OK, how is this for rational ethics? As an attorney in Maryland or presumably in any state, I can start an ancillary business (let’s call it AB) like investment management or a lobbying shop or an insurance business which will serve both my firm and other customers. And presumably, because I own AB, any time
June 2005
Sometimes, You Really DO Need A Lawyer
I’ll admit that there are many tasks currently handled by lawyers that a non-lawyer or pro se could take on just as competently. At the same time, there are certain matters that a nonlawyer is bound to screw up, often with tragic consequences, as this article, Paralegal Accused of Posing As Lawyer (Dallas Morning News,…
Why You Can’t Just Take Your Client’s Word for It
The Supreme Court just issued a ruling in Rompilla v. Beard (see this link at SCOTUS blog for a good summary and links to the opinions) a case that I blogged about several months ago here. In Rompilla, the Supreme Court reversed a death penalty ruling, finding that the Rompilla’s defense attorneys were ineffective because…
The Big Firm Small Firm Comparison
Law Girl of On Firm Ground posts the second installment of her biglaw-small law comparison. This time, the focus is on the differences in client contact between the two venues (essentially, client contact at one of those places is a myth, I’ll leave it to you to figure out which one) and what Law Girl…
Shortcuts So You Can Benefit from Blogs
So, you’ve heard about this blog thing but you’re still too overwhelmed by what it might take to reap the benefits. After all, how can you possibly run a practice and read 700 blogs a day or set up a blog and commit to three daily posts? Well, guess what – you don’t have to. …
More Solo Listings – Coming Soon
For those who’ve sent me a website to be added to the list of "Other Shingles," I’m a little behind. I hope to have the next batch up by the weekend.
Is Small Always Better?
Stephen Albainy-Jenei of Patent Baristas takes a skeptical look at whether small is the new big for law firms with a discussion of this recent post, Small Is the New Big, at Seth Godin’s blog. Here’s a sampling from Godin’s post:
Get Big Fast was the motto for startups, because big companies can
go…
I’m guest blogging at law.com!
This week, you can catch a bunch on my posts over at Law.com’s Legal Blog Watch, where I’ll be guest-blogging. Of course, I’ll be straying from my more limited solo and small firm beat to keep consistent Legal Blog Watch’s goal of offering a sampling of what’s happening at the law.com affiliate bloggers’ sites.…
Wouldn’t You Love A Ruling Like This?
Wouldn’t you love a ruling like this one where the judge determines that you’ve underbilled and bumps your fees up fourfold?
What’s In A Name? Not Associates, If They Don’t Work in Your Firm
This article, Mitchell reprimanded by state Supreme Court, Tim Smith, Greenvill News (6/6/05) reports on a decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court publicly reprimanding attorney Theo Mitchell for using the law firm name “Mitchell and Associates” notwithstanding that he he was the sole lawyer in his firm licensed in the state. Mitchell had…