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From the category archives:

Solo Practice Trends

Would You Advise Your Child to Take on $150k in Debt to Go to Law School?

August 27, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Yesterday, I received a call from one of my blog readers, somewhat out of the blue.  A rising 2L at a top tier school, the student explained that he was interested in learning more about the feasibility of starting a law practice right out of law school.  Yet as we talked more, however, it seemed [...]

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ABA $5000 Legal Rebels Essay Contest

August 25, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Though I’m not an ABA member, I’d be remiss in not informing those readers who are ABA members of this year’s $5000 Legal Rebels Essay Contest, open to ABA members and solos, defined as “a lawyer practicing alone with no partners.” To enter, submit an essay, not-to-exceed-600-words, in response to the question, “What innovation [...]

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ABA Annual Conference: Big on Fear, Short on Fervor

August 17, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Lawyers Practicing in Darwinian Times! Legal Profession in Turmoil! These doomsday headlines weren’t plucked from some over-the-top law blog. Rather, they’re the titles of the plenaries by the ABA’s former top honcho, Carolyn Lamm and invited guest speaker, Harvard Law professor David Wilkes at last week’s ABA’s come-to-Jesus meeting Annual Convention.
I [...]

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Small Firms With Biglaw Tech

August 16, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Like most firms of its size (400 lawyers), Ohio-based firm Thompson Hine employs technology to serve clients. In fact, Thompson Hine uses its investment in technology as a selling point, with a dedicated section of the firm’s website devoted to a description of how the firm employs technology to support the firm’s lawyers [...]

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The Defense for Starting A Criminal Law Practice Out of Law School

August 13, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I’ll admit that I’ve always had mixed feelings on the question of whether to solo straight out of law school. As I explained in this early post, from my perspective, it made sense for new grads with no work history and with significant student loan debt to take a paying job if only for [...]

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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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Should You Open Up Shop in Sears?

May 12, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Across the pond in the UK, there’s growing anticipation over the possibility of legal services coming to a supermarket near you as the 2011 effective date of the Legal Services Act draws near.  Passed by the UK Parliament in 2007, the Legal Services Act permits non-lawyer entities, like banks or supermarkets, to manage or own law firms, [...]

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What Do Solo and Small Firm Lawyers Earn?

March 19, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Biglaw has its annual and closely watched profits per partnership or PPP extravaganza, while Above the Law devotes an entire category to biglaw associate salaries and cuts.  But where can lawyers considering solo or small firm practice get a sense for what solo and small firm lawyers earn?
The solo/small firm salary question is tougher to [...]

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Big Ways for Small Firms to Grow Now

March 11, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

A few weeks back, I posted about several innovative business models that might work for small law firms.  Along those lines, yesterday’s online issue of  Time Magazine offers eight quick and decidedly twenty-first century tricks to grow a business in a down economy.  I’ve focused on two below.
Outsource: Outsourcing is a theme that I’ve [...]

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True Solos Have True Grit, But Law School Rewards the Ephemeral

August 21, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Got grit?  You do if you’re making a go of it as a solo.  As much as many of the law practice gurus tell you that earning gobs of money as a solo is easy as pie (particularly if you’re using their thousand dollar "recipes"), the truth is that success comes from doggedness, a bit [...]

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