Houston criminal attorneys see blog feedback from all corners

Once you start blogging, it doesn’t take long for people to find your blog and to start taking notice of what you say.

And not just clients, although that might be the initial expectation.

Herman Martinez, a criminal trial attorney in Houston who blogs at Houston Criminal Law Journal, started the blog last September with his partner, Mario Madrid, “to have a voice in the legal criminal defense community, to get our name out.” They’ve been surprised by the range of readers who visit their blog, which receives more daily hits than their firm’s website.

”I’ve been surprised that friends enjoy it, that people get on it with Google Reader,” Martinez says. “I didn’t think I would have a real readership.”

Martinez keeps the blog dynamic by blogging on both a local scale, as in a recent post about early termination of community supervision in Texas’ Harris County, and a national scale, as in this post about steroid use and the legal steps taken by Major League Baseball players.

While he expected fellow lawyers to check out his blog, Martinez says he wasn’t anticipating feedback.

“I like that my colleagues say, ‘I never thought of that’,” in response to his posts about issues in the local legal community, Martinez says.

But he’s also learned there’s a diplomatic tightrope to walk when taking on certain subjects. He’s seen how other bloggers who harshly criticize local prosecutors on their blog can experience a backlash in their professional dealings.

“It’s hard to balance having a critical eye versus dealing with prosecutors,” Martinez says. “You have to be somewhat critical without affecting future business.”