Blogging for the older lawyer

Most of the early lawyer blogs have been published by technology savvy younger lawyers. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great law blogs published by these folks. But it’s older lawyers who have been practicing for 10, 15, 20 or more years who may have the most to gain by publishing blogs. This blog post is for you.

Experienced lawyers, like myself, came to understand the power of the computer, learned how to type (mine is makeshift pecking) and now see the potential of the Internet. Such lawyers have a ton to offer the public, their current clients, and the media by blogging. Such lawyers also have the most to gain from a business development standpoint by blogging.

Experienced lawyers are better equipped to blog

• Years of experience to draw on. We’ve come across a lot of situations and represented a lot of clients. We’ve experienced some highs and some lows. We’ve learned to be practical in advising clients. This wisdom, despite what we may think, is invaluable. We have more to share with a blog audience.
• Have ready audience to build on. Blogs are directed to a target audience of regular readers. Readership grows over time. Experienced lawyers have past & current clients, business associates, colleagues, media and civic leaders, among others who they can invite to read the blog when it’s first launched. Not only, will you solidify your relationship with this audience, they will tell others about your blog.
• Have developed niche area of practice. When I started practicing, I was just glad to have a job. I would do anything requested by the lawyers who hired me. I’d jump all over a new client’s work, even if it meant learning an area of the law I was unfamiliar with. It was not until practicing for a few years that I started to develop my niche. I suspect that’s the same with most lawyers. Blogs love a niche – the more focused a blog, the more successful it’s going to be.
• Have credibility. We hope to build on our reputation over time. Most of the time, despite a few screw ups, it happens. We get some good clients and successes under our belts. Fellow lawyers, whether younger or not practicing in our area of law, look to us for advice. We get opportunities to speak and write. Bottom line, a few grey hairs gives us some added authenticity. Blogs are built on the publisher being a reliable and credible authority.

Some of us did not grow up in the computer, let alone the Internet, age. I started practicing law when files were full of yellow carbon copies of correspondence, as opposed to what we called a “Xerox copy.” Word processing & fax machines were years away and computers were some big machine that sat behind a glassed in room at a University. When I got a personal computer after practicing for 13 years, I had no idea what to do with it.

I have come a long way in the last 8 years. I still do not consider myself tech savvy from the standpoint of knowing much of anything about computer hardware, software or programming. But I have learned to market via the Internet and to publish my thoughts and ideas to the Internet on a blog publishing platform.

Tinkering in my garage (my office until this spring), I discovered what what worked best for blogging by trial & error and by communicating with lawyers as well as technology and marketing folks around the country. Based on my years of practicing law (17) and Internet marketing (6), I feel I have something to offer good experienced lawyers wishing to tastefully market their legal services. That’s why I founded lexBlog, the leader in legal marketing blogs, and market the company by publishing this blog.

You guys who have been practicing law for a lot of years have a ton to offer people. Your intellectual capital is an untapped business development resource. Blogging is easy to do if you can scratch out a paragraph or two once a week on a keyboard. What are you waiting for? If you still have reservations or need a little help, drop me an email or give me a call.