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From the category archives:

Client Relations

Why I Won’t Let My Clients Set My Fees: It’s Not Their Job to Do My Work

August 20, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Over at Slaw.ca, one of my very favorite bloggers, Jordan Furlong, offers up a couple of innovative alternative billing ideas, including a recent and somewhat controversial initiative of 300 lawyer, UK-based CMS Cameron McKenna: letting clients decide what to pay. Though many might assume that if left to their own devices, clients [...]

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What If Your Retainer Agreement Could Look Like This?

August 18, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

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var docstoc_docid="50940479";var docstoc_title="Credit Card Agreement";var docstoc_urltitle="Credit Card Agreement";
// ]]>Credit Card Agreement
After reading this post at the Public Citizens Law & Policy Blog (H/T Legal Blogwatch) about simplicity guru Alan Siegel’s efforts to cleanse the gobbledygook from consumer agreements, my first thought was that if Siegel succeeds, then Minneapolis, Minnesota [...]

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The Shout-Out Lawyer

July 13, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

This tape is remarkable not so much for the content (the abuses of freemium – which is somewhat interesting) but rather, for displaying something that we rarely see:  a client giving a lawyer a shout-out.
If you don’t believe me, skip ahead to 1:38 of the tape, where Ben Chestnut, MailChimp’s co-founder, describes how moving MailChimp [...]

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Lindsay Lohan: Dream or Nightmare Client for Newbie Solo?

July 9, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

So here’s a practice management issue that law school doesn’t teach:

You’re a newbie solo who passed the bar nine months ago and opened a law firm right afterwards.  Suddenly, the phone rings:  it’s a Hollywood superstar on the line, she’s  looking for a criminal defense lawyer to represent her and she’s picked you!  Trouble is, [...]

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Should Lawyers Post Video Testimonials From Clients?

June 23, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Don’t get me wrong — I’m an unabashed fan of video for lawyers.  As I’ve said many times, most recently in this presentation, video satisfies Internet users’ craving for intimacy, as well prospective clients’ natural curiosity to get a peek at the lawyer behind the online presence.  Likewise, I’m also believer in the persuasive power [...]

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Free Wireless At Starbucks and What It Means for Solos

June 16, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Yesterday, Starbucks Coffee announced that free, unlimited wireless internet access will be available in all company-owned stores in the United States effective July 1.  The Starbucks announcement launched 189,00 news stories – not because free wireless marks the start of a trend but rather because Starbucks came late to the party.  As  Starbucks belatedly realized, [...]

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Warning Our Clients About the Dangers of Oversharing on Social Media

May 27, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

A while back, a colleague of mine had to deal with a client who fell squarely into the “with clients like these, who needs enemies” category.  This client had shared copies of all of my colleague’s emails to him  with of the opposing parties in the case.  Worse, my colleague didn’t [...]

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NJ’s Bonafide Office Rule Would Have Me Doubled Over With Laughter Except That It Will Double the Cost of Legal Services

March 31, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I wish that I hadn’t chosen April Fools’ Day to post about ACPE 718/CAA 41, the joint opinion by two New Jersey judicial advisory committees ruling that virtual office arrangements, outsourced or shared receptionist services and even working outside of the office for more than a few hours violate New Jersey’s "bonafide office requirement."  Because [...]

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Thank You, Justice Scalia for Remembering Who Pays (the Client!) for the Vanity Footnote

March 14, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

If you’re a solo or small firm lawyer who litigates against biglaw, you’re probably familiar with the vanity footnote — that smug, yet entirely superfluous annotation to legislative history, obscure law review article, treatise or string citation included in many large firm briefs.  Though intended to corroborate a case cited in the text or flaunt [...]

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I Can Unbundle The Case, But I Can’t Unbundle My Heart

February 22, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I want to wholeheartedly embrace the concept of unbundled legal services, I really do.  After all, what’s not to like?  The demand for affordable legal services is greater than ever.  With courthouses overrun by pro se litigants, even judges are pressing for unbundled legal services.  Technology is empowering a generation of educated, sophisticated consumers who [...]

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