[Update 9/23–Readers – thank you for your response. We’ve collected an enormous amount of information, some very helpful, some of it obvious and some of it (diving in full force to cases by copying pleadings stood out to me as inadvisable and potential career killer but there are others). I’ve got to read through everything
The Online Guide to Starting a Law Firm is Finally Here!
Ever since I moved to this space, I’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting to publish the online guide that houses all of this site’s content in one enormous place. At the same time, I realize that I’ve also got some gaps in content – areas that need some bulking up, and the online guide lets me
MyShingle’s Referral/Thank You Gift Survey, MT/HT @LeannaHamill
Update – Note: If you send handwritten notes or even emails to thank referrals, feel free to include that in the thank you category – and if you’re using notes or cards, please share the name of the vendor as well!
It’s only fitting that a post seeking input on referral and thank you
FREE 6 Hour Tutorial on Starting A Law Firm…and Much More!
Today is my birthday and as a present to myself, I’ve finally relaunched and supplemented the free materials originally posted on drop.io before it abruptly shut down in December (one of the drawbacks of a free service). These materials represent the first phase of a broader suite of offerings (also free) that I’ll roll out
An Issue-Spotting Exercise in Revenue Stream Opportunities That Solos Should Avoid
In these uncertain economic times, many solo and small firm lawyers must struggle to make ends meet. Thus, they’re always on the look-out for side jobs to supplement their income. And while waiting tables or working as a barista in a coffee house are options, most new solos would prefer law-related freelance or per diem
Accidental Entrepreneurs
Can you start your own firm if you’re not entrepreneurially inclined? A few months back, I said yes. And now, as added confirmation, here’s an article from CNN about accidental entrepreneurs – folks who never intended to start their own businesses but wound up succeeding beyond their wildest dreams.
Take the story of Terri
From tiny ethics mishaps, do major missteps grow?
Back in March, I pondered whether there might be a correlation between cutting little ethics corners on seemingly insignificant matters like advertising and committing major ethics breaches like pilfering from trust accounts or prejudicing a criminal defendant’s rights on the other. I actually hoped that my observation was wrong – after all, if a slip-up
What Cutting Ethical Corners Says About You As A Lawyer
Ah, those silly bar ethics rules. Like the ones that prohibit lawyers from dubbing their practice “Smith & Associates” when the firm is comprised of just one person. Recall, that Sonya Sotomayor ran afoul of these rules and it came back to bite her during her confirmation hearings.
As it turned out, Sotomayor’s ethics lapse
Women Lawyers Too Busy Reading People Magazine To Blog, Suggests Crime & Federalism Blogger
Objectively speaking, there are fewer women than men who blog or contribute to wikipedia or are partners at AmLaw 100 law firms, for whatever that dubious honor is worth besides a huge paycheck. Sure, I’d like to see more women enjoy the same benefits that I have from blogging, but I surely don’t blame men
Not Much to Say About Women Speaking Up
There’s a post by Staci Zaretsky up at Lawyerist asking why Women Lawyers Are Silencing Themselves Staci concludes that irrespective of what most women do, she’d rather be labeled a bitch than be silent. Jessie Kornberg, the executive director of Ms. JD also suggests that women are caught between a rock and a hard place: