My Shingle

Question for Transactional Solos: What Kind of Contracts Do You Frequently Draft?

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:12:06 +0000

A few months ago, I reviewed a product released by Ken Adams and Koncision; a form confidentiality agreement that lawyers can use for drafting. Though you’ve probably seen dozens of NDA’s and confidentiality agreements online, Ken’s product is far more high end and detailed, which means that you can rely on it to make a better impression for clients.

Now, Ken is on the look out for another product to develop, potentially with solos and small firms in mind. Options on the table so far include a forms for a Delaware LLC, as well as a suite of “micro-market” M&A documents. But what suggestions do you have? Are there types of documents that solo transactional lawyers encounter routinely, where it would be helpful to have a product that automates the process without a reduction in quality? And what products do those of you who are transactional lawyers use currently to assist with drafting, due diligence and other tasks relevant to a transactional or corporate practice. Please post the comments below. It’s nice to have an opportunity to play a role in creation of a quality product that doesn’t just focus on marketing.

Taking A Break & Questions for Readers

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:13:34 +0000

I’m not sure why I ever bother to blog the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Most folks either skip town or are frantically racing to meet end-of-year deadlines. Either way, it makes for absent or distracted readers. In fact, that’s generally why I save my New Year’s predictions for January (2009, 2010 and 2011).

I also recognize that some lawyers voluntarily take a break from the blogosphere during the last week of December to plan for the coming year. I’ll be doing some planning myself, in particular, thinking about what I can do to improve this site to make it more useful. You’d think that after blogging here for nine years, I’d have a pretty good idea of my audience’s preferences but truth is that my readership (and I would imagine, most blogs’ readership base) has changed over time. Starting out in 2002, I’d be lucky to attract 30 readers a day, mostly colleagues from Solosez who wanted to support the site, or a few of the then-handful of other legal bloggers. My traffic has grown substantially since then, but there are also plenty of other blogs that address topics of concern and interest to solos, from practice management tips, technology advice and of course, marketing.

While I like to write about others’ blog posts from time to time, I’ve never been a “repeater” or “me too” blogger in that I don’t simply pass on links to another post or chime in and parrot the same advice. So to continue to remain both original and useful, I’d love to get some feedback, either in the comment section below or by email (elefant@myshingle.com). In particular, are there topics that you’d like to see covered that aren’t addressed at other blogs or perhaps some new perspective worth sharing? Likewise, are there topics that I post on here (like my Ethics 20/20 coverage) that simply bore you to tears (doesn’t mean I’ll stop posting on issues that in my view matter to solos, but I’m curious). Finally, are there certain formats that you prefer over others? Would you like to see shorter posts? What about more webinars, videos, podcasts or live interactive Q&A? Finally, if you’re a new reader, please let me know what brought you here.

In the meantime, if you’re a new reader, or you plan to spend the next week thinking about starting a firm or ramping up your business if you’re already in practice, have a look at some of these resources:

Cold Calls for Lawyers (recording, no registration required)

Biglaw to Your Law (recording and slide deck, no registration required)

StartingaLawFirmOnlineGuide.com (writings on every stage of planning and running a practice, plus links to free 6 hour tutorial on starting a firm)

Nolo Legal Marketing Blawg as well as other marketing materials at MyShingle for some ideas on topics like finding clients, identifying new practice areas or making your internet presence more useful.

So enjoy the break, have a wonderful New Year and I’ll see you all back here next year!

Big Law to Your Law Teleconference and Ebook Available

Carolyn Elefant — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:20:56 +0000

The 50 minute recording of last night’s Big law to Your law teleseminar (unfortunately aborted due to problems ony end) is available here Big Law to Your Law Recording. The accompanying slide deck is here and the 40 page ebook (compilation of blog posts) is here. I realized after trying to squeeze everything into a short call that this topic deserves more coverage so stay tuned for future developments on this topic.

LAST CALL for Biglaw to Yourlaw:

Carolyn Elefant — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:46:13 +0000

Tomorrow, December 15, 2011 at 9 pm is the Biglaw to Yourlaw FREE teleseminar. To register and for more information, go here (scroll through post to sign up.)

If you’ve already registered, you should receive your course materials by email by 10 am ET tomorrow morning.

MyShingle Celebrates Its 9th Blawg-i-versary

Carolyn Elefant — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:27:28 +0000

On December 9, 2002, I launched MyShingle into the blawgosphere with this Welcome Post. At the time, I had no idea where my site was headed but I was excited to join the first generation of legal blawgers, particularly as one of the few solos among them. Over time, the seeds that I planted took root and suddenly, I found myself part of a vibrant community that hadn’t previously existed.
There are a million things that I could write about the big picture of blogging and its place in the legal profession or tips on how to blog. I shared some of my thoughts on my first, fifth and eigth anniversaries. But today, for want of time (it would be bad luck if I didn’t post about my 9th anniversary on December 9th), I’ll leave a personal reflection.

After nine years, there are days when the words won’t come, when my brain simply runs dry of ideas. Where I struggle over a post for an hour or more or get aggravated when something that to me was a masterpiece registers one or two tweets while someone else’s garbage re-circulates 87 times. But there are those days when the words just fly from my mind to my fingers, where I pound out a post or put the right twist on a headline, or where someone else picks up my post and discusses it or where someone tells me that they mustered up the courage to start a law firm after reading my blog. Days like that are still a thrill.

In that respect, blogging is a microcosm of solo practice as well. Every day, we solos toil, battling with nasty opposing counsel or even cheap, obnoxious clients. But every so often, we save someone from jail, keep a person in their home, move a business forward or just make someone’s life a little easier or less scary. Those are the days where practicing law doesn’t even seem like work, but a joy. The days we live for.

Thank you readers and my fellow bloggers for nine terrific years; thank you solo and small firm lawyers every where for just simply showing up and for helping to make justice a reality. Always, this blog is for you.

Free Teleseminar December 15: From Big Law to Your Law, 3 Years Later

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:16:58 +0000

Three years ago, before the bottom fell out of big law, I offered one of my most successful free teleseminars ever, From Big Law to Your Law. Back at the end of 2008, most folks thought that the downturn (just 1742 layoffs) was just another market correction of the variety we’d seen in the early ’90s. So most of those at Big Law were interested in solo practice more as a lifestyle change than anything else.

But flash forward to the end of 2011, and now, we know that 2008 was just the tip of the iceberg. A few months later, mass layoffs would start, firms deferred associate start dates and cut back hiring for summer programs. That hasn’t changed.

Nor, has Big Law changed its ways significantly. Sure, it’s corrected salaries, but firms continue to bill by the hour and raised rates the second the market showed recovery. Apparently, firms still don’t get that the economy wasn’t the reason that big corporate clients balked about fees; it was merely a catalyst for the discontent that had been brewing all along.

At the same time, the economy also focused more law firm associates and junior partners on business development. Many large firm lawyers who before the downturn might not have thought to start building business (I know, sounds crazy) are doing so now – but finding that the types of clients they’re attracting don’t have the budget for firms with a $200,000 cover charge. It’s this group of lawyers who are now looking to go solo.

The growing big-law to your law trend is corroborate by mainstream news stories like this one. I’ve heard the same story from conversations with LPM advisors who identify the big firm partners – and not unemployed grads – as the largest demographic of lawyers coming to them for advice on starting a practice.

So with this as backstory, plus, with the release of the second edition of Solo by Choice and the Solo By Choice Companion Guide, now seemed like a great time to reprise my 2008 seminar. Because I’m expecting a big turn out, I’ve set up the event as a teleconference. I’ll distribute handouts in advance. I’ve also set the call for 9 pm ET for those who would rather not watch at the office. Even if you can’t make it, please sign up so you can receive the recording. By the way, whether you work at big law or not, you’re welcome on the call – but I will discuss some of the considerations unique to starting a firm out of big law such as competing and working with AmLaw 200 firms or attracting larger clients. These points are useful for anyone, but typically are not covered in more general solo start up calls and they do demand different skill sets.

Even if you don’t sign up, you can download my 2008 ebook on BigLaw to Your Law for free here .

Information is below:
From Big Law to Your Law: A Reprisal
Summary of Topics:

Should I make the move from big law to my own firm? Why?
How does starting a firm compare to other flexible options like Virtual Law Partners, FSB Legal or Axiom Legal?
Should I start a firm on my own or team up with my big law colleagues?
Can I solicit my former firm’s clients?
What if I want to handle consumer-based matters? How do I generate the skill set?
My former firm had expensive office space, marketing staff and tech? How can I afford those amenities?
Can I have a 100 percent virtual law firm?
What are some niche markets for a big firm lawyer to develop?
What about the “outsourced in house counsel arrangements?” Are those viable?
My firm billed by the hour. How do I get away from that?
How can I find clients?
Can it really be done? Or do you just want to promote your website and book?

If you have other questions you’d like addressed, please email them to me or post them in the comments below.
DETAILS:
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 2011
TIME: 9 pm Eastern Time (6 pm Pacific Time)
COST: FREE!!!
Register Here (note – You don’t have to include your name but PLEASE use a valid email so that we can provide you with information about the call or changes)

Correction – More Time for Comment on ABA Ethics 20/20

Carolyn Elefant — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:46:30 +0000

In an earlier post, I incorrectly stated that the ABA Ethics 2020 Commission will be closing out the opportunity to comment on the proposed rules. This is incorrect – in fact, the comment period for various proposals will run through February 29, 2012. Here’s a recent announcement:

At its October 2011 meeting in Denver, Colorado, the Commission decided to bifurcate its presentation of proposals to the ABA House of Delegates to help facilitate that entity’s considered action on a significant number of complex and diverse subjects. The Commission will present its first group of proposals in August 2012, and the second set in February 2013. The Commission currently plans to present its proposals relating to mobility issues, outsourcing, and technology in August 2012. The Commission will circulate one more time for comment the drafts of those proposals before it files them with the House of Delegates for consideration in August 2012. It will do so after discussing at its February 2 – 3, 2012 meeting the recent comments and suggestions received, and after making any necessary revisions to the proposals based upon those comments. The Commission will hold a public hearing in at its February meeting. Details are forthcoming.

The remaining proposals, including those relating to Model Rule 1.7, inbound foreign lawyers, and, if the Commission decides to do so, any proposals relating to alternative law practice structures, will be presented in February 2013.

Today, consistent with the Commission’s promise to provide opportunities for input, it published for comment a Cover Memo and Discussion Draft relating to alternative law practice structures. The Commission already has ruled out certain forms of nonlawyer ownership that currently exist in other countries. In particular, the Commission rejected: (a) publicly traded law firms, (b) outside nonlawyer investment or ownership in law firms, and (c) multidisciplinary practices (law firms that offer both legal and non-legal services separately in a single entity). This Discussion Draft relates to a very limited form of nonlawyer ownership in a law firm akin to, but more restrictive than, that which has been permitted for 21 years in the District of Columbia. Before deciding how to proceed, the Commission wants to receive your comments and review any supporting materials you may wish to offer.

The Commission also posted for comment a Cover Memo and Initial Draft Proposal relating to choice of law and alternative law practice structures. Choice of law issues will exist whether or not the Commission ultimately decides to propose any modification to the current prohibition in Model Rule 5.4 on any form of alternative law practice structure. The Commission has heard that lawyers and law firms would benefit from additional guidance in this regard, particularly given the proliferation of domestic and international cross-border practice and the fact that more countries where U.S. lawyers and law firms do business now permit alternative law practice structures (as does the District of Columbia).

The Commission encourages responses to the Discussion Draft and the Initial Draft Proposal by late January 2012, so that they can be discussed at the Commission’s February 2-3, 2012 meeting, and further asks that those requiring additional time submit their comments by February 29, 2012.

The documents can be downloaded here: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/aba_commission_on_ethics_20_20.html .

MyShingle Is Proud to Be Part of the 18 Percent

Carolyn Elefant — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:51:42 +0000

Solos comprise at least 60 percent of practicing lawyers, yet that’s not always apparent from mainstream legal publications which focus largely on the accomplishments of and matters relevant to large firm practice. Slowly, however, blogs are chipping away at the legal caste system that by giving solos a powerful megaphone to influence the law and our profession. This year’s ABA Blawg 100 is proof. Solo bloggers comprise 18 percent of the top 100; twenty percent if you eliminate the dozen blogs in the News and Opinions categories which are occupied by professional journalists and academics.

What’s more – if you look at the solo blogs included in the top 100 (the majority are in the criminal defense category with the remainder spread between LPM, Tech and Niche), you’ll find that most of them don’t just focus narrowly on legal issues or dutifully report on recent cases with nothing more. Instead, most solo bloggers are addressing big picture issues – from the ethics of lawyer marketing and conduct (six of the ABA Top 100 Blawgs, albeit not just solos, are defendants in Rakofsky Sues the Internet), the relevance of legal education the policy implications of Supreme Court decisions and most of all, what it’s like to practice as solo lawyer in today’s world. I am honored to be included in the 18 percent – and awed at MyShingle’s inclusion in the ABA Blawg 100 for the fifth year running.

Cold Call Book Launch Cancellation

Carolyn Elefant — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:15:00 +0000

Getting the second edition of Solo by Choice and the Companion Guide, which is a separate volume took longer than I anticipated due to the press of my practice. Now too, it seems that a book launch party will meet the same fate as once again, I’ve been forced to postpone the launch. (If you’ve registered already, you will receive a full refund and a gift). However, even though I’m unable to hold the launch right now (stay tuned for details about future events), I’ve posted a 40 minute recording on Cold Calling for Lawyers. Visit this post for details about the call and to listen to the recording.

ISO Questions for Tomorrow’s Webinar “Everything You Wanted to Know About Starting A Solo Practice…”

Carolyn Elefant — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:54:55 +0000

Below are some of the questions that I researched for the second edition of Solo by Choice and which I’ll be discussing at tomorrow’s webinar sponsored by Rocket Matter (for details or registration, visit here). But what I’d really like are questions from you – so please post questions below for me to address at the webinar. Even if you can’t attend, RM tapes the webinars for future viewing – and I’m happy to post my responses at MyShingle as well.

Here are some of the questions that I’m commonly asked (and accordingly, researched) but I know that there are many more so post them in the comments below.

Does law school really prepare you for solo practice?
Must I write a business plan before starting a solo practice?
How much cash do I need to start my practice?
How much do solos earn?
How can a new solo find inexpensive malpractice insurance?
What are the latest trends in work space?
Is working from home always better from a financial perspective?
Can I start a solo practice on a part time basis?
How can I figure out how to price services on a flat fee basis?
What options are available for cheap or free CLE?
Can I run my practice on free software alone?
Do I need to hire professional SEO to get on page 1 of Google?
Do I need a blog, website or both?