My Shingle

Work Life Balance

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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Hanging a Part Time Shingle

August 10, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Conventional wisdom says that lawyers can’t hang a part time shingle.  But then again, we’re hardly conventional.  Though challenging (and what part of life isn’t?!), you can start a practice part time, for a variety of reasons such as not wanting to lose your day job or desire to spend more time with family.  We’ll [...]

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When Should You Make “The Big Reveal?”

July 31, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

In dating, it’s known as "the big reveal" – the point in an emerging relationship where both participants put everything out on the table, from old flames to skeletons in the closet to religious preferences and desire for marriage and children.  Deciding when to make the big reveal is tricky.  Disclose too soon and you [...]

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Happy Fathers’ Day to the Unsung Solo Dads

June 21, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

My dad was what you’d call a company man; he worked as a chemist for a major pharmaceutical company for 35 years until he retired in 1997, avid to spend time with his first grandchild and the six others who would later follow.   My dad’s job didn’t offer much flexibility in terms of dress [...]

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Mommy, You’re A Hypocrite!

May 27, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Yesterday, while driving home from the mall with my daughters, they began fantasizing about the day that my older daughter would get her license (still four years off) so that they could go shopping together, sans mom.   My daughters then asked if I’d let them take the car to the mall or other destinations when [...]

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There Is No Stress Like…

May 22, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Many of you may know what it’s like to stand up when the jury verdict’s about to be read.  Your heart pounds, your palms sweat and you get weak in the knees.   The seconds seem like an eternity as you wait to learn the result. Before I became a mom, I could think of nothing [...]

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