Law Practice Management for the Solo and Small Practitioner is the difference between demise and survival. Network marketing, hiring staff, CLE, SEO, M.O.U.S.E. (that one is a joke understood best by those who are baby boomers) and others skills are not taught but are expected of a solo or small firm lawyer. Not only do we know how to advise others on how to run their businesses, but we are expected to know how to run ours.
Law Practice Management blogs are a good way to save the money on the book and stay up to date on changes in managing one's office and staff. If a young lawyer asked me what is the one thing I wish I had when starting my office, it would be the Internet. The one thing I would want in addition would be access to Law Practice Management bloggers. I especially favor those that blog for the solo/small firm member.
There are many blogs that focus on this area of practice. Some are from people who make a living coaching others to be better lawyers. Allison Shield's Legal Ease Blog is a good example of the best of that genre. Others are Bar Association blogs where the primary job of the writer is to help others succeed in opening and maintaining a practice.
Then there are bloggers who are practicing lawyers who are willing to focus there blogs on issues involving law practice management. Today I honor one of those bloggers: Carolyn Elefant and her blog My Shingle
My Shingle is a very well written blog. It encourages people to take the plunge into solo and small firm law. It extols the virtue of being in charge of one's shop while not sugar coating the experience. Moreover it is a cornucopia of links to ideas and items that can help the lawyer better run his office.
Carolyn is an active Tweeter on Twitter and also gives a lot of time to solo and small practitoner groups. Again, I have spoken with Carolyn and much like Dennis Kennedy she always tries to make herself available to bloggers and others starting out in the practice of law.
While awarding Carolyn this years Tony(c) award probably make me ineligble to win anything over at her site(she runs great contests), (and for a Presidential Pardon as well) it is the right thing to do.
Thus this year's winner of the Tony(c) award for Law Practice Management Blog is My Shingle.