Recently, Allison Shields posted here on the benefits that lawyers can gain from hospitality, which is what excellent client service is all about. But this article Thou Shalt Not… by Steven Lubet (American Lawyer, 7/2006) got me to thinking that hospitality and just plain courtesy have other benefits as well: they can spare you from
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FREE Webinar on Business Competency for Lawyers
I’ve mentioned Ed Poll, one of today’s preeminent law practice management
experts and coaches, a number of times on MyShingle (most recently in a post
about New York’s new proposed attorney advertising rules), and a number of
his articles are included in our Online Guide to
Creating
I’ve mentioned Ed Poll, one of today’s preeminent law practice management
experts and coaches, a number of times on MyShingle (most recently in a post
about New York’s new proposed attorney advertising rules), and a number of
his articles are included in our Online Guide to
Creating
Independence Day: The Solo’s Favorite Holiday
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY from MYSHINGLE! 
Ah, Indepedence Day, a solo’s favorite holiday. After all, think of the parallels. Just as England and King George taxed the colonists without allowing them a say in government and stifled individual speech and religion, so too, law firms dominate young lawyers, sapping their creativity and amassig huge profits
The Paradox of Client Service
There are a number of blogs like Dan Hull’s What About Clients? and In Search of Perfect Client Service that provide excellent advice on how to serve clients. At the same time, for some lawyers, particularly new solos, serving clients isn’t as much of a problem as figuring out how to avoid falling into what
Dave Swanner’s No Frills Advice on Starting a Firm
Dave Swanner has some great, defy-the-experts advice on starting a law firm. The essence: Don’t overplan, get a phone line and some business cards, and just do it. Though Dave admits in his comments that this no frills approach may not work for everyone, particularly those with major financial commitments, he’s definitely on to
Should you go with a judge or a jury?
Over at Legal Blogwatch, I posted here about a recent analysis by Volokh guest blogger Andy Leipold, who found that criminal defendants stand a
better chance of acquittal before a jury. I thought that the study might help some of my readers who practice criminal law to make more informed decisions about a
Tips for Family Law Practitioners
Though not every family law case ends up like this one, nonetheless, family law cases are often fraught with more emotion and problems than any other type of case. Clients often come with misinformation about the process and unreasonable expectations about how much the case should cost.
While trends such as collaborative lawyering may
Rooting for GAL
Solo practice: the most overlooked, underrated law option
With all of the terrific solo blogs, I’m still amazed that people still don’t get solo practice. Among the prime offenders are Ann Israel, who writes the Advice for the Lawlorn column for New York Lawyer and her correspondents. Israel would rather advise folks to leave the practice of law than to give solo practice
To the Bars: Don’t Make Me Part of Your PR Scam With Mandatory Pro Bono Reporting
Evan Schaeffer posts here that the Illinois Bar is the latest bar to implement a mandatory pro bono reporting requirement whereby lawyers must report pro bono activity annually to the bar. According to Schaeffer, “the Illinois Supreme Court hopes that the new reporting requirement will
serve as a reminder that pro-bono work is important. In