Real Lawyers Have Blogs : Law Blogs, Blawgs, Law Firm Marketing

Seth Godin discussed the downside of personal branding in the age of Google in a post this morning.

Seth's story was about a woman who ran an add for a housekeeper on Craigslist. Three resumes rose to the top and she Googled each to look at their backgrounds.

The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking."

The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings."

And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.

What do people deciding on a lawyer find when they Google your name? You don't need to have an arrest record or a blog post complaining about being a lawyer for the search results to reflect negatively on you.

Just having more of the routine results one finds when Googling a lawyer's name can be negative.

Profile on lawyer website. Boring and typical. A directory listing you've paid for. Been around for decades. Membership on a church committee. Better, but not necessarily a reflection of your legal skill and philosophy. And results in a list of 10k race finishers. You work out, but again, how's that help someone deciding on whether to retain you?

Fortunately, there's a lot you can do as a lawyer to build out your personal brand in the age of Google.

• Partake in conversations among thought leaders in your field via a blog. Thought leaders will begin to cite you and your content. Powerful stuff when people Google your name.
• Blog about stories in trade publications and newspapers that reach your target audience. Provide your take after a blockquote from the story. Email the reporter complimenting them on the story letting them know you shared it with your readers along with your insight. Of course also let them know you'd be happy to get them resources on stories they may be working on your niche, or even be available for a quote on short notice. Articles and news stories quoting put you in good light as an authority in your niche.
• Blog about conferences of interest to your audience. Let the conference coordinator know and begin to build a relationship with them. Google results referencing you as a conference speaker will follow.
• Twitter story headlines of relevance with an accompanying link and your very brief commentary of things you see in your newsreader. Better than the twitter posts which are indexed on Google are a growing list of bloggers and reporters following you on Twitter who are then more likely to see you as someone who stays up to speed in your niche. This results in the the reporters and bloggers citing you in their stories and blog posts.
• Post in your blog answers to common questions you receive from prospective and current clients.

Who's going to get hired when someone is comparing two lawyers who they've Googled?

The lawyer with the website profile, directory listing, committee membership, and 10k results? Or the lawyer who's been cited by authorities in the lawyer's area of expertise, quoted in news stories, spoken at industry and legal conferences, and who's got enough command of their niche to regularly answer questions?

What does your personal brand look like on Google? What are you doing to build your brand so as to distinguish yourself from competitors? If you're like most lawyers, you're in trouble.

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I remember when lawyer blogs, followed by the mass media, were a buzz a year or two ago that New York's proposed legal ethics rules would bar lawyers from publishing blogs. There was nothing to it.

A spokesman for the NY courts acknowledged they never even considered blogs in shaping the rules. Nothing in New York's original proposed rules nor the ultimately passed rules effected blogs in any way.

Then there was the Kentucky lawyer who blogged away that Kentucky's ethics rules were going to require him to submit each blog post to the bar at the cost of $75. Other than a bunch of blogging on the issue from lawyers across the country who had nothing better to do that week, nothing came of it.

Then there was a request from California lawyers that I join a committee to shape California ethic's rules governing blogs. They feared lawyer blogging would be outlawed. I thought the group was doing nothing other than drawing some publicity to the lawyers involved.

I explained that we have plenty of ethics rules governing lawyers' activities, nothing needed to be passed to allow current legal blogging, and that blogging will be here for years to come. Nothing came of it that I know of.

Now we have a lawsuit yesterday by a law firm challenging Louisiana's proposed lawyer advertising rules with an accompanying press release that we're looking at the end of the free world if Louisiana is not stopped in it's tracks. Maybe it's not that draconian, but according to the law suit the new rules would supposedly outlaw blogging, twitter, facebook, online forums, and other online communities and mediums.

No where in the press release does the law firm explain the impetus of the proposed rules, that being to allow attorneys to truthfully publicize their services while restraining some unethical forms of lawyer advertising. Nor does the press release mention that the proposed ethics rules are already the subject of a lawsuit in Federal District Court, with the result being that the Louisiana Supreme Court has postponed implementation of the lawyer advertising rules.

I am not anti lawyer advertising. I view many state's attempted clamp down on lawyer advertising as the old boys trying to prevent upstart law firms from getting work via cost effective client development or judges who find personal injury lawyer ads distasteful. I'm also all for law firms protecting our right of free speech. But I am not about to leave my common sense at the doorstep when looking at proposed ethics rules and the risk that they outlaw lawyer blogging.

Lawyers get paid to be creative. I am sure one could craft an argument that an overly strict reading of Louisiana's proposed rules could preclude lawyer blogging. Could probably do the same for writing law review articles, giving an industry presentation, sending out newsletters, attending rotary meetings, or joining a country club. But other than making a big to do about nothing, I am not sure what one accomplishes.

As way of disclosure, though I was provided an advance copy of the complaint filed in yesterday's lawsuit, I have not read it. And other than a cursory review of the proposed rules I have not read them.

The purpose of this post is to respond to the questions I am getting about the suit and the proposed rules. Based on a similar pattern in New York and other states, I believe the commotion is a big to do about nothing.

There is no reasonable way I can drop running of a company and respond every time Chicken Little claims the sky is falling on lawyer blogs. I call upon my common sense, past history and what is right in formulating my opinions.

In this case, I'll bet my house, law suit or no law suit, that law blogs are not being outlawed by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

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I'm part of a panel today for the Practising Law Institute's Understanding Disclosure in Blogging and Social Media live audio Webcast. The program runs from 1 to 2 ET and offers 1 hour of CLE.

The program, put on in conjunction with the Blog Council, is for internal counsel and other legal advisors who are drafting new employee policy, amending existing rules, or those who simply want a better understanding of the liabilities and opportunities inherent in these new communications tools.

It is billed in part as:

Today's knowledge workers live in a 24-7 mash-up world of business blogs, personal blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. But the lowering of the bar to self-expression brings along expectations of openness. Transparency has become standard operating procedure, and corporations (and the agencies that work on their behalf) need to familiarize themselves with the new rules for interacting with the social media community appropriately.

The program will highlight the Blog Council's recently published draft series of checklists called the Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit.

I'm appearing with Blog Council CEO Andy Sernovitz, John Pope, Digital Media Senior Manager at Dell Inc., and Laurie Steuri, Associate Director of External Relations at Procter & Gamble Co.

Click here for more info and to regisiter.

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LexBlog is routinely asked for a sample law firm blog policy.

My approach has been too cavalier. 'Why do you need a policy for something that is just a different medium for communication? Law firms need to look at their own policies and see how blogs fit in.'

Kevin McKeown, our VP of client development, also a lawyer, but with a long history of business development and strategy takes a different approach. One of taking responsibility as the leading law blog provider to get lawyers, legal marketers, and business development professionals what they need to get firm management's approval on blogs.

As such, Kevin's been working with a number of large law firms on a law firm blog policy. Here's what Kevin kicked out to large law firm this week. Not a policy per se, but factors that firm needs to take into account in crafting its own blog policy. Use it in your firm's blog discussions and please offer any feedback.

Law Firm Blog Policy? Ten Questions to Consider.

1. Who owns the blog? Firm or individual lawyer(s)? Firm ownership is suggested if using to extend brand of firm and enhance reputation of a practice group. Copyright reflects ownership decided.
2. Who will blog? One author or multiple authors in a group blog? The firm approves and identifies all authors and blogs.
3. Does the blog(s) have a specific focus or niche? The narrower the focus, the better. Articulate.
4. Does the firm need firm guidelines for blogs? Maybe not. Review existing guidelines, practices and procedures. How are email newsletters, media relations and client development issues handled? With minor revisions, professional blogging may easily be covered under existing firm practices.
5. Has the firm drafted appropriate blog disclaimer and privacy policy? Disclaimers need to state that no attorney/client relationship is being formed and no legal advice is being dispensed. See LexBlog’s portfolio for disclaimer examples: http://www.lexblog.com/cat-portfolio.html. See also ethics points below.
6. Does the firm need to restrict blog content? Some firms may wish to restrict blog content to be general and informational similar to email newsletters and alerts. Other firms may wish to take a more progressive, and usually more successful, approach to blogging by linking to and referencing other blog posts and news stories. By doing so, you're joining the conversation as an authority in your field. Depending on the circumstances, lawyer(s) may wish to avoid taking too strong position on a particular legal topic. Generally, you don't want to be blogging about existing clients and matters that members of the firm are working on.
7. What’s the blog posting and comment policy? Most firms, subject to general oversight, let blog authors write and publish without showing content to practice chairs or marketing prior to posting. Comments from blog readers should be allowed. To not allow comments, risks embarrassment to the firm. Blog software preferences should enable the blog author(s) or another designated party to review and approve comments before going live. Expect no more than 3 or 4 comments per month. Appropriate comments may be published.
8. How frequently should be blogs be updated? The most effective bloggers post new content at least once a week. Blog author(s) should not fall below this threshold. To develop a compelling voice, the author should write and post—not someone else. A post should be relatively short—a few paragraphs (200-500 words may be fine). In many cases, take no more than 20 to 30 minutes to write a post.
9. What is the role of the marketing? General oversight. Review blogs from time-to-time. Encourage lawyers to ask LexBlog specific questions about best blogging practices and any technical issues. Work with PR to determine what, if any, PR or marketing will be done to promote blog. Think through how networking with other bloggers and media will be addressed. Decide who responds to media requests directed to blog authors.
10. How does the firm ensure that published blog content shares and extends the reach of the firm’s intellectual capital and maintains and enhances the firm’s reputation (quality control)? Require that new author(s) participate in LexBlog’s best practices training prior to the blog’s launch. One of the best ways to enter social media discussion is to follow relevant RSS (real simple syndication) feeds and reference other respected bloggers and their posts. The training reinforces this concept and shares other insights and tips for how to write effective, compelling posts including the use of supporting links, graphics, and photos via LexBlog’s platform. The orientation also addresses how to utilize LexBlog’s HelpSpot for any client support or technical questions (see http://support.lexblog.com/). Finally, the LexBlog’s blog “boot camp” is reinforced through ongoing educational webinars for beginning, intermediate and advanced bloggers as part of the client care commitment.

Blog Ethics? Seven Points to Consider

1. Follow existing firm protocols and rules.
2. Do specific ethics rules exist in your state? Few, if any, states have specific rules applying to blogs.
3. Follow existing state ethics rules—particularly web advertising rules.
4. Use disclaimers on blogs—do not dispense legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. See firm policy questions above.
5. Do not breach client confidences.
6. Do not engage in any false or misleading communication.

Related posts:

• Law firm blog policy : Points to consider
• Blog policy for law firms and professional services businesses
• Corporate blogging policy : Don't be a dumb ass
• Corporate blog policy : Blog in peace

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I'm one of the guests this Thursday on Denise Howell's 'this WEEK in LAW.' One of the issues we'll be discussing is blogging and malpractice carriers.

You may recall the fiasco when Chubb Insurance indicated they were not going to provide coverage for firms publishing law blogs. They were heavily criticized by lawyers across the country.

Chubb eventually went away with it's tail between its legs saying they wouldn't cover firms offering specific advice to specific fact situations - something no law firm does on a blog - but would, in general, cover law firms who were blogging.

Is anyone aware of any issues that have arisen with malpractice carriers covering firms that blog? Have any of you discussed the issue with your carrier? Have any of you procured coverage that applies specifically to blogs, perhaps described as publishing or advertising coverage in general liability business insurance.

Any info, thoughts, or insight would be appreciated.

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I'm a lawyer. I copy and paste stories of jury trials detailing horrific injuries and large dollar verdicts from online newspapers to my blog. I don't necessarily represent any of the parties to the lawsuit.

I just cut and paste the text in entirety without changing or summarizing anything. I don't add any commentary or insight. I don't know anything about Internet marketing but I hear this is a good way to get to the top of Google.

You can see I am more than qualified to represent you or a loved one who's been injured as a result of another's negligence.

Sounds nuts, but that appears to be what the lawyer publishing this personal injury law blog is saying. Look at his latest post.

Maybe the guy is a decent lawyer, but the only thing we know he can do is hit the CTRL+c for copy and CTRL+v for paste on his keyboard.

Am I the only one sickened by this type of marketing? As a plaintiff's trial lawyer of 17 years I tried to uphold the image of our profession at all times. Including with my Internet marketing. This kind of crap is awfully disappointing.

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The never ending flow of Chicken Little articles telling us that the sky is falling with the advent of blogs and innovative technology continues this week with New Jersey Law Journal's article, 'Legal Technology - The Trouble With Blogs and Web 2.0.'

The article focused on employers dealing with employee use of the net. But I'm sure, like most of these articles, provided blog naysayers and the easily scared in large law firms (there's tons of them) with necessary ammunition to fend off the innovative folks in their firm.

The well intentioned article starts off warning employers that millions of employees have joined the world of Web 2.0, which includes social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, blogs, wikis, podcasts, video sharing sites and RSS feeds. Okay, that's reality, and like the real world with phones, letters, fax machines, cocktail parties, and water cooler gossip, people can create problems.

But look at some of the key points from the article.

• You should have policies and procedures prohibiting Internet disclosures of confidential information and prohibiting employees from expressing damaging opinions or information about their employer, superiors or co-workers.


• When blogging, employees shouldn't be violating securities laws, disclosing the company's intellectual property, disclosing any other employee's personal information, disclosing confidential information, discussing work-related legal procedures and controversies, using other company's copyrighted materials, or making false statements.

Duh.

The more I read articles like this, the more it seems that existing firm policies and common sense will govern 99% of the issues raised with blogs. Blogs are a medium of communication, just a new one.

Do we really need to scare those who don't understand blogs and social networking that their use is fraught with peril? Why do we want to chill innovation in law firms? Why aren't we promoting more transparent communication from lawyers?

What do you guys think?

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Vickie Pynchon summarizes the 5 ways to reduce risk in the use of copyrighted materials by bloggers and citizen journalists.

The use of others' copyrighted work under the fair use doctrine is how we bloggers survive. But there are limits to what fair use allows us to use.

Vickie culled this handy list from a primer at the Citizen Media Law Project Blog.

• Use only as much of the copyrighted work as is necessary to accomplish your purpose or convey your message.
• Use the work in such a way that it is clear that your purpose is commentary, news reporting, or criticism.
• Add something new or beneficial (don't just copy it -- improve it!).
• If your source is nonfiction, limit your copying to the facts and data.
• Seek out Creative Commons or other freely licensed works when such substitutions can be made and respect the attribution requests in those works.

Understand that copyright protection applies to all works created by others. Even to a blog post I may write on a bar napkin. I don't need to put a fancy 'c' on it or file any sort of registration. Same applies to newspaper stories or photos from flickr.

Don't get freaked out about liability. If it wasn't for the New York Times or Washington Post, I'm not sure CNN would have anything to report. You'll regularly see them scroll a paragraph or two as to what one of the papers is reporting. It will be followed with short commentary from an 'expert.'

Same goes for small town TV and radio stations who borrow liberally from the local newspaper. Think of yourself as a blogger reporting on events, writings, and the law while adding insight and commentary.

If you don't have Vickie in your RSS feeds, you may wish to add her. She's a prolific, insightful, and entertaining blogger at her own Settle It Now blog and the IP ADR Blog at which she's a co-author.

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CUNY Prof. Geanne Rosenberg has put up an online course for bloggers and media practitioners with the 10 things you need to know to stay out of court. As Jeff Jarvis, my source on this post, says it's quick, clear, easy, and fun with videos and quizzes.

The 10 rules to blog by:

1. Check your facts.
2. Avoid virtual vendettas.
3. Obey the law.
4. Weigh promises.
5. Reveal secrets selectively.
6. Consider what you copy.
7. Learn recording limits.
8. Don't abuse anonymity.
9. Shun conflicts of interest.
10. Seek legal advice.

Jeff also mentions Berkman Center at Harvard, who helped produced this course, is putting online a legal guide with information on such topics as setting up a publishing business.

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