Real Lawyers Have Blogs : Law Blogs, Social Media, Twitter

As I got in quite late last night from New York City, we're giving you this on Saturday morning instead. Coming to you from the ferry ride into Seattle—seriously, this is the most beautiful city in the world today—let's look back at the new publications on the LexBlog Network this week. Also, hey, LXBN TV's trip to LegalTech went well.

• I'm not sure we've ever had a publication focused on law in Spokane before, but that changed this week as the Spokane Business Law Update from Sullivan Stromberg, PLLC joins the LexBlog Network. The blog is intended to be a practical resource for small businesses owners in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
• Healthcare Employment Counsel is the 11th publication on the LexBlog Network from AmLaw 100 firm Littler Mendelson. Authored by a team of 13 lawyers, this blog provides timely broad-based coverage and insight by into critical issues and developments unique to employers in the healthcare industry.

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When LXBN TV's three-man video crew made their way out of the Hilton New York's large rotating doors and into the unseasonably warm sunshine hitting NYC's West 42nd Street, we could barely believe it was all over. Events and projects like this are often chaotic and stressful but, at the same time, over before you know it.

After what seemed like both moments and an eternity since Jared Sulzdorf and I wheeled our guerilla operation into LegalTech New York late Sunday evening—past professional construction crews that may as well have been assembling small yachts as exhibit booths—we shot one last video, looking back at the entire process. 

There was a lot that went into it, and many people to thank. And because I didn't hit everyone in the video, I'm going to try to do so here. Without any of the people mentioned here, this would not have happened: Henry Dicker, Vice President Events, Executive Director of LegalTech; Alexis Burgess, Marketing Manager at ALM; Kevin O'Keefe, LexBlog CEO and Publisher; Kevin McKeown, LexBlog President; Brian Briddle, LexBlog Creative Director; Joshua Lynch, LexBlog Project Manager; Lyda Hawes, LexBlog Director of Client Services and my phenomenal boss; Brian Hefter, LexBlog Developer; and, of course, my two counterparts on the three-man crew: Editorial Associate Jared Sulzdorf and freelance videographer-for-hire Todd Weissfeld. 

With those reeled off, let's take a look at some of the coverage. Here are a few of my favorite interviews:

•  Brett Burney of Burney Consultants on the iPad and the Best Apps in the Legal Community
• Ralph Losey of Jackson Lewis on Predictive Coding and Transparency in E-Discovery 
• Chris Paskach, Partner at KPMG Forensic Technology Services, on Statistical Sampling
• Keynote Speaker Don Tapscott, Co-Author of Macrowikinomics, on the Digital Generation and 5 Themes in Tech, Biz and Law
• Qualcomm Corporate Legal IT Manager Rajan Gupta on Leveraging Tech for Lawyers 
• Gina Buser of Traveling Coaches, Inc. on Talking Technology to Lawyers
• Greentarget’s Aaron Schoenherr Reporting on Social Media Use by in-House Counsel
• Fastcase President Philip Rosenthal on Broken Business Models and His Company in 2011 & 2012

To see all of the videos—I promise they are worth taking a look at—along with curated blog posts, go check out the LegalTech New York channel on LXBN. We're still rounding up the last 1 or 2 but they should be on there very shortly. There's a lot of superb insight here, and a ton of work that went into it, so have a look.

Again, this was a phenomenal experience. Whether it be at LegalTech again, or another event, I really hope we get the opportunity to do this again soon. Many thanks, again, to everyone who made this a possibility.  

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That quote from Steve Jobs in a story entitled 'The Yin and the Yang of Corporate Innovation' by Steve Lohr (@SteveLohr) in the New York Times this morning.

Lohr was commenting on the different ways Apple and Google have historically approached innovation.

The Google model relies on rapid experimentation and data. The company constantly refines its search, advertising marketplace, e-mail and other services, depending on how people use its online offerings. It takes a bottom-up approach: customers are participants, essentially becoming partners in product design.

The Apple model is more edited, intuitive and top-down. When asked what market research went into the company's elegant product designs, Steve Jobs had a standard answer: none. "It's not the consumers' job to know what they want," he would add.

LexBlog has added a senior leadership team over the last couple years. Though the team members have worked in smaller companies before, they bring experience from also working in the likes of Microsoft, Mitsubishi, and REI. I've also had the experience of working at LexisNexis for 18 months after my last company, Prairielaw.com, was acquired by them.

Larger companies tend to want to survey people and test a product's use, before double downing and getting the product to market. It's tough for me to work with people from those companies because I am more of the thinking that consumers don't know what they want until you give it to them.

Imagine if Jeff Bezos asked the public if they wanted to buy books over the Internet. Most people in the mid 90's would have responded "What's the Internet?" Bezos believed in his vision that the Amazon experience would wow people. He was right.

Though Google is described as bottom-up in approach taking the consumer into account, had Google asked the public if they wanted search in 1998, the answer would have been no. Heck, LexisNexis didn't see the value in Internet search in 2001 when it limited the user generated content it would pay to have searched (companies bought search back in those days from companies like Atomz.)

In 2003, when I started blogging and reading the few law blogs that were ought there, I thought a blog was the perfect medium for lawyers to build trust and enhance their reputation.

Despite the fact that blogs were free, I believed law firms and attorneys would be pay thousands of dollars in annual subscriptions for a professional turnkey blog solution. A solution that covered all the bases of strategy, design, development, hosting, coaching, and SEO.

I never asked attorneys or law firms if they would buy a turnkey solution. I put the infrastructure in place, pulled a team together, and started selling. It wasn't until people started taking money out of their pockets and putting it into mine that I knew I had something.

I also believed that getting feedback from people who were vested in my success (the people paying for my product) was much more important than random information from surveys before hand. I got the product out there and put in the sidewalks after I saw where people were walking.

LexBlog's approach to innovation has been a little bit Apple and a little bit Google. I'm not one to ask what people want before hand, but I do want my customers to be participants in our continued product development.

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Another week flies by and it's once again time to look back at the publications joining the LexBlog Network. We have one firm giving their blog a new look and a new name while another launches their first on the LexBlog Network. And, again, be sure to follow along on LXBN as we cover LegalTech New York next week.

• The excellent Tough Times for Lenders, a Winstead publication, is now Lenders360. Providing news, information and commentary on important issues affecting the financial services industry, the publication is authored by  leading attorneys who serve mid- to large-sized, with Keith Mullen as the lead writer.
• The Washington Estate Planning & Dispute Resolution Advisor, is published by Tim Burkart of Seattle-based Kutscher Hereford Bertram Burkart. We always pride ourselves on having some of the best lawyers out there on The LexBlog Network, and Burkart fits the bill, as he was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Trusts and Estates, The Best Lawyers in Washington by Seattle Business Magazine and Best Lawyers in the Puget Sound by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

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I'll be New York City next week, Sunday the 29th, evening through Friday, February the 3rd, afternoon.

LexBlog, as a marketing partner of ALM's, is providing coverage of ALM's LegalTech Show on our LXBN Network.

I'll also be talking to law firms at LegalTech about the effective use of social media as well as meeting with a number of our New York law firm clients and prospective clients. LexBlog currently works with over one-third of the AmLaw 200 law firms, most of whom have offices in New York. So New York is always an enjoyable place to visit.

While in town, I want to make myself available to law firm leaders and other business professionals who may be interested in discussing how firms are using blogs and other social media as an effective means of client development.

If you are interested in getting together, I will be around the LegalTech Show at the Hilton on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday through Friday, I'm available most of the day to visit your office or meet for coffee or a meal.

I am not there to sell anyone on anything. I've been a lawyer for 30 years. Both my company, LexBlog, and I have a reputation for helping lawyers and law firms. Networking through the Internet is not about technology. It's about how we as good lawyers have always gotten legal work. By building relationships and by word of mouth. I'm committed to helping lawyers understand that and improving the image of our profession at the same time.

Here's my email and my cell (206 321 3627) to reach me.

Have a great weekend and look forward to seeing some of you next week.

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I am excited to announce LexBlog's extended coverage of LegalTech New York 2012 is off and running over on LXBN, with a LegalTech channel that will feature curated blog posts and video interviews with of presenters, exhibitors and attendees.

To get things started, we begin with remote Skype interviews like those you've already seen on LXBN TV. To start things, here's Henry Dicker, Vice President of Events at ALM and Director of LegalTech on the conference's excellent trio of keynotes, the wide range of exhibitors and plethora of free educational opportunities.

Along with that, I also got to speak to a few LegalTech exhibitors:

• Caitlin Murphy of AccessData on the release of a new and modern version of Summation, their venerable litigation support software.
• Amy Juers of Edge Legal Marketing on The Edge Room, a digital version of the traditional pressroom.
• Charlie Magliato, Legal Program at Biscom, on data breaches and the many challenges surrounding data transfers in the legal industry.
• Scott Devens of MEETandCONFER.COM on how his company's product improves the efficiency of court-mandated "meet and confer" meetings.
• Yoeli Barag of E-Stet on major trends and common pain points in the e-discovery industry.

For more videos with exhibitors, presenters and attendees—along with curated blog posts—be sure to follow the LegalTech New York 2012 channel on LXBN.

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Thanks to Faith Pincus of Pincus Professional Education for another informative and engaging webinar: "PowerPoint is Evil. But if you're going to use it, use it well."

When done right, PowerPoint can enhance your public speaking. However, most professionals use slides as their presentation instead of a visual supplement to it.  In this webinar, Faith focused on the Do's and Don'ts of PowerPoint, from standing in the wrong place when speaking to refining your speech before ever starting to create your presentation.

Because effective PowerPoint presentations should have visual impact, Faith has provides a handout that includes a few helpful resources for images and graphics (PDF).

If you missed it or want to watch again, you can play "PowerPoint is Evil. But if you're going to use it, use it well" below or view it on the LexBlog Support YouTube channel.

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Even though I've never been to Ireland, my name being what it is, I always get a kick out of Irish publications joining the LexBlog Network. Going along with a new blog from Ireland, we also have Sheppard Mullin continuing to add their their already-expansive blogging network. Have a great weekend, everyone.

• Ireland's Pensions Law Blog is the second publication on the LexBlog Network from A&L Goodbody, which is based in Dublin. Authored by five members of the firm's pensions law department, the blog covers topics that include pension administration and funding, pensions boards, scheme restructuring and taxes.
• Closing in on the big 3-0, the Global Trade Law Blog is the 29th publication on the LexBlog Network from Sheppard Mullin. Already boasting a wealth of topic, this publication aims to cover subjects ranging from arms exports to economic sanctions and embargos to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

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Coming to you a day later than normal, it's time to take a look back at the publications new to the LexBlog Network this week. As two firms already publishing great blogs get started on a couple new ones, we're excited to have another AmLaw 100 firm on the LexBlog Network in Morrison & Foerster; it couldn't be a better start either.

• Socially Aware is the first publication on the LexBlog Network from AmLaw 100 firm Morrison & Foerster. Sporting the firm's signature sharp and clean design, the publication discusses what's been an extremely hot topic as of late: the intersection of the law and social media. With a deep team of authors, this blog will touch on all areas of the law impacted by social media.
• The Health Employment and Labor blog is the tenth blog on the LexBlog Network from EpsteinBeckerGreen. Drawing on attorneys from the firm's HEAL Group (health employment and labor), the blog covers topics that include abuse in the workplace, affirmative action, social media, immigration and exucitive compenstion.
• Following up on their excellent California Trust, Estate & Probate Litigation blog, the team of Stewart Albertson and Keith Davidson of Albertson & Davidson LLP have launched the California Insurance Bad Faith Litigation blog. Employing a tool you don't just can't see enough, the pair is constantly producing videos on their areas of experties.

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