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Oh, If We Could Get Clients to Pay To Do Their Own Work

October 25, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

One of the legacies of the first conference that I attended over a year ago is that I’m still reading other women’s blogs that I’d have never encountered but for the conference.  And it’s through one of those blogs that I learned about a franchise called Dinner My Way where you pay to cook your [...]

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Solos Team Up

September 26, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

With so many large firms moving towards a “one stop shopping model,” what can a small firm r solo with a more specialized focus do to compete?  You could try to become a jack of all trades, but in expanding your capabilities, you may compromise quality.  Or, you could take the approach of the Birmingham, [...]

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Real Sisters In Law

August 28, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Sisters don’t have to marry a pair of brothers to become sisters in law to each other.  As this article, Sisters in law:  Siblings Keep legal matters all in the family (Arizona Business Gazette 8/24/06), sisters Hope Kirsch and Lori Kirsch-Goodwin became sisters in law (or sisters at law)  when they decided to hang out [...]

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Of counsel – another solo practice option

August 13, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

This month’s issues of GP Solo Magazine has an article by Elio Martinez entitled Of Counsel:  An Alternative to Solo and Firm Practice.  The article tells a little bit about Martinez’s of counsel arrangement (all of them differ, I think): My of counsel arrangement is simple. I maintain a separate and independent practice while occupying [...]

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Flat Fees Are Fine, But Lawyers Can’t Have It Both Ways

July 31, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Like Chris Marston of Inside the Future of the Law Firm who raves about the benefits of fixed pricing, I’m also a fan of the flat fee or fixed price.  Chris focuses on how fixed pricing provides certainty to clients, but from my perspective, it makes my life much easier when I don’t have to [...]

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Take an Expert’s Advice on Price

June 16, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

I may be a solo who runs an established blog for other solos.  I’m an expert on my own practice and what works for me.  But I’m the first to admit that what works for me may not be optimal for others.  So if you want to get a broader perspective on matters like pricing [...]

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The $50 Consult

June 4, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

According to this post over at Larry Bodine’s Professional Marketing Blog, at least one firm isn’t following the conventional wisdom of charging what everyone else does – and they’re making money in the process.  As Bodine describes, Wessels & Pautch, a small, employment defense firm offers unlimited phone consults for $50 a month.  Not surprisingly, [...]

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Competing On Price – Why Not?

June 4, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Most marketing gurus counsel lawyers not to compete on price.  So I wasn’t surprised to see that advice at the core of this article by Susan Cartier-Liebel, To Solos:  Don’t Discount Your Worth, Connecticut Law Tribune (June 5, 2006).  Personally, I disagree.  I see no way for a new solos to get a foot in [...]

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More On House Calls

May 21, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Joining a previous and long ago post on housecalls is this piece, Swtiching to House Calls, Hope Viner Samborn (ABA Journal 5/2006).  These days, house calls are viewed not just as convenient for clients but as a way to avoid having an office.  From the article: Solo practitioner Laura S. Petelle gives new meaning to [...]

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The Travelling Lawyer

January 29, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

If you’re going solo and can’t afford an office, don’t feel badly.  In fact, celebrate – because the lack of an office will enable you to follow in the tradition of Thomas Hall, the subject of this article, He house calls; attorney breaks free from tradition (Journal Times, 1/27/06).    As the article describes: Since [...]

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