Skip to content

5 reasons lawyers seeking career development ought to blog

20140720-154421-56661116.jpg

Hibah Ahmed (@AhmedHibah), community manager at IT World Canada (@itworldca), shares 5 reasons IT professionals ought to start blogging which I think apply equally to lawyers.

As with IT professionals, blogging isn’t the first thing lawyers think of when looking to further their careers. But there’s a growing network of professionals to network with via blogging along with countless benefits.

Here’s Ahmed’s five, tailored to legal, with my comments

  1. Build your name. Blogging is an excellent way to enhance your personal recognition in the legal community as a knowledgeable and insightful authority in your area of law and/or locale. There’s no better way to openly display your expertise than to share what you are reading and to talk about it, especially with interaction intra-blog and via ancillary social media.
  2. Learn. You not only impart valuable information through blogging, but it’s also a great medium to learn for your own professional development by following sources and subjects in your RSS reader, shaping your ideas as you blog, and networking with the people you engage.
  3. Make a difference. Blogging was made for the many of us who became lawyers to make a difference. Many of us are looking to make the law more accessible. What better way to share insight in a caring and passionate way with the business community and consumers. Have ideas as to how we can improve things in the legal system? Blog to advance your cause.
  4. Meet new people. By investing a small portion of time interacting with a targeted blogging and journalism community, you open up a window to a network of professionals with similar professional interests. Use the network as a knowledge resource, to grow your influence, for referrals, to get speaking invitations, and more. You need to maintain a presence through blog posts and interaction (online and face to face) to appreciate the benefits of your growing network.
  5. Become a better writer. When starting your blog, you’ll realize it’s challenging to write in a brief, conversational, engaging (referencing/linking to others writing on the issue) and less formal fashion. But blogging consistently will help you develop this skill. This form of written communication will enable you to convey your insight and build an intimate relationship of trust with your audience.

As Ahmed says, “…[T]he benefits of blogging go far beyond this. The only way you can find out how blogging can benefit you is to start.”

Still have doubts? Check out the blogs and posts from the 8,000 lawyers blogging on LexBlog’s network, LXBN, and the daily Top 10 in Law Blogs.

These lawyers are building their names, learning, meeting new people, becoming better writers, and making a difference. All through blogging.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Dricker94

Posted in: