About
Maybe you always dreamed of starting a law firm, but never had the courage to utter the words aloud.
Or you were toiling away at a firm, grossly underpaid and wishing for better.
Maybe your law practice is struggling and you’re looking for ways to make it sustainable going forward.
Whatever your reason, MyShingle is the one place in the universe where we empower lawyers to start.
That could mean starting your very own law firm. Starting a new practice area or new business model or a side business with DIY documents for clients. Starting a TikTok channel or Instagram posts or some other social media presence.
Because no matter where you are in your legal career, isn’t it time to finally start owning, and stop loaning your legal talent?
So how do we help?
MyShingle offers the most comprehensive online resource for solo and small firm lawyers with thousands of blog posts and an impressive stock of free e-books, checklists and forms on starting and running a law firm. And we offer programs like:
The Legal ClauseIt or LawyerMomOwnerSummit.com
and others where you’ll find new ideas for your practice and a community of like-minded lawyers.
Want to learn more about why we do what we do? Take a look at the Solo Manifesto.
Solos and small firms are, and have always been the source of unbounded innovation and diversity in the legal profession.
Contingency Fee Innovation
The contingency fee model – now employed even by some large firms – was developed by solo and small firm lawyers.
Bates v. Arizona
The landmark case that opened the door for lawyer advertising was brought by two small firm attorneys who sought to promote their low-cost legal services in a newspaper ad. Learn more
Tom Goldstein’s Supreme Court Strategy
As a solo lawyer decades ago, Tom Goldstein pioneered “ambulance chasing” Supreme Court cases, taking them at no cost to build experience. Today, nearly every law firm follows Goldstein’s model.
Stephanie Kimbro’s Virtual Law Practice
Solo attorney Stephanie Kimbro developed the technology for one of the first exclusively virtual law practices so she could work while spending time with her daughter. During the pandemic, thousands of firms relied on similar technology.
Rebecca Geller’s Family-Centered Firm
As a new solo attorney in 2012, Rebecca Geller pioneered a business model that supported women lawyers seeking to parent and practice. Her firm has since grown to 15 attorneys.
Hello Divorce
Small firm owner Erin Levine, frustrated by clients unable to afford family law services, built Hello Divorce — a technology-driven platform that democratizes and automates the divorce process, now backed by venture capital.
About MyShingle & The Author
Back in 2002, Carolyn created MyShingle.com—the longest-running blog dedicated to solo and small law firm practice—and has since helped thousands of lawyers launch and grow their own firms. Known as the patron saint of solos, her work has shaped the way independent lawyers build sustainable, modern practices.
Carolyn writes and speaks on a wide range of topics, including how to start a law firm in the digital age, how small firms can leverage technology to compete with larger competitors, and why regulatory and ethics reform is vital to the future of small-firm practice. She also champions the critical role of women-owned law firms in advancing gender equality across the profession.
Carolyn is the author of Solo by Choice: How to Start a Law Firm and Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be. Carolyn has co-authored the ABA Publication “Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier” and “The Legal ClauseIt: Plug & Play Engagement Agreements and Power Pacts for Small Law Firms.”
Carolyn has been listed as an Energy and Environmental Super Lawyer for Washington D.C. since 2012 (the only small firm lawyer on a list of AmLaw 200 firms), was named an ABA Legal Rebel (2010), a Fastcase 50 Innovator (2011) and an ABA Woman of Legal Tech (2014) and appeared on the Daily Show in 2014 to discuss law firm business models.
In 2019, Carolyn delivered a talk at the prestigious 2CivilityConference entitled Killing Solo Softly: How Regulations Disadvantage Solo & Small Firm Lawyers and has spoken at solo and small bar conferences and events in California, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Vermont, Maryland, New Mexico, Florida, Ottawa, Canada and Washington D.C., Carolyn is also co-creator of the LawyerMomOwnerSummit, featured here in the DC Bar magazine and currently serves on the Planning Board of ABA Legal Techshow.
In her day job, Carolyn owns the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant, a national practice founded in 1993 that fights climate change through representation of renewable energy companies and sustainability entrepreneurs on permitting and IP and defends communities and landowners across the country impacted by pipeline infrastructure and eminent domain in federal district and appellate courts where Carolyn has argued cases of constitutional import. Carolyn also founded and served as legislative counsel for the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition from 2005-2014, a 55-member national trade association responsible for early commercialization of offshore renewables in the United States. Carolyn has been recognized as SuperLawyer since 2011.
I have an endless supply of ideas for marketing and promoting your brand and helping you gain customers either through sponsored content at MyShingle or creating a completely original and unique campaign tailored to your company’s ideal audience. Here are some projects I’ve worked on with brands:
- Created webinars and master classes on substantive legal practice matters;
- Promoted products and discounts to 8500 person (and growing) newsletter
- Written or post sponsored content at MyShingle
- Created themed video series
Check out my work at Above the Law and Legal Blogwatch
Let’s Work Together
Whether you want to talk through an idea, get feedback on your legal tech product, or refine the way you communicate with lawyers, I’m here to help. Legal tech is booming—and crowded. Reaching lawyers requires a mix of clarity, credibility, and insight that most companies struggle to convey.
I can help you sharpen your brand, strengthen your message, and craft outreach that resonates with lawyers’ analytical, skeptical nature.
Email me at elefant@myshingle.com or book a time to chat.
Here are some of the brands I’ve partnered with on content projects and reports