, this ranking – for better or worse — fundamentally changed the law school admissions process. So when U.S. News announced that it would join forces with Best Lawyers to publish rankings of lawyers, that announcement…

Read More