Hanging your own shingle sounds like the perfect solution for creating a flexible path in the law (and one that allows you to finally achieve that dreamy work/life balance) but do you have what it takes to get started–and where do you begin?

Solo practice guru and author of MyShingle.com and Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be, Carolyn Elefant, recently announced a new course Six Weeks Til Solo Practice that will inspire lawyers to start their own law practice. In what Elefant describes as a “supercharged program,” lawyers will learn in six short weeks what they need to know to launch a practice, including “how to” advice on setting fees, setting up trust accounts, and picking practice areas.

Here’s a glimpse of the first two weeks of Elefant’s course:

Week 1: Envisioning Your Practice - A discussion of why you want to go solo, overcoming fears and challenges. We’ll also begin to envision where you want your practice to go, what your mission statement is, and use this material to form a plan or course of action.

Week 2: The Set Up Home Office, Virtual Office or Rental - finding space; evaluating existing technology and tech needs; phone service and voice mail options, Corporate Structure, Trust accounts, Credit Cards, malpractice insurance

This course sounds like a dream come true for lawyers who have thought about taking the leap into solo practice but haven’t jumped because of self-doubt or entrepreneurial fears. Who hasn’t dreamed about being THE BOSS, right?

It also sounds ideal for lawyers who have been away from the law for an extended period of time (e.g., career detour / legal time-out) and want back into the law on their own terms–or those interested in starting a “part-time” practice at home.

What’s even better? You won’t need to take out another student loan for the course and Elefant throws in a copy of her popular book, Solo By Choice. She evens guarantees course satisfaction or a full refund!

What’s the downside? Elefant’s course has already sold out–in just a few short weeks!

But the great news is that she will be selling a CD and audio of the course in January 2009. She may also run the program again. So, it looks like you’ll have ZERO excuses in 2009 for starting your own gig and following your work/life balance dreams!

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