My Shingle

Client Service

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 [...]

Read more Business Models 10 comments

MyShingle Question of the Week: Where Do You Do Your Meet, Eat & Greet?

January 10, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I’m experimenting with a question of the week here at MyShingle – just a short question related to anything of interest to lawyers running a practice or thinking about it from law practice management or tech, recommendations on how to guides or CLE providers to thoughts on why you started a firm or who your [...]

Read more Client Service 6 comments

A Look Ahead to 2010: Your Client as Your New Partner

January 4, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Many of my blogging colleagues have been trendspotting for 2010 these past two weeks (see the list of posts at the end).  I’m fashionably late, so instead of chiming in with a list, I’ll focus on one trend which is already getting some discussion: 2010 as the year of the client. In the coming decade, [...]

Read more Client Relations 0 comments

Client Surveys: Sure They Help Lawyers, But Aren’t They a Pain in the Neck for Clients?

January 3, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Client surveys and customer feedback are all the rage these days and law firms are jumping on board. In fact, Matt Homann of LexThink released a great client survey template that’s available at Lawyerist. Like the experts, I’ve always believed, albeit somewhat reflexively, that client surveys improve the client experience.  And I still do.  But [...]

Read more Client Relations 0 comments

Should Lawyers Suggest Social Media to Clients As An Alternative to A Pricey Lawsuit?

October 22, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Whenever I get a call from a client who has a matter too small to justify my rates or referral to another attorney service, I’ll try to suggest alternatives.  In fact, like many lawyers, I keep a list of contact information and websites for legal aid and pro bono groups, law school clinics, small claims [...]

Read more Client Relations 0 comments

Biglaw is Selling Connections. Can You?

October 1, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

In the past, I’ve recommended  Meetup.com as a resource for solo and small firm lawyers seeking speaking engagements.  Meetup.com makes it easy to find one of thousands of groups that meet locally and which might have an interest in hosting a legal speaker on a relevant topic. Though I know of many solo and small [...]

Read more Client Service 0 comments

Lawyers: Fear Ye Not the Freeloader, for I Myself Have Been One

September 28, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Surely you’re familiar with the freeloader, that ne’er do well who stands as an obstacle to change in the practice of law.   The freeloader is the reason why most lawyers won’t offer free consultations (those freeloading prospects just want advice, they don’t want to pay to hire me) or comp short phone calls (what happens [...]

Read more Client Service 0 comments

Client Confidentiality Is Paramount, But Communication Matters More

September 13, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Back in the day when I started my law firm and handled court appointed criminal cases, my first meeting with my clients usually took place in the noisy, cramped holding cell behind the courtrooms.  On warm days especially, the cells teemed with waiting defendants and I’d have to yell my client’s name loudly so they’d [...]

Read more Client Service 0 comments

What Does the “Good Enough” Phenomenon Mean for Solos?

September 1, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

There’s been a discernible silence in the legal blogosphere over Robert Capps’ recent article, The Good Enough Revolution:  When Cheap and Simple Is Just Fine from Wired.com.  Perhaps it’s because uber-trendspotter Jordan Furlong wrote about the Good Enough trend a full year ago and the topic is already yesterday’s news.  More likely, lawyers haven’t been [...]

Read more Client Service 1 comment

Jet Blue Be Nimble…But Can You?

August 19, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

By now, you’ve probably read about renegade airline Jet Blue‘s unlimited travel pass that allows customers to fly free between any of the airline’s 56 national or international destinations as many times as they want between September 8 and October 8, 2009.   Naturally, some deride the offer as a gimmick for JetBlue to make more [...]

Read more Client Service 0 comments

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →