In her article Women Lawyers Blog for Workplace Equality: Blogging as a Feminist Legal Method, 20 Yale J.L. & Feminism 357, Alison Stein outlined some of the latest blogging trends among female attorneys. She suggests that women lawyers with workplace grievances are turning to the blogosphere rather than the law to resolve their disputes. Blogging provides these women with a means to challenge gender bias in the profession, and it allows them to share the information they need to become better negotiators in the legal workplace. (362)

At first glance it is surprising that women who are trained in the law choose to resolve their own grievances outside the legal system. In many cases the workplace grievances held by women lawyers could in fact be addressed in a court of law. (368) Ms. Stein argues that there are four situations in particular where women attorneys may turn to blogging as an outlet. They are: (1) when there is recognition of the current law’s limited ability to vindicate rights; (2) when the grievance is born out of institutional bias and mindset; (3) when the grievance is nonlegal in character; and (4) when there is an appreciation for the anonymity of blogging and its reputation-protecting benefits. Blogging for any of these reasons may lead to change in the workplace and in the life of the blogger. The personal benefits of blogging range from networking, activism, and support, to concrete change in the blogger’s position in the workplace. (369)

Women attorneys may choose to blog about their grievances simply because it is easy. It is a low-cost, highly accessible, and safe way to advocate for their workplace rights. (389) In many cases women have formed online communities where they can seek out support and advice on the challenges they face. An important outlet for these discussions is the site Ms. JD. Launched in 2006, Ms. JD is a blog website aimed at women in the legal profession. (370) The sites founder Elizabeth Pederson explains that “[A] lot of women like myself are afraid to say what they think and don’t want to make waves. Lots of women have arguably been harassed and they don’t want to do anything that will hurt them professionally or lead to retaliation. But blogging allows them to start a conversation, and get connected to other women so they know they are not the only ones who have gone through something, and so they have ideas about how to approach the challenge.” (390)

If women lawyers blog because it is easy, then one should at least ask whether blogging is ultimately counter-productive. It is at least arguable that when women vent their frustrations online, the satisfaction they receive there may prevent them from being more actively involved in addressing women’s issues directly. Ms. Stein refutes this argument by explaining that in many cases bloggers are formulating their thoughts for the first time when they blog about these issues. By thinking, discussing, and writing about their challenges, they are laying a foundation that may still lead to a more activist role. Writers are not blogging in lieu of participating in a women’s organization or lobbying their representative. Ms. Stein suggests that blogging is a vehicle through which women may support and facilitate each other’s efforts to address women’s issues in the legal profession. (392)

Some women lawyers may turn to blogging precisely because they are so familiar with the legal system and its shortcomings. Ms. Stein points out that following the case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), conversations were rampant on Ms. JD precisely because women lawyers were concerned about how this legal development would affect their own workplace rights and environment. The concerns of women attorneys may have been heightened because the legal profession has long been notoriously male-dominated. (376)

In Ledbetter the Supreme Court recognized that the plaintiff had been a victim of pay discrimination based on gender. Nonetheless, the court held that she could not challenge this discrimination in court since more than 180 days had passed since the discrimination began. The plaintiff’s claim failed because she had been unaware of the gender discrimination during a large part of that time period. The result of this decision is that victims of pay discrimination that have no knowledge of the discrimination or that are initially too afraid to file a lawsuit, will be left without any remedy at law. (376) This puts potential plaintiffs in a predicament because they have limited time after they discover the discrimination in which to file a lawsuit. Moreover, workplace retaliation, including retaliation following a lawsuit filing, is not uncommon.

Ledbetter led to much discussion on the Ms. JD site. Women attorneys were understandably worried about their own experiences with unequal pay. Blogging provided a way that they could express their concerns without sparking retaliation against themselves. (377) Since the Ledbetter decision imposed a firm deadline on filing a discrimination action, blogging allowed female attorneys could articulate their thoughts and collect data from others as they considered whether any of their own experiences warranted a lawsuit. Ultimately, blogging has provided women attorneys a safe outlet for the discussion and these and numerous other issues. (378)

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.

Clorox Corporation is looking to hire an attorney to serve as their in-house social media legal specialist. The job title is: Corporate Counsel - Social Media/Talent Rights. You can view the job listing here. Shortly after the posting of this job listing, a number of blogs and websites, picked up the story -- with at least one even referring to the position as a "social media attorney."

It may seem surprising that a company that sells basic household cleaning products would need a dedicated social media lawyer to manage their online presence. Indeed, some might even find it surprising to learn that mass market consumer goods companies like Clorox are finding it beneficial to market their products via social media in the first place. But indeed, these companies are doing just that.

For example, a quick search for "clorox" on FaceBook revealed a fan page for Clorox Bleach with 20,000+ fans, and a page for Clorox Clean-Up with 45,000+ fans. Both fan pages appear to be operated by Clorox. Really, fans of bleach? What about laundry detergent? Absolutely! Tide has 320,000 fans. Seventh Generation has 32,000 fans. Although Cheer and Gain are absent, they probably are not too far behind. However, it seems worth noting that a few thousand fans, or even a few hundred thousand fans, are likely only a drop in the bucket for companies that sell millions of boxes of detergent yearly. That said, these companies are using social media, and Clorox has decided to hire in-house counsel to focus on overseeing their social media presence.

So what is a social media attorney? Reading through Clorox's job description reveals a few interesting points. First, not including the job title, the phrase "social media" only appears in the job description twice. Moreover, in both instances "social media" is used only to modify "advertising":

• Provide legal counsel to business partners on managing and securing advertising content, especially as it relates to social media and other Web 2.0 executions, TV and radio . . .
  
• . . . negotiating, securing and clearing intellectual property rights for advertising (including all forms of social media.

Second, the only substantive aspect of the job that seems to be uniquely related to online social media activities is the emphasis on consumer privacy and the collection of personally identifiable information. The posting list as one of the required responsibilities:

• Provide legal counsel regarding consumer privacy laws and issues, including those arising from collection and maintenance of personally identifiable information.

The rest of the job posting describes tasks related to traditional advertising and media matters, including guild related talent issues, contract negotiation, copyright, and trademark. It seems natural that a consumer products company's primary interest in social media is marketing its products to potential consumers. And for these companies, social media is principally a new channel for direct to consumer marketing and advertising. As such, it seems fair to expect that the legal issues presented to a "social media attorney" might principally be the same species of issues presented to an attorney specializing in more traditional forms of advertising and media.

If this is the case, then is it necessary or even accurate to call this position a "social media attorney"? Does the addition of social media into the catalog of communications technologies already overseen by media attorneys really necessitate Clorox adding the term "social media" to the job title? At least on blogger thinks that this might be going a little too far, even suggesting that Clorox's posting is more about hype and PR than it is about a substantively different type of law job: Clorox Gets a Social Media Attorney: AdAge Gets Misty.

However, putting cynicism aside, Clorox's posting does not seem substantively different from Sony Music looking for a "music licensing attorney" or Universal Pictures seeking a "film finance attorney." Comparatively, social media is just an area of specialization in the same way that music licensing and film finance are. And perhaps since social media is a relatively new phenomenon, presenting many novel legal issues, seeking specialized counsel is a prudent move for companies as they develop their social media presence.

At the very least, Clorox's perceived need for an in-house social media specialist shows that some mainstream corporations are taking social media very seriously. And for lawyers, any technology that has the potential to create new legal jobs in this bleak job market should be welcomed warmly in to our practices.

For an example of an attorney doing just that, take a look at Shear on Social Media Law.

Or at least, that’s the message over at Lexblog.com. LexBlog.com promotes the idea that it is essential for attorneys to sync up with blogging and other social media for business development. Lawyers that don’t jump onto this bandwagon may be left in the dust. This and similar philosophies of “self-promotion through social media” are prominent around the Internet. The message is convincing.

LexBlog is a social media company targeting attorneys through its extensive network and support system for legal bloggers. The website was initially launched in 2003 by trial attorney and founder Kevin O’Keefe. O’Keefe grew his own law practice with the help of the Internet. In the process he discovered that “creating a professional presence, staying at the top of search engines, and being viewed by influential readers require a team of people who had to deliver on a quality promise.”

This was the premise behind O’Keefe’s venture Prarielaw.com, which he launched out of his garage and then sold to LexisNexis in 2003. Today LexBlog aims to “embrace social media technology as a practice development tool for attorneys.” The network claims 3,000 authors and a 96 percent retention rate among subscribers, indicating that the premise that “Real Lawyers Have Blogs” has caught on.

LexBlog presents a number of reasons that lawyers should be blogging. To begin, blogging facilitates an attorney’s “word-of-mouth reputation” and “good lawyers get their best work by word-of-mouth.” Blogging is a networking tool, allowing attorneys to communicate with clients and potential clients. It allows attorneys to establish themselves as authorities on a subject, building their reputation and client trust. Blogs also build relationships with “influencers,” members of the media and other community members likely to offer attorneys speaking engagements and other opportunities.

There are numerous blogging resources that exist outside the legal realm. Of particular relevance to lawyers are advice websites for incorporating blogging into a business marketing strategy. The site blogforprofit.com is one such resource. Its focus is “Blog for Profit: Using a blog and social media to promote your business” and its offerings are highly relevant to business development for attorneys. The blog post “Boomers and Social Media – Are you where your potential customers are?” is one example.

LexBlog founder O’Keefe writes his own blog, aptly titled “Real Lawyers Have Blogs.” There he describes his motivation for running LexBlog as being fundamentally altruistic. He wants to help people get the help they need, help them build connections, help lawyers be better lawyers, and improve the image of the legal profession as a whole. To that end, O’Keefe posts volumes of material to help lawyers effectively tap into social media. Recent posts include:

• “How Can a Lawyer Increase the Size of Their Practice Through Blogging”
  
• “New legal ethics rules not required for Social Networking and Social Media”
• “How do blogs compare to websites in search results?”
  

Ultimately, O’Keefe’s mantra is convincing. The logic is straightforward. It directly follows that the more attorneys make use of this medium, the more essential it will become for lawyers young and old to jump on the blogosphere bandwagon. For now the notion that “Real Lawyers Have Blogs” seems to be increasingly true.

Currently law blogs are popping up everywhere, and many of them are bolstered by ties to reputable online networks and other legal organizations. LexBlog is one such network. Additionally, the ABA Journal maintains an extensive directory of law blogs on the web. In the last few years it released the ABA Journal Blawg 100, an annual list of its editors’ top 100 picks for the best legal blogs.


Similarly, Law.com offers another reputable source for legal bloggers, with a directory that links to over thirty blogs. SCOTUSblog offers comprehensive coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court. Academic institutions have also jumped on the blog bandwagon. King Hall recently joined in by launching its faculty blog.

This small sampling of legal blog resources demonstrates that currently “Many Lawyers Have Blogs.” Given that the qualifier “many” lawyers is quickly becoming “most” lawyers, perhaps O’Keefe is right. Perhaps real lawyers DO have blogs.