A decade ago today, I gave birth to my second daughter and as it happened, my last child, Mira Justine Israel. I remember wondering before she arrived whether I could possibly love her as much as her older sister. But the second I held Mira in my arms, I discovered, as all parents do,
Should You Warn Your Client About Hacked Email Services?
After posting last night about the trade-off between confidentiality and client communication, I came across Joe Hodnicki’s post at the Law Librarian’s Blog about the rise of services like Yourhackerz.com which enables users to buy a password to another anyone’s online email accounts like AOL, Yahoo, gmail or social networking sites like Facebook for
Client Confidentiality Is Paramount, But Communication Matters More
Back in the day when I started my law firm and handled court appointed criminal cases, my first meeting with my clients usually took place in the noisy, cramped holding cell behind the courtrooms. On warm days especially, the cells teemed with waiting defendants and I’d have to yell my client’s name loudly so they’d
Don’t Tarnish Your Fresh Start With A Rotten Ending
Opening a law firm by choice or by circumstance offers a chance at a fresh start. However, it’s all too easy to tarnish that bright, shiny new beginning with a nasty ending at your former position. That is what appears to have happened with Jim Driscoll’s departure from St. Louis law firm Brown & Crouppen,
Law Practice Building Idea: Join a Non-Profit Board
If you’re a solo trying to break into a new practice area, beef up your existing corporate experience or learn new skills, then serving on a non-profit board may be just the ticket. This piece from Fast Company touts the many professional benefits of serving on a non-profit board which include:
1. Learn about an
Why I Won’t Change My “Specialties” Listing on Linked-In
This past month, both Eric Mazzone, North Carolina’s law practice management expert and blogger at Law Practice Matters and the Illinois State Bar Association advise lawyers against filling in the “specialties” box on Linked-In without including some nerdy little caveat like “My state bar does not recognize specializations” or “I am not a certified specialist”
MyShingle Virtual Videos with Sam Glover, Minnesota Consumer Lawyer
MyShingle Virtual Videos from Carolyn Elefant on Vimeo.
I’m proud to present the launch of the MyShingle Virtual Video series, which will have a permanent home and dedicated page when my site re-lauches in the next few weeks. As video gains traction, I realized that many solo and small firm lawyers would like to
Off They Go
Another September, another school year begins begins for my daughters and me. This year, my almost-ten year old enters fifth grade while my almost teenager goes on to eight grade, the last before high school. Today, we officially dispensed with the tradition of my dropping them off at school on the first day and instead,
What We’ll Be Discussing At the Part Time Practice Teleseminar
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,
Twitter: Legal Yes, But Always Appropriate?
Two weeks ago, while paging through a hard copy of the New York Times, I stumbled across this interesting controversy reported in the about casting director Daryl Eisenberg‘s use of Twitter to comment on performers as they were auditioning for her. Though Eisenberg didn’t identify any performers by name, her tweets included comments