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Construction attorney Matthew DeVriesA move from Washington, DC to Nashville sparked construction attorney Matthew DeVries of Smith, Cashion & Orr to start a blog in order to help his marketing and development in a new and unfamiliar region.

The energy and conscientiousness he’s poured into Best Practices Construction Law since launching comes through in his posts and his engagement with others in the bustling construction and green building law community.

It’s also paid off for his practice development.

"I have certainly seen an increase in the number of cold calls from potential clients as well as media inquiries from reporters and bloggers," Matt says. "For example, when Congress was debating the climate change legislation earlier in the year, I received a call from a reporter at BNA who asked about the potential effect of the environmental legislation on the construction industry. This gave me an opportunity to share some knowledge and highlight [the blog]."

We caught up with Matt for this LexBlog Q&A to find out more about how blogging has made him a better lawyer and how he integrates Twitter with his blog.

See our email exchange with Matt after the jump.

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Continue Reading Matthew DeVries of Best Practices Construction Law: LexBlog Q&A

Intellectual property attorney Dave ReinIntellectual property attorney Dave Rein figured it was about time he got web-savvy when he realized his kids’ elementary school was blogging and he wasn’t.

Now, the Husch Blackwell Sanders attorney uses Owners, Borrowers & Thieves 2.0 both to meet new clients and potential clients, and to stay on top of intellectual property issues

"Blogging and reading for the blog has been one of the ways that I keep up with all of the changes that are happening in the intellectual property area," Dave says.

Most notable have been the conversations and connections he’s built through the blog.

"The blog has led to some work, but even more important has been the way it has helped me meet and develop an even greater network of photographers, creatives and companies with their own stables of patents, trademarks and copyrights," he says.

We caught up with Dave for this LexBlog Q&A to learn more about his cast of changing co-writers and how Twitter complements his blogging.

See our email exchange with Dave, after the jump.

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Continue Reading Dave Rein of Owners, Borrowers & Thieves 2.0: LexBlog Q&A

Reed Smith attorney Joseph RosenbaumThe move of the Legal Bytes newsletter from print to web was a no-brainer for Reed Smith attorney Joseph Rosenbaum, head of the AmLaw200 firm’s Advertising Technology & Media group.

"By 2008," Joe says of his Legal Bytes blog, "I realized that my format – small, insightful, narrative pieces, virtually always referencing more robust information – covering a wide variety of topics at the intersection of law, advertising, technology, media and entertainment, finance, travel and more, was perfect for a blog format."

Reed Smith as a firm has 11 total blogs on the LexBlog Network, and Joe says that blogging has benefited both the firm’s attorneys and their clients.

"Blogging has fostered our own internal communication, has allowed clients to quickly get a sense of the variety of issues and, bluntly, helps everyone appreciate the value of cross-selling and deepening the relationships of trust and confidence with our clients," Joe says.

We caught up with Joe for this LexBlog Q&A to learn more about the rewards of blogging and the responsibility of a digital media blog to stay relevant.

See our email exchange with Joe, after the jump.

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Iowa employment attorney Patrick SmithWe’ve written before about the strong contingent of law bloggers in Iowa, so it should come as no surprise to see Iowa employment attorney Patrick Smith of Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave having success blogging on employment law and litigation in the Hawkeye State.

"It’s a great way to provide information to clients and others on a frequent, easy to use, and low cost basis," Patrick says of his Iowa Employment Law Blog.

Patrick’s posts cover court decisions, stories in the news about employment topics, legislative developments, and interesting tidbits from other top blogs.

"Most rewarding has been the feedback from readers and the development of relationships with other bloggers around the country," he says. "I’ve been pleasantly surprised how collaborative blogging is—how we share information and provide exposure to other bloggers."

We talked to Patrick for this LexBlog Q&A to find out more about the response he’s gotten to his blog and why Iowa law bloggers seem to have it figured out.

See our email exchange with Patrick, after the jump.

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Dallas divorce attorney Michelle May O'NeilWe recently reported on how Dallas divorce attorney Michelle May O’Neil‘s blogging led to an on-camera interview with a local news station, after a reporter sought her out for her expertise via a Google search.

But that’s only the latest positive response to the Dallas Divorce Law Blog, which Michelle publishes along with partner Nathan Anderson.

"We have had an exceptional response to our blog," Michelle says. "We learned how to sync our blog with our LinkedIn and Facebook profiles. So, we have increased our readership. Many judges and lawyers have facebook profiles and routinely read our posts, increasing our presence as ‘thought leaders’ in our practice area. A lawyer stopped me at the courthouse last week and complimented our blog posts and said how informative they were for her."

We reached out to both Michelle and Nathan to find out more about their blogging strategy and what advice they give other lawyers on blogging.

See our email exchange with Michelle and Nathan, after the jump.

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Continue Reading Michelle May O’Neil of Dallas Divorce Law Blog: LexBlog Q&A

Food liability attorney Ken OdzaIt’s one thing to use your blog as a news aggregation site. It’s another to constantly provide the added value of commentary, analysis, and a unique voice that can’t be found anywhere else.

Food liability attorney Kenneth Odza of AmLaw 200 firm Stoel Rives has made the Food Liability Law Blog into exactly that kind of valuable resource.

"Our challenge has been to establish our ‘voice’ on the blog," Ken says. "Our goal is to provide useful advice and commentary on mitigation of current and emerging food litigation risks. We also avoid the ‘law review article’ approach and provide information in a short, punchy format."

That strategy has paid off in unexpected but appreciated ways for Ken and the firm.

"After about 6 months of blogging and continued effort to provide ‘value’ on the blog (as opposed to news aggregation)," Ken says, "we started receiving calls from business clients (some who were known prospects and others who I didn’t know). While direct client calls were not the primary goal of this blog, these calls have been a pleasant surprise and are increasing in frequency."

We caught up with Ken for this LexBlog Q&A to discuss how a large firm with multiple bloggers plans their coverage, and how he integrates Twitter with his blog.

See our email exchange with Ken after the jump.

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Continue Reading Kenneth Odza of Food Liability Law Blog: LexBlog Q&A

Florida estate planning attorney David ShulmanSouth Florida estate planning attorney David Shulman started blogging when he left a big law firm to start his own solo practice. He saw blogging as "a great way for me to communicate with prospective clients and prospective referral sources about me and my practice."

His blog, South Florida Estate Planning Law, strikes a balance between educating potential clients while remaining relevant for other estate planning attorneys.

"It’s been mostly positive all around," David says. "I’ve gotten business through the blog from clients who have read it and been intrigued by articles. I have made numerous contacts with other attorneys in the legal blogosphere."

We reached out to David for this LexBlog Q&A to discuss more about how he comes up with post ideas, what blogs he follows, and how a blog is like a plant.

See our email exchange with David, after the jump.

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Continue Reading David Shulman of South Florida Estate Planning Law: LexBlog Q&A

New York personal injury attorney John HochfelderThe blogosphere is flooded with personal injury law blogs these days, but few are as classy, valuable and informative as New York personal injury attorney John Hochfelder‘s New York Injury Cases Blog.

Rather than make his blog a marketing tool, John uses it as an educational resource on injury case valuation with medical insight. His blog is a wealth of information, with diagrams, briefs, visuals and analysis that’s unavailable elsewhere.

"I will not hit publish until I know I have it right and have uncovered it and read all relevant and related cases, briefs and background materials,"John says.

The result?

"I’ve become a resource to both PI lawyers and others and my reputation has soared," he says. "In a few cases I’ve been asked to assist or take on cases and that’s satisfying, of course."

We caught up with John for this LexBlog Q&A to learn what he dislikes about some PI blogs, how blogging has made him smarter, and what advice he’d offer to a new law blogger.

See our email exchange with John, after the jump.

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Continue Reading John Hochfelder of New York Injury Cases Blog: LexBlog Q&A

The motto of The Supreme Court of Washington Blog is "reading the opinions so you don’t have to." Michael Reitz, the general counsel for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and one of the authors of the blog, quickly discovered there are plenty of readers out there who were hungry for exactly the analysis and summary his blog provides.

"We have readers in the court system, state agencies, law schools, and most major law firms in the state," Mike says. "In fact, the week we launched we got a call from a state Supreme Court justice who applauded the project."

In particular, since the state capital of Olympia has no beat reporters assigned exclusively to the Supreme Court, local reporters have come to rely on the blog for significant developments and newsworthy rulings.

"Some of the most enthusiastic responses have come from news reporters who tell me the blog fills a real void," Mike said, adding, "It’s a thrill to help translate the legal jargon for their readers. For example, a local reporter emailed and asked if I could explain, in 25 words, a complex ruling involving the statute of limitations for construction defects. I gave it to him in 23."

We caught up with Mike for this LexBlog Q&A to learn more about the rewards of blogging, the thousands of listeners to their monthly podcast, and why he thinks every state should have a blog covering the courts.

See our email exchange with Mike, after the jump.

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Continue Reading Michael Reitz of The Supreme Court of Washington Blog

Gideon AlperGideon Alper isn’t yet a full-fledged lawyer, but his blog matches up against the best law blogs out there by people who’ve been practicing law for a long time.

The third-year law student at Emory University started the Gay Couples Law Blog to fill a niche he saw available in the conversation about the legal issues, particularly tax and estate planning, surrounding same sex couples.

The outpouring of response in the few months the blog has been live speaks to the appetite for a blog on this topic.

"The blog launched just two months ago, but already I’ve gotten a positive response from three groups of people: other attorneys, gay rights organizations, and same sex couples," Gideon says.

In addition, Gideon is building up a body of work and a name for himself online that few other recent law graduates will be able to match.

"Here’s the benefit," he says. "When I graduate in May, I’ll already be a referral source for other attorneys as well as a go-to-person for advice about a niche area of law. How many other law students can say that?"

We caught up with Gideon for this LexBlog Q&A to find out more about why he started blogging and what kind of response he’s received.

See our email exchange with Gideon, after the jump.

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Continue Reading Gideon Alper of Gay Couples Law Blog: LexBlog Q&A