The legal blog world is often referred to as the “blawgosphere,” and the blawgosphere is expanding. One useful indicator for this expansion is the website blawg.com. Started in 2002, this site tracks legal blogs on the web and serves as a directory of the blawgosphere. According to today’s tally, there are a total of 2,788 blawgs on the web and 1,398 active blogs. Today alone there were 155 posts. It also seems that lawyers make up a large portion of total bloggers on the web. In 2005 the members of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association self-reported that 57% of them read at least one blog on a regular basis, with 19% publishing their own blog.
As more and more attorneys, judges, and law professors jump on the blawg bandwagon, there are a few things worth considering. Joshua Fruchter’s online article “Best Practices for Legal Blogging” outlines exactly that. Fruchter presents a number of reasons that lawyers turn to blogging, but he suggests that business development may be the most important purpose for blogging. With the deluge of new lawyer blogs, Fruchter believes it is “critical for any lawyer launching a blog to consider best practices that will set his or her blog apart from the pack.”
Fruchter presents four topics that a successful legal blogger should address. Specifically, a blawger should consider design, content, building links, and audience. Fruchter suggests that a prospective client will judge the appearance of a blawg much like s/he would “draw inferences about service quality from physical cues such as the appearance of a lawyer’s office or the quality of his or her stationery.” The goal should be to convey one’s professional image.
What will ultimately determine whether blawg visitors become loyal readers is a blawg’s content. Put simply, a blawg requires content and plenty of it. While it may sound daunting to an already overworked lawyer to have to post frequently, Fruchter points out that writing a blog post does not have to be terribly time-consuming. “As long as a post is well written and offers a nugget or two of wisdom and insight, a few paragraphs are adequate.” A post could be as simple as a link to an article from a major news source accompanied by a couple of paragraphs of commentary.
Fruchter outlines several strategies for finding good content to include on a legal blog. GoogleAlerts will send subscribers links to news articles containing keywords or key phrases that you specify. Similarly, Westlaw, Lexis, and FindLaw will send alerts regarding new decisions in a particular area of expertise. Blawgers frequently comment on material posted by other bloggers, so blogs written by other lawyers can be a great resource for material. Finally, there are numerous government sites that post press releases and other updates on new regulations, policies, and other developments.
In order to create a successful blawg, a writer should pay attention to search engines. The more websites that link to your blog, the higher you will be ranked on search engines. It is possible to increase these inbound links by adding other blogs to your blogroll. Another method that Fruchter describes is called “trackback.” This feature allows you to immediately notify another blog that you have linked to one of their posts.
With respect to a blawg’s audience, Fruchter comments that “the Internet is a viral medium whereby content that you publish can experience geometric distribution as each interested reader passes along a link to your content to friends and colleagues.” He recommends that a person promote their blawg by giving readers many options for subscribing to your posts, including RSS feeds and email updates.
In his article Fruchter gives many great suggestions for creating a maintaining a successful blog. If implemented, his ideas may be exactly what a blawg needs to stand out from the pack. Afterall, a blawg can only serve its purpose if it is read.
As more and more attorneys, judges, and law professors jump on the blawg bandwagon, there are a few things worth considering. Joshua Fruchter’s online article “Best Practices for Legal Blogging” outlines exactly that. Fruchter presents a number of reasons that lawyers turn to blogging, but he suggests that business development may be the most important purpose for blogging. With the deluge of new lawyer blogs, Fruchter believes it is “critical for any lawyer launching a blog to consider best practices that will set his or her blog apart from the pack.”
Fruchter presents four topics that a successful legal blogger should address. Specifically, a blawger should consider design, content, building links, and audience. Fruchter suggests that a prospective client will judge the appearance of a blawg much like s/he would “draw inferences about service quality from physical cues such as the appearance of a lawyer’s office or the quality of his or her stationery.” The goal should be to convey one’s professional image.
What will ultimately determine whether blawg visitors become loyal readers is a blawg’s content. Put simply, a blawg requires content and plenty of it. While it may sound daunting to an already overworked lawyer to have to post frequently, Fruchter points out that writing a blog post does not have to be terribly time-consuming. “As long as a post is well written and offers a nugget or two of wisdom and insight, a few paragraphs are adequate.” A post could be as simple as a link to an article from a major news source accompanied by a couple of paragraphs of commentary.
Fruchter outlines several strategies for finding good content to include on a legal blog. GoogleAlerts will send subscribers links to news articles containing keywords or key phrases that you specify. Similarly, Westlaw, Lexis, and FindLaw will send alerts regarding new decisions in a particular area of expertise. Blawgers frequently comment on material posted by other bloggers, so blogs written by other lawyers can be a great resource for material. Finally, there are numerous government sites that post press releases and other updates on new regulations, policies, and other developments.
In order to create a successful blawg, a writer should pay attention to search engines. The more websites that link to your blog, the higher you will be ranked on search engines. It is possible to increase these inbound links by adding other blogs to your blogroll. Another method that Fruchter describes is called “trackback.” This feature allows you to immediately notify another blog that you have linked to one of their posts.
With respect to a blawg’s audience, Fruchter comments that “the Internet is a viral medium whereby content that you publish can experience geometric distribution as each interested reader passes along a link to your content to friends and colleagues.” He recommends that a person promote their blawg by giving readers many options for subscribing to your posts, including RSS feeds and email updates.
In his article Fruchter gives many great suggestions for creating a maintaining a successful blog. If implemented, his ideas may be exactly what a blawg needs to stand out from the pack. Afterall, a blawg can only serve its purpose if it is read.
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1 comments:
Nice post, Jennifer. This raises several questions for me. First, I buy the argument that lawyers are motivated primarily by business development to create blogs, but is there any empirical evidence confirming that blogs actually increase business?
Second, I'm wondering if lawyers have ever gotten into trouble for (1) offering faulty legal advice on blogs that "clients" have relied on to their detriment or (2) articulating certain positions/opinions on blogs that have offended potential clients.
Third, I'm wondering how law firms feel about individual blogs by attorneys. Such blogs may ultimately enhance business development, but allowing an associate to speak on behalf of a firm may raise some controversial issues.
No need to respond (but feel free to do so if you'd like); these are just some questions to add to the discussion.
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