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Questions & Advice

Lessons from Crowdsourced Advice for a Struggling Solo

September 26, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant
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Ten days ago, in an effort to reply quickly to a struggling solo who’d contacted me for advice, I reached out to readers to crowdsource a response. The post touched off 40 comments, some offering sound advice to a solo in these circumstances, others not so much. The comments also spawned several sub-discussions on what’s [...]

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Crowdsourcing Advice for a Struggling Solo

September 16, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant
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[Update 9/23--Readers - thank you for your response.  We've collected an enormous amount of information, some very helpful, some of it obvious and some of it (diving in full force to cases by copying pleadings stood out to me as inadvisable and potential career killer but there are others). I've got to read through everything [...]

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Some Open Questions for Flat Fee Aficionados and Ethics Gurus

May 9, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant
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Over the past few years, I’ve transitioned my practice from the billable hour to flat fees. For me, the flat fee works because most of the matters that I handle are, if not entirely predictable, then easily divided into discrete segments, each of which can each be assigned a set price. Though I can’t tell [...]

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Where Have All the Lawyers Gone?

April 12, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant
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Perhaps the most surprising piece news from last night’s Ignite Law was Jay Shepherd’s announcement that he’s shutting down his firm to focus full time on his business, Prefix LLC which teaches lawyers how to price knowledge. The next day, another colleague revealed that he too will leave his practice to focus on another venture – [...]

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Solos Know Strategies Associates Need To Learn

May 14, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant
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(Note:  originally published at Complete Lawyer, November 2008 ) If you’ve just read this article’s title, you’re probably racking your brain trying to figure out what the heck a lowly solo practitioner like me can teach you about succeeding as a law firm associate. You probably think that solos simply churn out form documents for [...]

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Sale of a Law Practice, Interview With Ed Poll & Lawyers at Midlife

March 12, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant
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Searching for fodder for blog posts, I came across this advertisement posted by a soon to be 70 year old retiring lawyer who is seeking buyers for his law practice located in Syracuse, in Hamilton County, Kansas.  According to the ad there are only two other lawyers in the County, thus allowing for a County-wide [...]

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

January 10, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant
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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 [...]

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

January 3, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant
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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 [...]

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A Happy Ending to the $50K Question, Should I Solo Now?

October 5, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant
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In May 2008, I discussed a tantalizing question posed by reader who at the time was employed in a federal clerkship, after having spent two years at biglaw.  He asked  do I go solo now and forfeit the $50,000 clerkship signing bonus from a large firm, or take the leap into solo practice immediately after [...]

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Would You Hire An Unemployed Lawyer As A Volunteer?

March 29, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant
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From Newsday, I learned that the Nassau County Attorney’s office hopes help out in this economic downturn by opening its doors to bring on several volunteer lawyers who haven’t been able to find other employment.  Positions range from working with the county’s Home Ownership Center to advise in mortgage default situations to defending the county [...]

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