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Real Lawyers Have Blogs

Independent Legal Blogs vs. Firm Website-Hosted Blogs: Four Reasons to Choose Independence

By Kevin O’Keefe
February 4, 2025

Following my recent video on LinkedIn and Facebook discussing the distinction between blog publications and articles authored by lawyers, a viewer inquired about my perspective on whether a blog should function as an independent site or be integrated within a law firm’s website.

Here’s my quick take—four reasons why legal blogs are more effective when independent.

  1. Authority & Visibility
    • A standalone blog establishes a lawyer (or a small group of lawyers), as thought leaders in their field.
    • Search engines favor independent, frequently updated sites with citation generated incoming links over a static website subsection labeled “blog.”
    • My blog, Real Lawyers Have Blogs, serves as proof—it has built influence and credibility over time, separate from our corporate site.
  2. Business Development & Relationship Building
    • Lawyers who publish consistently on a dedicated blog become known for their insights, leading to referrals and direct client inquiries.
    • Firms with a “blog section” often treat it with less thought—even an afterthought, while independent legal blogs become active thought leadership and engagement hubs.
  3. Syndication & Reach
    • More opportunities for syndication—meaning its content can be distributed, cited, and referenced across multiple platforms by virtue of its thought leadership status. A firm website blog is often viewed as content marketing.
    • External blogs can be indexed and cited as standalone legal resources, making them more likely to be referenced by peers, the media, and research platforms.
  4. Longevity & Ownership
    • An independent blog lives beyond a law firm brand or design. It’s a publication. 
    • Lawyers who move firms retain their blog and audience rather than losing years of reputation-building within a firm’s website. Notwithstanding a lawyer’s move, law firms benefit from the business generated for multiple lawyers by the lawyer while at the firm and from the business generated and retained afterwards.

I guess if you don’t take my word for it look around at the lawyers who have established themselves as the go to lawyer in a niche and the law firms who are investing in thirty or forty separate blog publications for purposes of business development.