LexBlog, OKeefe, and why lawyers blog make TechFlash in Seattle

A ‘legal rebel’ helping lawyers blog without advertising.

That’s how Seattle’s TechFlash, a leading technology news site associated with the Puget Sound Business Journal, titled a piece I penned for them on why lawyers blog.

It’s not everyday the story of LexBlog and why good lawyers blog is featured in Northwest technology news. So it’s with a little pride that I share the story in TechFlash with you.

The internet has not changed the way lawyers get their best work. While the means of communication have changed, the true source has not: The best work comes from relationships and word of mouth.

The internet and social media serve as accelerators of relationships and a lawyer’s word-of-mouth reputation.

Hundreds of Puget Sound area lawyers are blogging for business development — lawyers ranging from Asher Bearman, of DLA Piper for The Venture Alley blog, or Redmond-based solo attorney Tonya Gisselberg, of Seattle Copyright Watch blog.

The goal of blogging is not to advertise, but to engage a lawyer’s target audience of clients, prospective clients, referral sources and the influencers of those groups.

Listening is more important than content when it comes to a strong law blog. Rather than the traditional one-way communication that websites, email newsletters and other internet marketing products provide, blogging is two-way; lawyers should engage their audience.

Lawyers must listen to the questions and concerns of clients and prospective clients. Without breaching confidence, they should respond to concerns in a conversational style that demonstrates their skill, experience and care as a lawyer.

Engaging clients and potential clients is key, but so is getting noticed by those who influence them. Lawyers who come across an article that’s relevant to their area of expertise and their potential clients’ interests should share it on their blog. Linking to the story and its author will get the clients’ attention.

A savvy reporter will appreciate a lawyer who was kind enough to share his or her story with a strong national or regional demographic — an audience that increasingly gets its news and information from people it trusts, people like this lawyer.

Such engagements can lead to other online connections. While contacting the reporter through email or even LinkedIn seems like a simple gesture, it opens the possibility for lawyers to connect with influencers in a more professional setting — like for coffee or lunch. A lawyer can let them know he or she would be happy to share resources on stories they’re working on or be available for a quote.

The same can be done for fellow bloggers, especially those with a broader reach. They’ll begin to follow your blog and share what you have to say with people who trust them.

It’s this method of establishing trust through online engagement that has made blogging and social media a business development favorite for so many lawyers.

When someone turns to a person he or she trusts for the name of a good lawyer, the first thing the prospective client does is Google the lawyer’s name. Rather than seeing only a website or directory listing for the lawyer, the prospective client will see reporters quoting the attorney, bloggers from across the country sharing the lawyer’s insight and listings of conferences where the lawyer has spoken. Such attorneys are the clear choice over the lawyers they’re competing with.

Lawyers gauge business development success from blogging the same way they gauge the success of their face-to-face networking:

• Is my reputation being enhanced?
• Is my network of relationships growing?
• Am I establishing myself as a subject-matter expert?
• Am I getting not just clients, but high-quality clients?

Law blogs are resonating with people who hire lawyers. They help people not only find relevant legal information, but also play a role in deciding which lawyer to hire.

Highlights from a 2010 survey of in-house counsel include:

• 27 percent of in-house counsel cited blogs published by lawyers as important for helping them vet outside counsel for potential hire.
• 37 percent of counsel between the ages of 30 and 39 rated blogs published by lawyers as the second most important activity for helping them to research outside lawyers for potential hire, following recommendations from sources they trust.
• Half of in-house counsel agree that high-profile blogs authored by a law firm’s attorneys play important roles in influencing clients to hire that firm.

Consumers and small-business people also rely on blogs for information. A 2010 report from the Pew Internet Project said more than one-third of people age 34 to 55 rely on blogs as trusted resources.

Among the many innovative Seattle-area law firms that have taken their networking online through blogs are Stoel Rives , K&L Gates, Foster Pepper, Davis Wright Tremaine, Perkins Coie and Marler Clark.

Expect the number of blogging lawyers to grow as blogs and other social media become an increasing part of the fabric of our society.