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Client Relations

Do Clients Want to Self-Schedule Appointments With Lawyers?

May 16, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Despite the proclaimed rise of the DIY-client, seems that many aren’t yet willing to self-schedule an appointment with an attorney.  At least, that’s been the experience thus far for several of the lawyers interviewed by the Wisconsin Bar Journal on their experiences with self-scheduling. One North Carolina lawyer, Kellie Mannette reported that while her practice is [...]

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Who you calling unethical, Warren Boroson? Please stop picking on solo lawyers!

May 8, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

In an era of  lawyer bashing,NJ Columnist Warren Boroson’s piece Why Every Middle Class Family Needs a Lawyer  could have been an important educational reminder why lawyers still matter.  And while in truth, Boroson’s article makes that case, Boroson does a far greater disservice by advising readers to “avoid solo practitioners” when hiring lawyers. Boroson’s [...]

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Do You Want to Be Discovered or Found Online?

April 30, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Columbus discovered America. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. Lana Turner , like other great movie stars of the day, was discovered drinking a coke at a soda fountain.  We all enjoy discovering that terrific little cafe on the backstreets of Brooklyn or Washington D.C. or London or wherever else we happen to be traveling. By contrast, [...]

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What Does Your Retainer Agreement Say About You?

April 19, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

I am still working my way through my review copy of Stephanie Kimbro’s new book, reviewed here by Richard Granat. There’s just too much information to breeze through and unlike many bloggers (not Richard, but others), I actually make a point of reading the books that I review. Still, one of the most useful parts [...]

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Advice on Giving Legal Advice

February 23, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

When does educational marketing cross the line into legal advice? In an era of increased consumer hunger for information online and the rise of crowdsourced advice sites, understanding what types of communications constitute legal advice is a critical matter — and one which Brian Tannebaum addresses at My Law License. Brian’s post has also generated [...]

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Client Portals – Love ‘em or Leave ‘em

December 16, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

There’s an article by Donna Seyle in Law Practice Today that provides a comprehensive round-up of various platforms for client portals and practice management. As the long list of products suggests, they’re all the rage – though as Marc Lauritsen notes in the concluding paragraph, large firms have long offered extranets to clients. What’s new [...]

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Where I’ve Been Hanging Out Online

May 3, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

So I know that there wasn’t much happening  at MyShingle last week. Between my talk on starting a practice at Georgetown Law and three days catching up with clients and colleagues at my trade association’s Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference, I didn’t have much energy left for posting. In addition, I’ve been spending a bit [...]

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Bespoke or Be-Gone: Lessons from the E-discovery trenches

March 7, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

Make way for John Henry, Round 2 . Just as the steam-engine rolled over John Henry, recent advancements in e-discovery technology similarly enable machines to accomplish the work formerly performed by a team of 500 lawyers, reports the New York Times. Moreover, not only do computers perform e-discovery less expensively, but also with a precision [...]

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Where the Money Is In Law

January 21, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

Even though biglaw is on the decline, there’s still big money to be made in the law. Only not necessarily by lawyers. Last month, news of the Reuters/Westlaw acquisition of Pangea dominated the headlines, with bloggers like Jordan Furlong imagining the possibilities that this new behemoth could bring to the table. And today, two other [...]

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The Retainer Letter As a Walk Down Memory Lane

October 22, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I may not be a contract aficionado like Ken Adams, but I love a good retainer agreement.  Though  clean, crisp language and brevity makes me swoon as much as any other lawyer, my affinity for retainer agreements reaches far deeper than the surface:  quite simply, I’m a sucker for the stories behind the the whereas [...]

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