My Shingle

Work Life Balance

Late Nights With Maury [Maurice Sendak]

May 8, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Today’s NYT Obituary pays tribute to Maurice Sendak as the children’s author who “wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche.” Maybe so from a critical perspective, but not for those of us who listened [...]

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How Online Bytes Enhance Offline Bonds

January 11, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Last week, my older daughter attended her first Sweet Sixteen while my younger one prepared to audition for the school play. Our house was abuzz with giggles and shrieks of excitement and supportive encouragement as my older daughter tried on dresses for her friends and plotted about gifts and gossiped, while my younger one sang [...]

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Built This Way

November 2, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

This morning, I made lasagna for dinner, as my two furry companions waited eagerly to lick the bowl. Due to my involvement in an extensive regulatory proceeding, once again this week, I won’t be home until 8 p.m. and since my husband has a meeting, he’ll be back even later. My daughters are now 12 [...]

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Why I’m Glad I Never Counted

August 30, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

As a parent, I’ve made so many mistakes that it’s difficult to keep track. I over-promised and under-delivered, sent school forms in late and never, ever did the school trip thing, let alone cook organic meals, assemble two dozen spiders out of oreos and pretzels or organize playgroups like the moms profiled in Good Enough [...]

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Social Media: Best Mother’s Day Gift for Lawyer Moms

May 8, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

So, social media for lawyers has been experiencing a bit of a backlash lately. Some of it, deservedly so — and that’s from someone who’s co-authored a book on the subject. By now, many lawyers are not only recognizing, but beginning to agree that despite the hype from self-professed experts social media doesn’t make lawyers [...]

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Why Should Your Clients Care That Their Lawyers Don’t Work Weekends?

October 9, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

There’s a small law firm in South Carolina with a Client Expectations policy that’s made a big splash online.  The policy, which bluntly states, “We do not work weekends and do not provide emergency numbers for weekends….We make mistakes…” attracted notice from the ABA Journal and generated discussion at several blogs, including Jim Calloway’s Practice [...]

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When You’re the Boss, You Don’t Beg For Work Life Balance. You Make It So.

February 14, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Like every parent on the planet, I’ve told my daughters more times than I can remember some variation of the following: Yes, you can eat chocolate for dinner or stay up until three am or leave orange peels on the floor or [fill in the blank] when you have your own place and pay your [...]

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PartTime Shingle Ebook and Recording Ready for Release!

October 6, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Julie Tower-Pierce and I are happy to announce that we’ve finally completed our 50 page ebook, The Part Time Shingle:  Why Starting a Part Time Practice Can Be Done and How to Make It Work.  Here’s some of the topics that the e-book covers: -Is starting a part time shingle really feasible? [p. 2-3] -Will [...]

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Don’t Settle for Second Place When Starting Your Law Firm

September 25, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

As I’ve written here previously, I’m an ardent admirer of Michelle Obama, particularly her ability to make the seamless life seem so easy.   This upcoming book on the Obamas by Chris Anderson, which is intended to portray Mrs. Obama as an insolent, money-hungry shrew of a wife, makes me like her even more. Anderson’s book [...]

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What We’ll Be Discussing At the Part Time Practice Teleseminar

August 23, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

As my colleague Julie Tower Pierce and I prepare for our upcoming Part Time Shingle teleseminar August 27 (click link for details and to register), we’ve decided that we’ll cram in a few more topics in addition to those discussed in this description.  These include responding to questions such as: I’m working part time, but [...]

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