Upcoming Events for Carolyn Elefant & MyShingle.com
June is a busy month for me here at MyShingle, with a bunch of speaking events, workshops and most exciting, a relaunch of the site (that's a version of the new logo). So here's the list:
I know this is short notice, but tomorrow, I'm participating in a teleconference sponsored by the ABA, entitled Going Solo in A Down Economy, along with Jay Foonberg, who's been teaching lawyers how to solo for nearly 40 years with his classic, How to Start and Build a Law Practice. It's a 75 minute program with 1.5 CLE credits available - free for ABA members, and just $19.95 for the general public.
On Tuesday, June 9, I'm teaming up with my friend and colleague, Susan Cartier Liebel, founder of Solo Practice University for a FREE teleseminar on Going Solo in the New Economy. You can register for the call and download a 14 page Marketing Cheat Sheet at this link.
On Thursday, June 16, I'm speaking on a panel co-sponsored by The Vault.com and the Association of the Bar of New York on Getting Back in the Game: How to Restart Your Career in A Down Economy, I'll be speaking on the solo panel, but there'll be other panels as well, including one on alternative legal careers (where my friend Lisa Solomon of Legal Research and Writing Pro will speak) and another on breaking back into biglaw, where you can hear David Lat, founding editor of Above the Law who's a fabulous speaker - very funny, and also really insightful. Registration for the full day event is here with a price range of $30 - $50 (depending upon membership), including lunch. Space is limited to 250 and the organizers are expecting a capacity crowd, so register early (I gave up a trip to Portugal for this, so I hope you'll all come with plenty of questions!)
On June 24, Julie Tower-Pierce, author of Staying at Home, Staying in the Law and Darling Hill will be holding a second workshop, PinkSlips, Detours and Re-Entries at Busboys and Poets in Washington D.C., with registration Pinkslips and Detours here. Admission includes lunch, and we are in the process of applying for CLE credit (2.0) in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia with more states to follow.
Last but not least, in a few weeks, look for the grand launch of MyShingle.com. For those of you who've followed this site through the years, you've seen lots of facelifts and re-designs, but this one promises to be spectacular. Six and a half years of materials from this site, not to mention basic forms and templates will be reorganized and indexed so that they can be easily found. We'll be introducing some new site sponsors so that we can continue to make this material available at absolutely no cost.
There will find two new features at the new site which I'm really excited about. First, I'll be introducing a new subsite - Lawyers Who Parent & Practice, which deals very specifically with the issues that lawyers who run their own practice and raise a family face - ranging from practical matters like procuring health insurance to saving for college and dealing with ups and downs income to a discussion of the realities of living a seamless life and how we can find the balance between our clients and our own ambitions on one hand and our families and children on the other, all within the context of a changing workforce and economy. Second, I'll also be gearing up to roll out the Fractional Law Firm - where solo and small firm lawyers can get a piece of bigfirm infrastructure at a fraction of the cost. The Fractional Law Firm will be fee-based membership site but it is NOT another social networking site or "buy-my-products" site. It will offer some very unique services to solo and small firm lawyers busy building a practice as well as facilitate collaboration between firms on a national and even international basis. There's nothing like the Fractional Law Firm and it complements much of what I've been building here at MyShingle for the past 6 years.
Why the changes? I realized that if I'm going to keep my site at the forefront of the legal blogosphere, I can't continue it as a hobby. I need to find ways to monetize the site with sponsorships and other services so that I can afford to keep 99 percent of the site free and make it even better than it is now. One thing I will tell you (which will be clear when my site is relaunched) is that I do not plan to have any affiliate relationships, except for the ongoing one that I have with Incisive Media (which has been very good to both me and my site). I am not a fan of affiliate deals for various reasons and I value my reputation as an honest broker too much to sell it out for the money that could be made from affiliate relationships. Anyway, that's about all that I have to share for now - I hope to see you at one of the June events).
