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About Kevin O’Keefe

I am a lawyer of 35 years. Wanting to be a lawyer since I was a kid, I can say I have loved l every minute of it.

I practiced as a trial lawyer in rural Wisconsin for 17 years, represented plaintiffs, whether they were injury victims and their family members or small businesses.

In the mid-nineties, I discovered the Internet in the form of AOL. I began helping people by answering questions on AOL message boards and later starting my own listservs and message boards to help people on personal injury, medical malpractice, workers compensation and plaintiff’s employment law matters.

Though we were green to technology and the Internet, USA Today said if my firm didn’t stop what we were doing, we would give lawyers a good name.

In 1999, I closed my law firm and moved to Seattle accompanied by my wife, who put up with me, and five young children, to start my first company. Prairielaw.com, a virtual law community of people helping people, a sort of AOL on the law featuring message boards, articles, chats, listervs and an ask-a-lawyer.

Prairielaw.com was sold to LexisNexis, where it was incorporated into Martindale-Hubbell’s lawyers.com.

After a stint as VP of Business Development at LexisNexis, I founded LexBlog out of my garage in 2004 (no affiliation with LexisNexis).

Knowing lawyers get their best work from relationships and a strong word of mouth reputation, and not promoting themselves, I saw blogging as a perfect way for lawyers to build relationships and a reputation.

When I could not find someone to help me with my own blog, I started a company to provide what I needed. Strategy, professional design, platform, coaching, SEO, marketing and free ongoing support.

As a result of the outstanding work of my team of twenty and my blogging, LexBlog has grown to a network of over 18,000 legal professionals, world-wide, publishing on our platform.

While LexBlog may have started by becoming the legal industry’s leading digital design and publishing platform, LexBlog is now building the world’s largest and most comprehensive legal news and information network by drawing on the contributions of legal bloggers worldwide.

Legal professionals publishing on our platform are automatically included as LexBlog contributors. Legal bloggers on other platforms join to contribute — at no cost.

On my blog, Real Lawyers, now in its 15th year, I share information, news and insight to help legal professionals looking to network online, whether it be via blogging or other social media.

In addition to my blog, I liberally share others’ insight on Twitter. Feel free to engage me there as well on LinkedIn and Facebook.