Header graphic for print
Real Lawyers Have Blogs On the topic of the law, firm marketing, social media, & baseball

Legal blogs taking business away from attorneys?

New Jersey family law lawyer Pieter Droppert has gotten some comments that his well done New Jersey Family Law Blog is taking business away from attorneys.

Peter disagrees.

Even though I may know how to cook, mow the lawn or change the oil in my car, I still go out for dinner and pay others to do services that I don’t have the time, inclination or experience to do. If you can afford an attorney why would you not hire one? The reality in the United States is that those who are represented by competent attorneys get better results. This is not to justify the need to pay for an attorney, but reflects the advocacy skills, legal knowledge and ability to present information clearly to a court. Making it easier or clearer for pro-se litigants on what they have to do is unlikely to take business away from the bar.

If you’d ask other family law lawyers publishing blogs, you’d hear the same thing. Lay people are starved for legal information. They do not trust lawyers to do right by them. By sharing legal information via a blog not only do people begin to trust the blogging lawyer but they also understand what the lawyer can do for them.

Peter also points out the tremendous need for lawyers to help pro se litigants.

I think the New Jersey court system should be doing more to help pro-se litigants fill out motion forms and navigate the court system. The argument the judiciary states for not giving much pro-se assistance, is to avoid giving legal advice. However, one only has to look to other State court systems e.g. California to see how much more can be done just to help people fill in forms and navigate the court system.

Finally, Peter nails what I’ve been preaching, that being that every lawyer should aspire to do pro-bono work and that writing a blog fits the bill.

  • http://www.kansasfamilylawblog.com Grant Griffiths

    Exactly. As Kevin has said in the past. We have an obligation as lawyers to provide information to the public. And what better place to do that, than a blog. The comments I get from my readers is not that they received enough information to do it themselves. But, that they received enough information to make a decision. If lawyers are worried about a blog taking business away from them, then they should get off their collective butts and do a blog themselves. They will most likely see their business increase as i did.

  • http://bizop.ca michael webster

    If free and worthwhile legal information causes some attorneys to lose clients, then perhaps they weren’t providing a real service -they were simply the lucky winners of the local monopoly created by the bar association.

  • http://www.HowToMakeItRain.com RJON@HowToMakeItRain.com

    As most (every?) successful Rainmaker can tell you, the best way to get a new client is to demonstrate that you can solve their problem/help them maximize their opportunity. And the best way to keep new clients coming is when we solve the problems of their friends, neighbors, business associates, etc in such as way as to deliver great value for their money.
    If a problem is simple enough to be solved by information on a blog, then it SHOULD be solved that way. If any lawyer’s Rainmaking & client service skills are so poorly developed as to be threatened by a blog, I would suggest that lawyer might find more profitable use of his or her time than surfing around online & making negative comments about Mr. Droppert’s own marketing efforts. Kudos to Mr. Droppert.
    Respectfully,
    RJON ROBINS
    http://www.HowToMakeItRain.com
    Helping Lawyers In Small Firms Make ALOT More Money!

  • http://www.globalide.com Pro Se Litigant

    If it weren’t for the Internet, I wouldn’t be able to manage my caseload. I have 3 cases I’m working on pro se, but not by choice. There isn’t a law firm around that would take my case because who the defendants are (and because I don’t have deep pockets). I either had to learn on my own, or drop the case after my attorney got “cold feet” and bailed out. I think people go pro se out of survival and not because they think they don’t need lawyers. Believe me, I would have wanted a lawyer. I appreciate the knowledge lawyers share with the public. Courts are no picnic. Going into them without knowing what you’re doing is like being a small fish in front of hungry sharks (no pun intended *grin*)