Blawg Review: Real Lawyers Review

Real Lawyers Have Blogs, by leading law blogger Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog, hosts this week's Blawg Review #125.

In a marked departure from the traditional blog carnival format, Kevin takes a pass on the submissions and recommendations of the real lawyers who have blogs to provide a look into the minds of non-legal bloggers and reformed lawyers where he finds guidance for those in the legal profession who want to learn how to blog better. Here's a snippet, to which this editor has added some links to examples from real lawyers who have blogs:

A former attorney, Brian Clark now works as an Internet marketing strategist and content developer. Aside from his consulting work, Brian runs Copyblogger, providing tips for successful online marketing.
To be a successful lawyer, the art of persuasion is a necessary trait. Why limit that too the courtroom? In his 5 Immutable Laws of Persuasive Blogging, Brian gives tips for gaining influence in the blogosphere.

The Law of Value: Your blog must provide value to the reader by addressing a problem, concern, desire, or need that the reader already has. Fresh, original content is critical.

See this post, for example: "Conflict Avoidance: Social Obligations, Larry David and Shame" by Victoria Pynchon at Settle It Now.

The Law of Headlines and Hooks: Your post titles must stand out in a crowded, noisy blogosphere, and you must quickly communicate the value of reading further with your opening.

"Iowa's Toughest Attorney Seeks Match" shouts the headline of Rush Nigut's latest post at Rush On Business.

The Law of “How To": People don’t want to know “what” you can do, they want to know “how” it’s done. If you think you’re giving away too much information, you’re on the right track.

Steven Eversole, at the Alabama DUI & Criminal Defense Law Blog, has this advice how to respond if you're getting arrested on a DUI in Alabama.

The Law of the List: Love them or hate them, informational posts presented in list format are easily digestible, and allow for an efficient transfer of your value proposition to the reader.

Again from Victoria Pynchon, this time writing at the IP ADR Blog, "On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog: Negotiating the Settlement of Your IP Dispute".

The Law of the Story: Stories are the most persuasive blogging element of all, as they allow you to present a problem, the solution, and the results, all while the connotation of the story allows readers to sell themselves on what you have to offer.

Take this pitch by Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity, who titles his latest post "what baseball stadiums can teach law firms about client experience management".

With the success of Blawg Review over the past one hundred and twenty-five issues, I'm often asked if I'd do anything differently if I were starting this project today. And you know what? It would have been better, perhaps, if I'd known Kevin O'Keefe then and had been able to excite the folks at LexBlog about getting involved with the design of this blog and marketing the project. They do exceptional work, and would be a wise choice for any lawyer or law firm thinking seriously about publishing a weblog. That said, I'd probably want to have done a better job than I have, apparently, communicating what Blawg Review is all about.

A review of who's who in the LexBlogosphere indicates the following excellent examples of Blawg Review hosted on law blogs developed by LexBlog.

For example, Blawg Review #6 by David Swanner at the South Carolina Trial Law Blog. This week, Swanner reviews the iPod iTouch, Apple's iPhone without the phone, and explains his decision to go with the Toshiba R500 Laptop.

And see also, Blawg Review #108 by Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity.

Most recently, Blawg Review #117 was hosted by Jamie Spencer at Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer. This week, Jamie has an interesting post about Caffeine vs. Marijuana.

Upcoming issues of Blawg Review are scheduled to be hosted at these fine LexBlog law blogs: