As another year draws to a close, do you find yourself thinking about hanging out your own shingle? Perhaps the thought occurred to you the other night while you were polishing up a brief, wishing that you — not the partner who isn’t at all familiar with the case — were going to argue it.
First Day, Fresh Start
For me, fall brings a fresh start – both the beginning of the school year and Rosh Hashanna, the Jewish New Year. Back when I was a student, no matter how bad the previous year had been, I’d always welcome the new school year with hope and optimism.
Of course, those of us in
What Solos Can Learn From The Recent Obesity Study
As you’ve probably heard on the news by now, turns out that obesity isn’t exclusively hereditary; it’s also socially contagious (US News, 7/25/07). A recent study to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if you’re close friends with people who are obese, you’re more likely to gain weight yourself either
Gotta Get Goals: Looks Like I’m It
I’ve been tagged by Susan Cartier Liebel to participate in Alex Shalman’s Gotta Get Goals challenge that’s wending its way around the blogosphere. Like Chuck Newton, I tend to be more of a dreamer than a planner. That’s not to say that my ideas never come to fruition, or that I meander aimlessly, but
Thank you, Nicole Black and Grant Griffiths
I’ve just posted this new project at my Offshore Renewable Energy Law Blog, and it couldn’t have happened without Nicole Black’s terrific inspiration (which I have shamelessly copied, albeit with what I hope is sufficient attribution) and Grant Griffiths’ unbridled enthusiasm for the Mac (and you can see my new little accomplice in the
The Smallest Things Have the Biggest Impact
When I reflect on my thirteen years as a solo, what comes to mind first aren’t my major victories, but instead, my small moments. I actually have at least three small moments that have influenced the course of my practice, but today, I’ll discuss just one: the day I changed a judge’s mind.
Back in
Waiting 14 Years for the Call
Most of us know that it can take several months for a marketing connection to pan out. This is a post about one that was 14 years in the making. I write this story not to discourage those of you who need your leads to pop now, but rather to make the point that solo
New Orleans Solos, One Year Later
A year ago, Hurricane Katrina reminded all of us solos of the somber side of solo practice; how everything we’ve worked to build can be wiped out in an instant. Sad to say, a year later, some solos are still struggling to get back on their feet, as reported in Uneasy Times for Lawyers
Finding a Way to Do What You Love, Even If What You Love Is Watching TV
This isn’t a post that directly relates to solo practice, though the lessons that it offers will apply. Instead, it’s about the serendipitous way that your passions can lead you to a job that truly fits – which is something that many of us have in fact found in solo practice.
Consider this New York
In praise of the late bloomer
If like me, you sometimes feel a little down that you haven’t yet hit your breakout career stride or left your mark on the law, then check out this article, What Kind of Genius Are You?, David Galenson, Wired (7/06) (hat tip to Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity). As Herz summarizes, Galenson describes