Build a blog, build a practice

Twitter and Facebook are great tools but to really get noticed, work on your blog.

By James Careless

Twitter and Facebook may be a useful part of the mix in social media marketing, but neither is a substitute for blogging. Blogs can still showcase a firm’s expertise in a more substantial way, serve as a repository of information, and can increase the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of the firm’s website. It is also a great way to exchange ideas on a particular issue, and for individual lawyers to create a public persona as experts in a particular field of law.

“Blogging is still a good way to get noticed and carve out a niche for yourself,” says Simon Fodden, publisher of the online legal magazine Slaw. “The blog is also a great marketing tool,” agrees Ontario Condo Law blog editor-in-chief Christopher J. Jaglowitz of Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP. “Most people with a legal problem use Google to search for resources, the answer or the right lawyer to help them with the problem, so plenty of people find me that way.”

TELUS Legal Services Senior Counsel Greg Gowe says his work in writing the Canadian Workplace Law blog provides an opportunity for him to keep close tabs on workplace law decisions by courts and human rights tribunals. So while as in-house counsel, his blogging isn’t for client development or marketing reasons, it is an enjoyable activity “and one that greatly assists me in my work.”

The key is to maintain a relevant, well-written, and regularly updated blog.

What to blog

Writing about an area of expertise keeps the blog personal, engaging and insightful.

Whether it is an “online legal magazine” like Slaw (www.slaw.ca) or a niche-oriented site such as Ontario Condo Law Blog (www.ontariocondolaw.com) or the Canadian Workplace Law blog (www.greggowe.com), legal blogs should highlight the writer’s area of expertise and provide readers with timely news, insights, tips and trends.

As far as readers are concerned, a blog’s value is based in the quality and timeliness of its information. It also helps if the blog is a reliable source for breaking news. “This is why I keep my ear to the ground for new and interesting news items, developments, legal cases or legislative changes,” says Jaglowitz. “I also use Twitter to follow other condo professionals and lawyers across Canada and the U.S.” When relevant, he compiles and then republishes the best tweets on his blog.

To keep www.greggowe.com current, “I regularly go to CanLII and other websites to review new decisions,” Gowe says. He tracks websites for rulings and positions on workplace law; such as those of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, federal Ministry of Labour, and provincial labour unions.

Keeping it fresh and current

To minimize the time spent chasing breaking news, “I use case law email alerts on Quicklaw and the new RSS features on CanLII so that cases with certain keywords are sent to me as soon as they’re published,” Jaglowitz says. “I also use Google Alerts for a constant feed of up-to-the-minute news stories, blog entries or other neat stuff online.”

Gowe says, “As in-house counsel, I also receive newsletters, bulletins and other publications across Canada and have the liberty to make reference to and/or link to these materials on my site.” For efficiency, he organizes the entries on his site “through tags, with four main categories: (a) topics (or subject matter); (b) year; (c) jurisdiction; and (d) sector.”

Fodden keeps Slaw topical by “reading other blogs, the newspaper, and doing the same sort of current awareness practice I’d do even if I didn’t have a blog ... Also your readers are often happy to keep you up to date, and that’s half the fun of blogging. Ideally, it's an interaction between blogger and commenter.”

The time commitment

Creating and maintaining a legal blog does require a substantial time commitment. Small wonder Fodden describes his blog as being “a labour of love”; an explanation echoed by Jaglowitz.

The time and effort, however, does translate into an effective form of “marketing and client development,” says Jaglowitz. To balance his blogging with his other work, “I docket most of my blog writing to help make sure that the time expenditure is proportionate to billable and other activities,” he explains. “Blog writing is also a creative outlet for me during downtime on the weekends. I don’t really consider it work.”

Blogging benefits

Blogs lend a credible web presence, offering a clear, consistent voice for your law practice and getting you known as the “goto” person in that field. It builds trust and visibility among your target clients, gives a human face to your organization and can be a means to distinguish your firm from the rest of the pack.

– Published in the July / August 2011 issue of the CBA's National Magazine.