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Celebrating Solos

A Solo Fought the Law and the Solo Won! NY Jud. Code 470 Found Unconstitutional!

September 8, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but exceedingly fine. Nearly four years have passed since New-York barred, New Jersey residing attorney Ekaterina Schoenefeld refused to play scofflaw and ignore a valid law requiring only non-resident lawyers to maintain an in-state office  simply because she personally believed it to be outdated or unjust. Instead, Schoenefeld did [...]

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Go, Solo, Go: Why I Joyfully Root for Small Law

June 8, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Back when I worked for others, my heart was tight and mean.  My cramped vision of the legal profession as a zero sum game left little space for generosity or good will towards my colleagues.   Each time I learned that one of my classmates made partner at a big firm, or that another lawyer [...]

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Attorneys Defending Bar Requirements Say that Lawyer Must Violate Them To Bring a Challenge

February 15, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Princeton, New Jersey based solo, Ekaterina Schoenefeld did what every good lawyer is supposed to do:  she abided her state bar’s ethics rules even though doing so cost her financially.   Though duly licensed in New York, Schoenefeld couldn’t practice there.  That’s because New York Judiciary Code section 470 requires non-resident, New York barred lawyers [...]

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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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Self-Employed Lawyers Are Happiest

September 20, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on a recent Gallup Poll which showed that even in this recession, business owners outrank ten other occupations in overall well being.  The reasons aren’t surprising — they reflect the importance of freedom to choose the work you do and how you do it, say psychologists who commented [...]

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Shingular Sensation Eugene Lee Vindicates Discharged Doctor With $500,000 Verdict in Employment Discrimination Case Against Kern County

July 13, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

JADWIN v. COUNTY OF KERN, Docket No. 1:07-CV-00026 (ED Calif) may have been Los Angeles, California employment rights solo Eugene Lee’s first jury trial (indeed, his first trial of any kind).  But the $500,000+ verdict that Lee won for his client, Dr. David Jadwin — who’d been terminated from his position in retaliation for bringing [...]

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Newbie Solos and the Importance of Being Nerdy

June 11, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Over at Legal Blogwatch, I posted about how shingler Kiwi Camara of Camara Sibley, not yet 25 years old and just five years out of law school is giving the RIAA a run for its money in the high profile copyright infringement re-trial of Jammie Thomas.  Thomas’ first lawyer, Brian Toder won a new trial [...]

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Going Solo Means Never Having to Say You Were Fired

May 15, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

A few weeks back, a reader, discouraged after having failed the bar exam yet again, asked whether he should give up on his dream of starting his own practice.  Of the advice that I offered, what resonated most with the reader was my reminder that no matter how many times he passed the bar, once [...]

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Two Solos Up For Consideration As Mississippi USAG

March 12, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Who says being solo means being small time?  In Mississippi, two female solos, Constance Slaughter Harvey and Christi McCoy are two of the top contenders for the open seat for United States Attorney General for the northern and southern districts of Mississippi, reports the Northeast Mississippi Journal.  Both women boast impressive credentials.  Slaughter-Harvey was the [...]

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Solos Do Everything Biglaw Does, Only Backwards and in High Heels

January 11, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Many large firms assume, wrongly, that solo and small firm lawyers don’t handle complex issues.  Truth is, many of us do.  But unlike biglaw which has the luxury of researching and strategizing about these issues in a vacuum, we solo and small firm clients do all that, plus tend to our clients’ needs. Consider the [...]

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