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    Why Do You Blog? 23 Lawyers Weigh In

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      Blogging means different things to different people but I’m less interested in narrowly defining blogging, than examining why lawyers blog. So I went to the source and asked: “Why do you blog?” Twenty-three lawyers responded, some of whom have been at it for a very long time.
      Several have their own practice or are part of a larger firm. Many still maintain their blog, while some write for other blogs. Topics range from their area of legal expertise to other interests like technology and practice management. But these blogging lawyers all have one thing in common: they write with passion and purpose. Business development doesn’t drive their writing. These lawyers blog because they love to write and share their knowledge, experience, and passions.
      So, why do you blog?

      Ben Stevens

      I blog because it helps me stay abreast of developments and because I see it as a way of giving something back to the legal community. To me, the business development and notoriety are just icing on the cake, and I believe that I would continue to blog if those did not exist, as they certainly didn’t when I started.
      Twitter

      Bob Ambrogi

      My blog differs from many legal blogs in its purpose. I do not blog about my practice area, but about something that interests me, legal technology. I started my blog in 2002 as a supplement to a book I published about the best websites for lawyers. I immediately realized that a blog was a far better medium than a book for keeping up with the rapidly changing landscape of the legal web and legal technology. Twelve years later, I’m still at it, in part because of my interest in the topic and in part because I simply enjoy the writing.
      Blog | Twitter
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      Daniel Gershburg

      You (I) initially begin to blog because ‘it’s going to lead to business’. When you realize that’s the worst reason to blog, you begin to write out of enjoyment and love of the subject matter. That’s when you really begin blogging and using your voice to produce content that has value to your audience. That’s what real blogging is.
      Blog | Twitter

      David Lat

      Why should lawyers blog? Because they can’t not blog. After I gave an interview to the New Yorker magazine revealing myself as the pseudonymous author of Underneath Their Robes, I shut down the blog in order to keep my day job as a federal prosecutor. But I soon learned that I missed blogging too much — which led me to leave the U.S. Attorney’s Office for full-time blogging and eventually launch Above the Law. So even though there are all sorts of practical benefits to blogging, in terms of networking and business development, I say you should blog because you love it — and because you’d feel unfulfilled if you didn’t.
      Blog | Twitter

      Eric B. Meyer

      I blog because I could only fit 140 characters into a tweet. Well, that, I like to write (oftentimes with snark, which I can’t do in a pleading), and some other employment-law bloggers encouraged me to blog too.
      Blog | Twitter

      Eric Turkewitz

      I write because I enjoy writing. Any other reason is foolish, and will result in the production of dreck.
      Blog | Twitter

      Ernest Svenson

      I blog because it helps me organize my thinking about topics that I care about. Knowing that I’m going to post something for the general public encourages me to analyze my mental musings more carefully than I otherwise would. Plus, I’ve met some of the most amazing people in the world by having a blog, the more I blog the more I meet!
      Blog | Twitter

      Gerry Oginski

      It’s one of the best ways to teach and educate your ideal clients and consumers. It’s easy. Plus, it makes you a better lawyer.
      Blog | Twitter

      Jay Fleischman

      When you can explain a concept clearly, your own understanding of the subject matter increases exponentially. That’s why I blog – to teach as well as to learn.
      Blog | Twitter

      Jeff Richardson

      I blog for two reasons. First, I really enjoy it. iPhoneJD.com is a blog about iPhones and iPads, and since I enjoy using tech, researching and writing articles for the blog gives me an excuse to learn more about products that I already love. Second, blogging helps me to create connections with many other lawyers — both passionate users of Apple technology who share my interests, and more casual users who I enjoy helping to make the most of their technology — and thus is a way both to make new friends and also to have lots of interesting conversations.
      Blog | Twitter

      Jeffrey Taylor

      I write blog posts because they give me a creative outlet and a chance to research areas of information I’m not often involved in.
      Blog | Twitter

      Jennifer Ellis

      To me, blogging is a way to share knowledge. Sometimes that knowledge is my own, sometimes it is information from some other blog or article that I read and found interesting. But fundamentally, my goal is to write something that will educate the people who read it.
      Blog | Twitter

      Jordan Furlong

      I write because I keep seeing such extraordinary and significant things happening in the legal market, and I’m compelled to share what I see with anyone who’s interested. But I learned that you can’t deliver new ideas from old platforms that were designed to serve entrenched interests: you need independence to say what you want, accessibility to get started, distribution to build an audience, and transparency to build trust. Most importantly, you need to sharpen your analysis, constantly. The blogosphere is the new marketplace of informed opinion: a vast, diverse readership that will sample, study, and sometimes savage your work, forcing you to continuously improve your game. Blogging enables better writing, better reading, and better thinking.
      Blog | Twitter

      Lee Rosen

      Blogging is a total chick magnet. That’s my motivation. Okay, just kidding. I blog because it gives me that good feeling of being generous plus it makes me new friends, brings me new clients and motivates me to keep learning.
      Blog | Twitter

      Lisa Solomon

      I started blogging to kick-start the search engine ranking for the website of my coaching and consulting practice, Legal Research & Writing Pro, which I launched in 2006. I continue to blog because it helps me maintain my position as an expert on the subject of domestic outsourcing for solo and small firm lawyers.
      Blog | Twitter

      Niki Black

      My goal when I started Sui Generis in 2005 continues to be my goal to this day: to showcase my writing and analytical thinking skills, write about areas that pique my interest and about which I have a passion, and share and discuss my thoughts with like-minded colleagues.
      Blog | Twitter

      Omar Ha-Redeye

      Educating the public about our legal system, how it works and why it is important, is part of my professional responsibility. By blogging responsibly I demonstrate that in most cases our laws are highly effective and a preferred means to resolve conflict. As legal fees are often unaffordable for many vulnerable segments of society, providing legal information online for free is an excellent means for facilitating access to justice. My participation as a lawyer also means that I am showing the public that we are actually here to assist them, and hopefully this improves the public perception of our profession.
      Blog | Twitter

      Richard Granat

      Blogging for me is a way to amplify the story I want to tell around the subjects that interest me: access to justice and legal technology; regulation of the legal profession; innovation and the delivery of legal services.
      Blog | Twitter

      Ruth Carter

      About half of my new clients find me because of my blog. It gives me a way to showcase my knowledge in my practice areas as well as my personality so when clients meet with me they already have confidence that I can help them with their specific problem.
      Blog | Twitter

      Sam Glover

      I blog because writing is just something I am compelled to do, and a blog let’s me do it on my own terms.
      Blog | Twitter

      Stephanie Kimbro

      Blogging is a way for me to archive my own knowledge about legal technology, practice management and ethics topics. When I write out news and opinions in a blog post, I learn and remember the material better and am able to return to those posts later as reference points for my work.
      Blog | Twitter

      Susan Cartier Liebel

      While there are multiple channels to express oneself, blogging remains the only social media platform which allows you to give depth and breadth to your ideas in words, pictures and video, to fully flesh out your thoughts on a given topic, and then allow others to engage in a meaningful way while still maintaining control. If you blog on your own platform, you can preserve the content, distribute as you like…even remove if necessary.
      Blog | Twitter

      Tom Mighell

      The main reason I blog is to share information with people – specifically, to help inform lawyers about technology, and how they can use it to improve the way they provide services to their clients. I had a weekly newsletter on internet legal research that I published for 6-7 years, but I find the blogging platform is so much more efficient, serving as a centralized hub of my content. If I had a “do-over” on career choices, I might have been a teacher – which is why I like educating lawyers on issues that are outside of their normal areas of expertise.
      Blog | Twitter
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      And there you have it – from lawyers across the spectrum – on what drives them to blog. Also, another common theme emerged: these lawyers not only informed their colleagues, legal professionals, and others with their writing, they educated themselves during the process.
      Inspiring!
      If you’re a blogging lawyer, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below on why you blog.

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