Posted on February 14, 2009 by Teri Rasmussen

Exploring the Ohio Blawgosphere Neighborhood

Now that I'm well into YEAR TWO of this legal blogging thing, I thought it might be fun to take stock of the neighbors.  So today I am presenting what I think is a relatively comprehensive list of Ohio-based legal blogs, together with the date they started publishing and a few comments of my own.  My apologies in advance for leaving anyone out or getting start dates wrong. 

My criteria was basically legal blogs focused on Ohio law or authored by Ohio based attorneys.  I took a little stab at this several months ago in my My Favorite Ohio-Based Legal Blogs post, but this time I really looked around to be as inclusive as possible..

The oldest blog still going that I could find isn't even five years old, although there were a few blogs that I couldn't quite tell when they first began.   With the others, I relied upon whatever the earliest post in the archives seemed to be.  What's even more interesting, however, is the explosion in the number of Ohio-based legal blogs which started publishing last year. 

When it comes to law firms embracing blogs, Frost Brown Todd is the clear leader with four separate blogs.  Unfortunately, since all of the blogs are located on a subpage of Frost Brown Todd's website, casual access to the blogs and their content via search engines and otherwise is not as easy as it should be given the quality of the posts which all of the blogs boast.

BEST OHIO-BASED LEGAL BLOGS.  Some blogs just catch your fancy more than others.  For me, it's a combination of quality writing, interesting and helpful content, unique/intriguing perspectives, and generous links to other resources if I want to know more about the subject.  Some of the blogs listed below were fairly hard to find so I'm not intimately familiar with all the blogs on the list; however, I did at least try to get some sort of feel for each of these blogs once I found them. 

I don't pretend that I went through any scientific process to determine this, but  from my perspective as a semi-established Ohio law blogger, here are my picks (excluding myself, of course) for the 

BEST THREE OHIO-BASED LEGAL BLOGS 

Honorable Mention goes to:

AND NOW THE ROSTER >>>>

Since this is, after all, the Ohio Practical BUSINESS Law blog, let's start with blogs focused on business/corporate law:

 

BUSINESS/CORPORATE

  • The D & O Diary - Kevin LaCroix, Oakbridge Insurance Services -May 2006 >>> Bills itself as "a periodic journal containing items of interest from the world of directors and officers liability, with occasional commentary".  Very detailed and well written posts from the perspective of someone interested in minimizing management liability.
  • Corporate Governance Blog - Bricker & Eckler - NA >>> Offers "counsel for Boards and Executives" in generally short nonbylined to-the-point posts on timely issues.
  • Business Law Prof Blog - Dan Oesterle, editor, The Ohio State University - May 2005 >>> "A member of the Law Professor Blogs network".  Frequent posts on business news items
  • Banking L@w Blog  - Frost Brown Todd - NA >>> Provides the "latest information on banking litigation and dispute resolution",
  •  Ohio.Merger.Blawg - Jim Rench, Stark & Knoll - November 2006 >>> Describes itself as "a blog on recent and topical developments in corporate transactions law."  Features commentary on news and events in business.
  • Global Law - Frost Brown Todd - NA  >>> "Resource for business leaders within the international commerce industry". 
  • Small Business Trends  - Anita Campbell - October 2003 >>>  This one really isn't technically a legal blog at all, but it does frequently cover business law topics and is edited by Ohio-based lawyer so I'm including it anyway.  Always informative posts on a variety of issues facing smaller privately held businesses. 
  • Ohio Practical Business Law - Teri Rasmussen, Plunkett Cooney - October 2007 >>> Offers "practical guidance for making legaly informed business decisions".

 

LAW LIBRARY BLOGS

  • Cleveland Law Library Weblog - Sue Altmeyer (?) - March 2005 >>> "Our goal is to inform local attorneys of major legal developments important to their practice".  Very short -- but extremely informative -- posts, often concerning topics of interest and importance to the practice of law in Ohio.  Very newsy.  I frequently visit just to catch up on developments which may have otherwise slipped under my radar or to get ideas for posts.  GREAT links to other sources with more information about the topic being discussed.
  • Cincinnati Law Library Blog - Chuck Kallendorf - July 2004 >>> Similar to the Cleveland Law Library Weblog, but less frequent posting.
  • Moritz Legal Information Blog - Matt Steinke - January 2006 >>> Providing " "legal information and research resources brought to you by the Michael E. Moritz law Library at The Ohio State University".  Very short posts with limited frrequency

 

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

  • Ohio Employer's Law Blog - Jon Hyman, Kohrman, Jackson & Kranitz - May 2007 >>> Promises "practical employment law information for business in ohio and beyond"  and delivers.  Generally short pithy posts on practical matters employers definitely need to know.  Its WIRTW (aka What I'm Reading this Week" segment is a useful round-up of other blog posts in the area of labor and employment.
  • Employer's Law Report - Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur - December 2007 >>> Presents posts "reporting on recent legal developments and trends affecting employers."  Personally  i like the "Employment Outtakes"category which feature sometimes humorous situations which would probably have gone better had an employment lawyer been consulted. 
  • HR Source Legal Source - Tod Morrow, Hans Nilges, and Susan Chae, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP - NA >>> Featuring posts regarding "labor and employment law for hyman resources professionals".  
  • The Ohio Labor Lawyers - Matthew Austin, Mason Law Firm - December 2008 >>> Promises that "we change the way you deal with unions" and posts from the perspective of management.   Features "What If Wednesdays" weekly posts about what to do "if certain things in the world of labor happen to you." 
  • The Ohio Employment Lawyers - Aaron Tulecik, Mason Law Firm - December 2008  >>> Promises that "we solve your workplace issues"  Posts on employment  law news from perspective of management.
  • Employer Notes - Frost Brown Todd -- NA  >>> Provides the "latest information regarding employers".

 

REAL ESTATE

  •  Ohio Real Estate Blog - Kohrman, Jackson & Kranitz - April 2008 >>> Useful posts by various firm attorneys on a wide variety of real estate law topics
  •  Real Estate Advisor Law Blog - Brian Kaplan, Ulmer & Berne - December 2008 >>>  Describes its purpose as "disseminat[ing] pertinent information in a timely manner relating to real estate, construction, financing, environmental and related matters... [and designed] to identify trends and opportunities that our clients and contacts deem important for their businesses." 

 

CONSTRUCTION

  • Construction Law News - Frost Brown Todd - NA >>> Bills itself as "a resource for construction industry professionals".
  • Build on This - Rana Gorzeck, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs - (March 2005 - August 2008, now apparently defunct) >>> Presenting "current news, information and events affecting the real estate construction and land use industry and its professsionalism"

 

ESTATE PLANNING

  • The Ohio Trust & Estate Blog,- Michael D. Bonesera, Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP - NA >>> Helpful, relatively short posts concerniing trusts and estate planning issues 
  • Ohio Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law - Bradley Wrightsel, Wrightsel & Wrightsel - 2008 >> Describes itself as "a law blog (BLAWG) for professionals and the general public in ohio regarding estate plannig, trust, and probate law."

 

  CRIMINAL LAW

  • The Briefcase - Russ Bensing - May 2006 >>> Describes itself as "commentary and analysis of Ohio law".  This remains one of my favorite blogs to look in on periodically even though the subject matter isn't one with much relvance to my practice areas.  I enjoy Russ's wit and storytelling ability as he posts about various adventures as a criminal lawyer.  And his Ohio appellate case summaries are useful too.  
  • Sixth Circuit Blog - Federal Defenders of the Sixth Circuit - April 2005  >>> Providing "case summaries and commentary by federal defenders of the Sixth Circuit"   

 

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Consumer Rights Law Blog - Ron Burdge - 2005 >>> Addresses "motor vehicle lemon law, consumer protection law, auto industry news, notes, issues and updates".   Very attractive layout featuring  posts of interest to consumers.
  • Ohio Family Law Blog - Robert Mues, Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight & Mues, LPA - December 2007 >>> Offering "family law and divorce information for Ohio families seeking solutions".  Frequent guest contributors.  Helpful, very accessible, posts focusing on important issues in this area.   
  • Tsibouris & Associates Law Blog - Dino Tsibouris and Mehmet Munur, Tsibouris & Associates - January 2005 >>>  interesting posts on a variety of subjects, but with special emphasis on technology law, privacy and security law and issues involving financial services.
  •  The Alternative Fee Lawyer - Michael Grodhaus, Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley - January 2008 >>> Featuring "an Ohio business lawyer's reflections on alternatives to the billable hour in setting legal fees for business clients".  Insightful, if somewhat sporadic, posts on an extremely timely and important  topic . This is a blog that I would really like to hear more from.
  • Ohio Environmental Law Blog - Joseph Koncelik, Frantz Ward, LLP - June 2008 >>> Presenting "insight and commentary for the business and legal community" regarding environmental law. 
  • Juvan's Health Law Update - Jayne Juvan, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP - September 2006 >>> Presents posts "at the intersection of health care and private equity".
  • Ohio Law Blog - Morrison & Nicholson, LLC - December 2007 (very sporadic posting, primarily in December and January)
  • Sixth Circuit Blog - Eric Zagrams - last post in November 2008, rather sporadic before then  >>> Says that it is "devoted to appellate law and practice within the Sixth Circuit and constituent States." 
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Posted on January 21, 2009 by Teri Rasmussen

Legal Blogging - What Use/Good Is It Anyway?

A post last week by Mark Herrmann at the Drug and Device Law Blog about "Blogging as a Business Development Tool" got me to thinking about why I started my legal blog and, more than a year later, why I’ve continued to post.  Mark's post  concludes "[o]n the whole, then, we'd say that blogging has not been a tremendously successful business development tool."   On the whole, I'd probably have to agree with Mark, reluctantly, at least from the tangible direct measurement perspective.  But I still blog on, as does Mark, anyway.  WHY??    

Mark's post addresses the burning question all, or at least most, legal bloggers think about, at least from time to time: why am I spending all this time doing a blog and what am I accomplishing by continuing?  Importantly, Mark's answer ultimately is:

Not to worry.  We write this blog for many reasons other than business development [like what, Mark? - write a post on WHY you DO write  - OK, so you did sorta - at least part of what you get out of it, but in the end, WHY REALLY do you keep blogging?]; our lack of results on the business development front won't cause us to close up shop.  Exhaustion may, but lack of business won't.    

When I started my legal blog, I think I WAS looking for an effective business development activity which (1) exploited what I thought were some of my best skills and (2) I could enjoy doing.  I never thought it would be the “magic pill”  that would mean I would never want for clients again.  But I do have to admit that I DID think it would have a more quantifiable result this far in to the adventure.  Nevertheless, I have every intention of continuing, in part because of some unexpected benefits I have found flow from blogging and in part because I genuinely just like doing it (i.e. same reason I play golf or go to the movies).

Quantifiable Direct ROI. 

Has blogging brought me more clients?  Well, definitely not directly that I know of --  yet. [SO, for any prospective clients out there, please, please DO reference this blog when you call to retain me just so I know it actually did make a difference.]  I wish the answer was more positive, but I’ve come to accept that this was probably always too much to expect - yet. 

I agree with many of those who commented on Mark’s post that corporate clients such as the banks and even medium sized privately held businesses which are my primary clients just don’t choose their counsel based on what those individuals and law firms have on the web – yet.  In part, that’s probably because the most important decision-makers are at least as old as I am (turning 50 this year) or are in the same neighborhood. 

While proud to have accommodated themselves, and adapted, to technology along their professional path of advancement, they (well, we, since I must include myself) still see the internet and what it has to offer as a secondary resource – it wasn’t around when all of us first learned how to find what we needed.  Although we appreciate (and even use, perhaps even rather proficiently) its presence and availability, deep down, I’m not sure we really trust it – yet - for those “bet the company” times. 

But we are changing in spite of ourselves and every year, more and more decision-makers are those who, by birth age or conversion, see the internet as a primary tool for obtaining information about ALL important business and professional issues.  So, eventually, legal blogs WILL be a way of differentiating between available counsel who otherwise all seem alike. (And, the cynical me believes that soon after that happens, there will become a new occupation of professional legal blog writer to pen entries for those not otherwise up to (or willing to spend the time on) the task of demonstrating their legal prowess.)

The only question is WHEN that  WILL happen.  I believe it will be sooner rather than later.  What I and other legal bloggers still clinging to the business development potential of legal blogs are ultimately counting on (I think) is that the speed of change will continue to accelerate and that we will ultimately benefit by getting in early.  At some point - if not already - having a blog will be as important to attracting clients as having a website, as having a business card, as having print collateral marketing materials, as going to service organizations or some other networking organization.  When that happens, we hope it matters that we were there first. 

Here and Now. 

All right, SO back to the here and now. No direct ROI on this business development activity.  Why continue?  At least for me, most posts do take more than a few minutes to do and I could certainly find something else to do with the not insignificant  amount of time I'm spending on the blog.

At this point, I would like to ask any clients or prospective clients lurking out there to weigh in on what, if anything they get out of this or any other legal blog, and what, if any difference, it makes to them whether their lawyer blogs.  I like to think this matters to you (see my post from almost a year ago about "Why Every Client Should Want  Client Who Blawgs"), but does it????  I like to think you’d rather have a lawyer who spends time doing this sort of thing, but does it????

Intangible Benefits.   Let’s assume for the moment that the most severe critics are correct – there is absolutely no benefit to be gained business development-wise from legal blogging.  Even if that’s true – which I’m not convinced it is – I think I would still continue legal blogging.  Why?  Because of some unanticipated consequences flowing from the mere act of legal blogging.

Here’s some valuable things I’ve gotten, really rather directly, from the fact I’ve devoted time to legal blogging over the last 15 months that I never really expected, or for that matter, even knew were possible outcomes:

  • Tech Savvy.  I have become SOOO much more tech savvy about what the internet can offer to me substantively.  When I started my blog, I didn’t even know what an RSS feed was, had never heard of Google Reader or any other news aggregator, had no idea what the heck Google Notebook was and how useful it could be, had barely been introduced to LinkedIn, and certainly didn’t know anything about Twitter (which I still haven’t quite figured out what to do with yet).  Now I know what all of these are and have found ways for them to be useful to me in ways I had no idea were even possible. Mainly what happened is that the blog helped me understand exactly why I would want to know anything about these - I needed them for, or because of, the blog and then found out they were also extremely useful in the rest of my life. 
  •  New Connections.   The blogosphere IS another distinct networking community. There are now people who I feel I know through reading their blogs that I would otherwise probably have never met.  In addition to that just being plain “neat”/”cool”/ [insert your slang word here], I actually do think that if I ever do have an appropriate referral, these ARE the folks to whom I will definitely send the work.  And I hope that at least some of the other legal bloggers out there feel the same about me.  How often will that be?  I have no idea, but if part of getting work is a numbers game, having people who would not otherwise know of one's existence certainly can't hurt.
  • Exposure to New Thoughts.  My new found tech savvy and connections have also allowed me to learn and be exposed to all sorts of ideas and facts I really don’t think would have come to me without doing the blog, at least in part because I really had no idea these facts and ideas even existed. I wasn’t looking for them – with the blog, they came to me effortlessly and unbidden.  And that really has been exciting.  
  • Research Files.  Over time, I’m developing my own library of information about issues important to my practice which is a whole lot more searchable and useful than those file folders occuppying a whole two-drawer lateral filing cabinet in my office. Already I have found myself looking for things that I’ve written a blog post on to answer a current question.  Having searchable succinct research files is definitely a plus.

Tangible Consequences.  In addition to these intangible benefits (which when combined with my sheer enjoyment of writing and learning which is quintessentially the blog at its innermost essence, would probably be enough for me), I DO think that – when properly measured and compared against other business development activities – there is a tangible, if perhaps immeasurable value to legal blogging as a business development activity.  Like pretty much every other attorney in America, I do my fair share of speaking at CLE (continuing legal education for the nonlawyers out there), trade and civic organizations, and other venues; writing articles for traditional press, taking clients out for lunch or to sporting events, attending networking events, participating as a member of nonprofit Boards of Directors, sending client updates and personal notes, client golf, and all the rest of what has come to be viewed by the legal profession as the promised path to attracting clients.  I’m better at some of it and worse at other parts.  The point is that blogging is just one more activity to add to the repertoire.

Different business development activities work differently for different lawyers.  The trick has always been to figure out what works best for you and do more of that and less of the rest.  None of these activities is likely to have results in isolation or without a certain level of commitment (and perhaps talent) by the attorney involved.  I could attend a year of Rotary meetings, but if all I ever do is arrive (perhaps late), eat, and leave, I won’t get any work out of that business development activity either.  Usually it’s a mixture of all of this and no one really understands what it is that really works. 

I think the jury is still out about where legal blogging fits in all this.  I know that I have felt that it helped me create important bonds with new clients faster than I felt I otherwise might have been able to establish and that is certainly helpful, both for them and for me; being able to send a client a link to a blog entry I’d done on the question they just asked me seems well received.   Blogging has also helped me feel more confident in speaking about topics I may have recently posted about, which is certainly a useful thing.  And at some level, I carry the torch that every little differential helps….     

True Worth of Legal Blogging.

SOOOO… where does that leave the cost/benefit analysis of legal blogging? On the purely quantifiable dollars and cents, numbers, direct ROI, the blog has been a dead bang loser - so far - especially when you figure in the out-of-pocket cost of the fees I have elected to pay LexBlog out of my own pocket after the first six months of doing the blog on Wordpress.  Yet, I still feel committed to continue blogging.  Why?

For me, legal blogging emphasizes my talents and is a good fit with my other more traditional business development activities.  I think I still have a great deal to learn about how to make legal blogging integrate with, and leverage, those other activities – and this is where I ultimately hope to make the most use of my legal blog in 2009.  [Help, anyone?]  My goal is to be able to legitimately say that legal blogging is a significant contributor to my worth as an originator of new work at my law firm.  To do that, I'm going to have to really COMMIT to finding ways to make it matter more.  We’ll see how this goes…

Bottomline, though, I just LIKE doing the blog.  I’ve always liked to write and I always like to learn and think about new things.  It’s just PLAIN FUN to do it in a way where you can share that experience with others in what is really a very risk-free environment.  I  hope other folks get something out of it all, but even if they don’t, I’m still having fun doing it.  And as long as that’s true, I’ll probably keep finding the time to keep doing it, whether (or not) I can find ROI ……

 

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Posted on June 11, 2008 by Teri Rasmussen

My Favorite Ohio-Based Law Blogs

Now that I've been doing this law blog thing for about eight months, I've had a chance to get acquainted with my neighbors in the blogosphere.  There are of course my subject matter compatriots all across the country that I've enjoyed coming to know through their blogs (Chris Moander of the relatively new Wisconsin Business Law and Litigation blog and Rush Nigut of Rush on Business from Iowa (the home in my youth) especially come to mind).  But today I wanted to focus on my geographically proximate neighbors practicing law in Ohio while writing their blogs.  

Like anyone else I have my favorites.  I don't claim to be any arbiter of quality or worth so the following is really nothing more than what I've found I've liked the most so far. 

Perhaps my own personal favorite Ohio-based blog is The Briefcase which has been published by solo practitioner Russ Bensing for quite a while.   It promises to provide "commentary and analysis of Ohio law" and it certainly delivers.  Russ gives brief summaries and case updates of Ohio civil and criminal cases decided by the various Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court with a bit more criminal than civil cases.  While this is of course useful, his regular "Friday Roundup" feature focusing on the more entertaining legal cases out there is a must-read for me every week.  In addition, even the case updates and summaries are given with a definite bit of "attitude" that makes them much more interesting than the usual dry case summary.  And his "About" section is particularly well done.  Russ's stuff is not often the sort of thing I tend to link to (which may say more about me than him), but I certainly appreciate his contributions.

My other "substantive" favorite  Ohio-based blog is the Ohio Employer's Law Blog published by Jon Hyman of Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz  for more than a year.  Its tagline is  "Practical employment law information for businesses in Ohio and beyond."  What I like about this blog is Jon's well written, informative, and useful (even "practical") posts about important issues in the labor and employment law areas.  I also think Jon's analysis of the legal issues he covers is clear and seems right on point.  In addition, I like his regular "What I'm Rreading" series which features several quick links to other interesting posts around the blogosphere.  I don't practice in this area so I appreciate having such excellent resource available to keep me up to date about pertinent legal developments. 

Ohio Employer's Law Blog is one of two Ohio-based blogs focusing on employment and labor issues.  The other is Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur's Employer Law Report which says it will be "Reporting on recent legal developments and trends affecting employers".  It has been published sporadically over the last couple of years, but now seems to be adding new worthwhile posts more frequently. 

The D&O Diary published by Kevin M. LaCroix of Oakbridge Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on management liability issues, focuses on perhaps the most complex issues of any Ohio-based law blog.  It is intended to be "A Periodic Journal Containing Items of Interest from the World of Directors and Officers Liability, with Occasional Commentary".  I haven't had much chance to become fully acquainted with this blog yet, but hope to so in the near future.

When it comes to coverage of both substantive and professional developments of interest to Ohio lawyers, I like the Cleveland Law Library Weblog the best.  It explains that "our goal is to inform local attorneys of major legal developments important to their practice".    I often find ideas for posts by reading this blog and appreciate the links usually provided.  The Cincinnati Law Library Blog  and the Moritz Legal Information Blog which provides "Legal Information and Research Resources Brought to You by The Michael E. Moritz Law Library at The Ohio State University" also provide these sort of services.

One of the newest Ohio-based law blogs is the Ohio Real Estate Blog published by the attorneys of the Real Estate Practice Group of Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz which started up only a couple of months ago in April.  In same real estate practice area is the Build on This! blog published by the attorneys of the Real Estate and Construction Practice Group of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP which offers "Current news, information, and events affecting the real estate, construction and land use industry and its professionals".

Another recent addition to the blogosphere is the Reasonable Doubts blog published by Jeffrey Davis.  It started in March 2008 and, as its name would suggest, focuses on crminal law.  In addition, the Ohio Family Law Blog, published by Robert Mues of Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight & Mues, LPA, began in December 2007 and tries to provide "Family Law and Divorce Information for Ohio Families Seeking Solutions".

Interestingly, there are TWO Ohio based law blogs called Sixth Circuit Blog.  One seems to focus on criminal law and offers "Case summaries and commentaries by federal defenders of the Sixth Circuit".  The other, published more sporadically by Eric Zagrans, focuses primarily on civil law and is "Devoted to Appellate Law and Practice Within the Sixth Circuit and Its Constituent States"

Rounding out the roster of Ohio-based law blogs (at least those I'm aware of) are the following with which I am less familar, in part because they relate to areas of law with which I have less experience in my day to day practice:

While there are several newer Ohio based law blogs, there are also many that have been published for two or three years or even longer.  There are also some earlier Ohio-based blogs that are no longer publishing.  In addition, there are several "business" blogs based in Ohio that touch on legal issues from time to time, but that's a subject for another day.

I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, but if I have, just add a comment with your URL and then we'll know about you too. 

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Posted on February 9, 2008 by Teri Rasmussen

Why Every Client Should Want an Attorney Who Blawgs

No one at my law firm, nor any of my attorney friends, really "gets" yet why I do this blog, or as some in the legal biz like to refer to  it -- in an effort to differentiate us from those who reveal the most intimate details of their personal life in the most scandalous way possible -- "blawg".  They understand that I like to write, but in the end, what does my blog/blawg have to do with actually getting clients?  And why else would you spend the time doing it anyway? 

I've had this blog/blawg up since mid October of last year, although according to my "hits", basically nobody much noticed at all until sometime in November.  So I think in all fairness I can claim that I've only been doing this for about three or four months.  However, I now regularly have almost twice as many hits (daily, weekly, or monthly) than my law firm's website and generally come up far higher on subject matter Google searches.  If all goes well, I hope to get to 10,000 total hits by my birthday in late May.  But again, what does that have to do with anything?  And especially why does this matter to clients?

I began this blog/blawg with the idea that all of us are depending more and more on the internet and the web to get more and more essential information about pretty much anything affecting our personal and professional lives.  I noticed that I was resorting to the internet more and more frequently to find forms and other resources to help me answer questions posed by clients -- and perhaps equally, if not more, importantly, I was finding useful information and referrals at an exponentially expanding rate.  And I reasoned that, if I was finding the web an increasingly more beneficial and genuinely downright useful (not to mention exceedingly cost effective) resource, the people and companies I hoped to attract as clients must be doing the same thing. 

From there, it was an easy decision to find a way to be where these prospective clients are.  Serving those prospective clients by actually providing some useful information about legal issues thay might be facing is both fun and rewarding for me.  In addition, in doing the blog/blawg over the last few months, I have become even more convinced that blogging/blawging has made me a far better and more useful lawyer to my current and prospective clients.  Here's why:  

1.     Knowledge Entreprenuer.  I find time to actually go research those extra questions of clients to which I don't quite know the answer.  Why?  Now I think in broader terms about what I want to know and can offer to prospective clients.  What better source of inspiration for blog/blawg posts could there possibly be?  

 

Case in point - clients frequently ask my advice regarding what legal entity they should have for their business.  I have general factors they should consider, but when it comes to the effect of self-employment tax, I have usually been content to refer clients to their CPA.  Recently, I decided that this seemed like a terrific topic for my blog/blawg so I went to a seminar, read up on it, made a few phone calls to some subject matter experts I could access, and finally got it figured out so I could write a respectable post (forthcoming) for the blog/blawg -- and provide pragmatic advice to my clients. 

 

Who paid for that?  Well, it was me and, indirectly, my law firm because I spent the time to learn this, but didn't bill any client for that time.  Who benefits?  Every client I have from now on that wants to know all the factors worth considering in making this decision. 

 

And this I think is one of the greatest benefits of hiring a blogging/blawging lawyer.  We're naturally curious and love to learn new stuff -- how better to satisfy this than by actually exploring the questions that clients seem to ask most often!  The blogging/blawgging attorney is just going to know MORE about more issues because they have a concrete personal stake and commitment beyond the needs of any particular client to find stuff out.  And if I already know something, you the client won't have to pay me to go find out.

2.     Communication 101.  You'll have a fairly good idea whether you're going to understand a word I say or write and actually be able to use any of the expensive advice you pay me to give you.  Let's face it - in most cases, it doesn't much matter if I'm a brillant legal genius if you can't make any sense out of what I'm telling you or comprehend how to implement the counsel and advice you're paying me to provide.  If you are able to "connect" with what I write in my blog/blawg, then at least you know you'll get something of value when I communicate with you in writing, and hopefully face to face as well.

3.     Authenticity and "Real Voice".  One of the really "neat"/"cool" (OK, I've been around a while and don't really know the current "hip"/"in" phrase) things about blogs/blawgs is that the authors get to show at least a little personality.  Some of us are a little better at this than others (law is a rather conservative field) and I think I'm still finding my "authentic" voice, but blogs/blawgs are conducive to a level of informality.  So, when you read my blog/blawg,  you as client get at bit of a "sneak preview" of what I'm really like.  And if, as is likely, you're going to be spending some time with me once you ask me to represent you, that's got to be useful info.  BTW, I hope to be more irreverent in my blog/blawg in the future - it's a process.

4.    Quality and Competence.  There is at least some ability to actually assess the quality and competence of your would-be lawyer to be.  Those of us who blog/blawg are "out there".  You can take what we've written and ask your favorite friend attorney (who you don't want to hire because you don't want to mix personal and business or for some other reason), CPA, financial advisor, etc., what they think -- or even research us on the web by seeing what other folks have to say about the same topic, or even about we've said about particular subjects.  I've heard, and I suppose it's true (and I know it is with me and doctors), that clients generally can never really evaluate whether their lawyer actually knows anything so they try to decide that based on other factors.  Well now they can.  And I would suggest that those of us willing to chance that scrutiny ought to be high on the list of any client. 

5.     Commitment to "the Law" Made Practical.  Most of us would rather deal with someone who isn't just "in it for the money".  We all believe that someone who ultimately cares about the product or service being provided "just because" it's what they enjoy doing will offer superior service.  Well, no one cares more about "the law" "in the real world" than lawyers/attorneys who blog/blawg.  Who else would bother?  We really are the folks who became lawyers because we were philosophically attracted to the questions law poses and tries to address every day.  However, unlike our brethren and sistern who became law school professors, at the same time we desperately yearned to be always "relevant".  

 

Now, most of us have come to terms with the fact that our everyday existence and value to anyone has nothing much to do with the fundamental questions that attracted us to the profession in the first place.  But we actually still do think about those questions from time to time and blogging/blawging may be a way for us to focus on those questions in a way that will ultimately benefit society at large, as well as clients in particular instances.  Blogging/blawging is fundamentally more practical and pragmatic than traditional legal scholarship in the form of footnoted articles in law reviews and journals.  Yet I think it has a place that will become more obvious over time to both those in academia and to the clients who only want to know what they should do today.            

So there you have it.   The blog/blawg IS fun for me to do, hopefully offers something of value to others, and makes me a better and more effective lawyer.  What other reason would anyone need to do something?  And why would you the client want to have anyone else looking after your important questions and concerns?

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