Home Office Lawyer

Problogger -- The Book

I read Problogger daily. And I read Chris Garrett also on a daily basis.

Well, now you can read something I am so excited about and actually already preordered. Problogger Book is coming and you can pre-order for a May delivery.

Everyone who blogs or is thinking of blogging should jump on this one. It will be the best $16.49 you will spend this year. You can pre-order the book by using my link to the left.

Linking Techniques for Bloggers

I know there are some of you just starting blogging and others who have been at it for a while. However, no matter who you are, Rent My Brain has a good post called Linking Techniques for Bloggers.

Go to the link and check it out. There is a nice video demonstration there to help.

Footnotes in a Legal Blog -- NO!!

NJ Family Legal Blog is a great family law blog which provides some good insight and information as it relates to family law in New Jersey.

However this morning in my RSS reader was a POST from them with actual footnotes in the post.

This was a first for me. I have not seen this before even in a legal blog. My first reaction was to unsubscribe and remove them from my RSS reader. And then I stopped myself. Then, I just wanted to know why do some lawyers feel the need to include footnotes in a blog post. Even if you target audience is fellow attorneys, why put footnotes in a post. I decided that perhaps the individual who wrote this post did not understand that no one wants to read a post with footnotes in it. Get a clue, this is a blog post, not a law review article. No one is going to be impressed you know how to footnote. And quite frankly, you most likely will turn your audience off.

"If something is so important that you think it needs a footnote, put it in the body of the text." Don't use footnotes.

Law blog design matters

Kevin O'Keefe recently had a great post which provided the results of a recent question and answer done by David Peralty, Head of Marketing at Splashpress Media, when they asks readers at The Blog Herald if it's important to have a powerful, beautiful or striking blog design when presenting what he describes as the ‘whole package’ in blogging.

The responses from readers were striking. Professional blog design was viewed as a necessity, especially when blogging as a professional, like you as a lawyer.

• Since the reader needs to be convinced to subscribe your blog, design is a very important matter. Looking at it from the readers point of view, ‘If you had to choose between two mobile phones with exactly the same features with one being stylish and the other looking like the work of an amateur - which would you choose?’ Design is added value with the result being more than the sum of its parts - design supports content and the other way round.
• If it is meant for commercial purpose, graphics play a big role.
• Though I may read blog posts in a newsreader, I need to come to the blog to subscribe, where if it looks good, I subscribe.
• Design matters to me when I read blogs. I generally read posts in my feed reader, but for two exceptions, one being to click through and read the posts directly on sites with great designs.
• As a designer, there’s no way I’d tell you design doesn’t matter. Think of it this way: A car’s purpose is to take you somewhere. But would you buy a rusted old car instead of a shiny new Prius?
• Think of it from a reader’s perspective. If I click on your blog and am put off by the overall look and feel of your site, I won’t return or subscribe. Content rules, yes, especially for your RSS readers, but design is like the PR guy who’s trying to get you to visit.
• It’s like judging a book by its cover. It could be either crap or a wonderful story inside, but if the cover doesn’t catch my attention, I’m not going to pick it up in the first place. When I’m flipping through random sites or clicking through links of links of links…..I skim right by those that don’t look great. I have to actually force myself to skim through text on blogs, for example, that are hosted on Blogger and use one of the default templates…and still have the random default spots unfilled like ‘put links here’ and ‘This is your about me section,’ etc.
• I just spent about $5,000 to upgrade Smallbiztechnology.com’s interface and move to Movable type - one of the best investments I’ve done! Traffic is up and more!
• The user experience is primarily made up of four factors: branding, usability, functionality andcontent. Independently, none of these factors make for a positive user experience; however, together, these factors are the main ingredients for the blog’s success.

I have always been on the position that it is important for a business, any business to have a blog that is professionally designed. Your web presence is important to you and you should look your best when visitors come to your blog. First impressions are important. You don't want your readers questioning your professionalism due to an design that does not present well.

Source for Post Real Lawyers :: Have Blogs.

Martindale-Hubbell's value to Solos?

Kevin O'Keefe at Lexblog had a post today called, Martindale-Hubbell's value to law firms in steep decline. Quite frankly I have never really thought M&H provided any value to the solo. Perhaps its only value would be to the good old boy network. Publishing a well designed and maintained blog will do a Solo more good and give you a higher return on your investment than wasting money on a listing in M&H. If you have a different take on the value provided to the Solo, please enlighten me.

Home Office Lawyer and the ABA 100 Best Websites

Home Office Lawyer has made the ABA Journal's 100 best websites for lawyers. The ABA Journal is inviting its readers to vote for their favorite legal blogs in a dozen categories. I am asking my readers to use the link in the sidebar or in this post and vote. And thanks to the ABA for the honor of being included.

Blogging gets you exposure

Victor Medina, a fellow blogger and publisher of Victor Medina's Small Business and Solo Law Practice was recently feature in a good article in the Princeton Business Journal called Blogging for Fun and Profit. From the article:

When Victor Medina first began building his solo law practice, he decided to start a blog to serve as a diary of the ups and downs of his progress, something he could go back to and reflect on should he choose to. ”As I started to put that out there, I started to notice that other people were interested in it and found value,” said Mr. Medina, a partner in the Pennington law firm Medina, Martinez & Castroll, LLC. Readers of his blog — the term is short for Web log — were interested not only in his legal musings but also in hearing from someone else who was attempting to start and run a small business, Mr. Medina said. So he kept at it, regularly updating his “Small Business & Solo Law Practice” blog. Today, Mr. Medina regularly keeps up his first blog, and three others, each dealing with a specialty of his law firm: family law, education law and estate law.

The articles also features others. Take a look. And consider what a blog can do for your public relations.

Build A Solo Practice, LLC

One of my favorite blogs, Build A Solo Practice, LLC just turned one year old. To celebrate the big event, Susan did a complete redesign or facelift of her blog. I have to say, it looks just wonderful. Easy to read. Easy to find what you are looking for and the layout is just great. What is really exciting, Susan has included in her new design a sign up for the Solo Practice University E-zine. I signed up for the E-Zine and if the rest of the offerings are as good as the first, this is going to be an excellent source of information too. If you don't have Build a Solo Practice, LLC in your RSS reader, you need to have your head examined. This is truly one of the best blogs out there which provides timely and helpful information on "how to create and grow your legal practice."

Blawg Review #132 -- Home Office and Solo’s

A number of months ago, I requested and was accepted to host this blog review. In this Blawg Review, I tried to collected post from blogs relating to or from those that work in a home office or are in solo practice. Or as some would call, independent practitioner.

One thing I have discovered over the last few years, and especially since I started to publish this blog in March, 2005 is this. Solo’s, independent practitioners, those that practice law from a home office tend to be innovative. We tend to be out in front. If for no other reason we have no one to answer to. We are the partnership committee. We are the marketing committee and we are the technology committee. For that reason, we tend to adopt new advances in those areas, dare I say, quicker.

And as Carolyn Elefant at My Shingle mentioned in her great post “Solos Practice Longer... But for Love or For Money?“, “one of the benefits of running your own firm is that you don't have a committee forcing you to retire. Perhaps that's why some of the oldest practicing lawyers are those who work for themselves.“

Tim Abbott over at Walking the Berkshires tells us about One for the ages: Catherine Roraback. Cahterine, who recently passed away at the age of 87, was still representing clients. She was a country lawyer, but earlier in her career she was involved in the landmark case Griswold vs. Connecticut.

Not only can we practice as long as we want, and take the clients we want. We can practice law when and where we want. Brett Trout tells us to Do Nothing - Be More Productive. Brett, who needed to get things done, decided to get away from the office. So he hopped on a plane and spent a few days at the beach working. Brett says that, “without any interruptions, the time passed quickly and efficiently.“ I just have to wonder what a senior partner might have said if some associate would have asked to go to the beach so he could get some work done.

Over at f/k/a we see a great post from David Glacalone called, The End of Lawyers? or The Cartel’s Last Stand. David gives us some great suggestions for books we have to read. The general theme is “the future of law”. I for one will enjoy watching whether the predictions actually do come to fruition. But, what will be even more interesting will be if it does happen, who will survive such a change. Will it be those who can accept the change and adjust to it, or not.

And speaking of innovation, what about “Using Blogs as Marketing Tools”? Jay Fleischman at the Bankruptcy Practice Pro reminds us just how many advantages we do get with blogging. And as a home office lawyer or solo, what better way to network with other home office lawyers or solos?

Than again, we could not mention blogging and not mention Rick Georges’ post at the Futurelawyer called “First Amendment Rights in the BlogoSphere.” While some may want to fight a defamation case that springs from Internet postings. Some are wanting to limit the establishment of blogs. Take a look at Rick’s post. It certainly caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

Least we forget a couple of others about blogging. Jim Calloway's Practice Tips mention of the ABA’s 50 Ways to Market Your Practice. A list which was directed to the solo and/or small firm.

Above the Law did not do the Solo and/or small firm any favors with its post about the 50 Ways List. And, Above the Law did mention my own post about the 50 Ways List where I questioned why blogging was not mentioned.

And for a second time in Blawg Review #132, My Shingle is featured with her own reaction to the Above the Law post when she states, Solos Aren’t Simpletons When It Comes to Marketing.

Susan Cartier Liebel publisher of the wonderful blog Build A Solo Practice, LLC ask the question, “Can Saying “I’m Sorry” to a Client Create More Income For You?

Michael Sherman at Lawyer Profit Systems give us some traits or behaviors that a solo lawyer needs in a post called, “For Growth You Need More and Less.”

In addition to those mentioned above, there are some great blogs out there from solo’s and home office lawyers. They include, but are not limited to the following:

The MacLawyer, TechnoEsq, The Practice Blog, Home Office Envy, Chuck Netwon, Rides the Third Wave, Solo in Chicago, Victor Medina’s Small Business and Solo Law Practice Blog.

I know I missed some. Get me your URL and I will put up another list of solo and home office lawyer blogs soon. However, until than, Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions on how to get your blog posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

Home Office Lawyer is Hosting Blawg Review

We will be hosting Blawg Review #132 next week. Please submit your post for our consideration HERE.

I would like to get as many post from those who practice from a home office and from Solo’s as I can. So, please send them along. This should be a lot of fun and I look forward to reviewing all the post you all submit.