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High lawyer compensation comes with social obligation to blog

September 29, 2006

Never have liked articles about what lawyers earn or charge. I am sure it’s a turn off to the public and one reason we’re held in such low esteem.

Law.com’s report on the Florida Daily Review’s first annual lawyer billing survey stirs me to write again on a lawyer’s social obligation to blog. I don’t begrudge lawyers’ earnings, but $300 – $700/hour and contingency fees in the millions of dollars (well justified based on the risk) is a lot of money.

Practicing law is a privilege, not a right. With the privilege comes a social obligation to help others on legal issues. An excellent way to do this is to share legal information with the public via a blog.

The information can be tailored to your audience and practice area. Doesn’t matter whether corporations, consumers, the wealthy, or the middle class are your clients or target audience for marketing.

There is not an easier nor more time effective way to share legal information and insight than blogging. Posting an entry on a blog can take only 15 or 20 minutes a week. Some lawyers spend more time, you need not. You or someone in your firm has that time.

Why the obligation? To uphold the reputation of our profession. To help others. It’s the right thing to do.

Imagine 100,000 lawyers sharing legal information freely on blogs. People, whether consumers or corporate exec’s doing a Google search for legal information would find practical legal information from the most reliable trusted authorities – lawyers in their community or dedicated to an area of the law.

And the lawyers sharing the legal information are further enhancing their reputations and growing their business. A win/win.

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