Why Do Lawyers Blog?

David Ventker
There are many reasons for lawyers and law firms to take up blogging. When the trend started, most lawyers (and the ubiquitous marketing consultants who seem to know a lot about the legal business though they’ve never practiced law or even hired a lawyer) believed, or at least hoped, blogging would drive new clients to their doors in exchange for very little effort. Indeed, for a few lawyers and law firms, this proves to be true (except for the effort required – it can be substantial). Some attorneys with niche practices, or who cater to individuals who don’t regularly consume legal services, use blogging and other internet mediums to successfully drive new clients to their doors by providing useful, beneficial information to prospective clients who are in many instances seeking legal counsel for the first and (they hope) last time in their lives.

The vast majority of lawyers start blogging with high hopes, but then lose interest when the effort proves to be unsuccessful in generating an immediate influx of new clients, or when they get busy with the actual work of practicing law, or raising families, or (you name the distraction). A meaningful blog requires discipline and creativity, but most importantly, it requires the lawyer actually has something to say that other people want to read.

There are many of us who believe that law is a profession, and that we are privileged to be listed among the members of the bar. We serve our clients, plain and simple. We did not become lawyers to get rich (jokes about plumbers notwithstanding, selling stock or used cars is often more lucrative than practicing law). Done right, practicing law is hard work, and earning a good living is what comes naturally from doing the work and doing it well. This becomes increasingly challenging as law schools charge higher and higher tuition to churn out more and more lawyers who are competing for fewer and fewer jobs, but is still the truth.

Our hope in including a blog on our website is to provide useful (or maybe amusing) information that others will enjoy reading. We will not talk about ourselves and we will not talk about our clients. We will try to keep the blog up to date and write about things we find interesting, or that we believe will be useful to you. That’s it – no other promises. Well, one more: if we find we are overwhelmed by the actual work of practicing law, or raising our families or (you name the distraction), we’ll take the blog down so you don’t stumble across old, outdated information of no possible benefit to anyone.