Back of the Napkin Business Plan for Starting a Law Firm

Starting a law firm can be daunting.  Checklists and Mind Maps and planning resources outline the tasks involved, but the minutia can overwhelm.  For some, the planning process gives rise to analysis-paralysis, as the quest for a perfect launch delays launching at all.  And for those who come to solo practice as a last resort,…

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Don’t Ignore Your Core: Lessons from the Demise of Slideshare.net

I’ve been a longtime fan of Slideshare.net ever since I discovered it over three years ago. For those unfamiliar with the site, Slideshare.net is kind of like YouTube for PowerPoint; it offers a platform for users to upload slide presentations and embed them at their own site.  But Slideshare’s usefulness doesn’t stop there – I’ve…

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Free Wireless At Starbucks and What It Means for Solos

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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Our [Soft] Relaunch

I couldn’t have picked a worse time to relaunch MyShingle. I’m headed out of town later today, en route to the Missouri Solo & Small Firm Conference where I’m slated to make four presentations and participate in the keynote panel. Plus, I’ve got a filing to complete; a new client who just retained me. Still,…

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MyShingle.com Releases White Paper on Health Care Reform & Solos!

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io As part of our launch, MyShingle.com announces the release of a white paper entitled The Health Care Reform Bill: What Solo and Small Firm Attorneys Need to Know (May 2010). Here’s the back story. As most solo and small firm lawyers are aware, procuring health insurance often poses one…

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Go, Solo, Go: Why I Joyfully Root for Small Law

Back when I worked for others, my heart was tight and mean.  My cramped vision of the legal profession as a zero sum game left little space for generosity or good will towards my colleagues.   Each time I learned that one of my classmates made partner at a big firm, or that another lawyer…

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