What NOT to Put In A Retainer Agreement

As we at MyShingle have said many times, a retainer agreement is one of the most important tools that we lawyers have to protect ourselves from unscrupulous or troublesome clients.  It should be obvious though that lawyers can’t use the retainer agreement to protect themselves by cutting off their clients’ rights to file a grievance. …

Read More

Fabulous Resource from the Texas YLA

Kudos to the Texas Young Lawyers Association for this innovative project, tenminutementor.com, an online library of video presentations on topics like substantive law (mostly Texas, but some, like the talk on Ten Tips for Federal Court, can apply more broadly), ethics, building a firm and personal development.  Here’s the Press Release (2/28/05) that further describes…

Read More

Supreme Solos

October marks the Supreme Court’s return to the bench after summer recess.  But for the past four years, it’s also marked the Supreme Court group admission of roughly thirty solo attorney from all over the country and members of the ABA’s Solosez listserve.  The group event was devised by Maryland solo, Terry Berger who continues…

Read More

What’s Worse – A Lying Lawyer or A Stupid, Greedy One?

In this bizarre story, Attorney Punished for False Promises, Adam Kovac, Daily Herald (2/26/05) concerning a disciplinary action brought against attorney Cynthia Sutherin who duped her co-workers into joining what turned out to be a fictitious law firm, I couldn’t help wondering whether the wrong attorney had been charged.  After all, if  Sutherin’s conduct, i.e.,…

Read More

Change of Pace

Hey readers, I’m dispatching this post from a computer at the Washington College of Law Library of American University in Washington D.C.  I’m posting from here just to show that I can but also to make this point.  For solo and small firm lawyers, the law library can serve as an antidote to the isolation…

Read More

Online Litigation Tips

Via Jim Calloway comes a link to  Dave Swanner’s guest post at Legal Underground entitled “Twelve Ways Technology Can Make You A Better Trial Lawyer.”  There’s some great advice here for both new and seasoned attorneys who have full time litigation practices or just dabble in trial work from time to time.

Read More

If We Can’t Beat Them, Let’s Compete With Them!

I’m never more mortified than when I see lawyers trying to shut down legal document preparation services like We the People which purportedly compete with lawyers – as the Illinois Bar is doing.  See Lawyers Protest Expanding Legal Document Preparers, Chicago Sun times (2/21/05).   I can’t understand why attorneys, who offer a valuable service, feel…

Read More

Is There A Malpractice Action a-Comin’?

Many attorneys who practice criminal law believe that their malpractice exposure is minimal.  After all, it’s hard to show that it’s more likely than not that a client would have avoided conviction but for the attorney’s negligence – it only because it’s so hard to predict what juries might do.  But after reading this article,…

Read More