LinkedIn & Blogs for Lawyers:

Building High Value Relationships in a Digital Age

Adrian Dayton

Amy Knapp

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Adrian Dayton is an attorney licensed to practice in the state of New York, although

most of his time is spent writing, speaking, and consulting. As a speaker on the topic of

social media, he has given keynote speeches all over the world, from Melbourne,

Australia, for the Law Institute of Victoria, to Toronto, Canada, for the Toronto Legal

Marketing Association, and San Francisco for the LMA Technology Conference. His first

book, Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition (ARK 2009), has been published

internationally and he is currently a weekly columnist for The National Law Journal, as

well as a writer at his blog http://adriandayton.com. Adrian's passion is consulting

through Adrian Dayton and Associates, where he has spent the last two years training and

helping some of the largest and most respected law firms in the United States and

Australia with their digital media strategy. He currently lives in Amherst, New York,

with his wife Natalie and son Taylor.

Amy Knapp is a marketing and business development strategist with more than twenty

years' experience working for professional services firms, the last ten years exclusively

with lawyers and law firms. Amy helps craft strategic positioning and innovative

business development programs for clients ranging from boutique firms to the AmLaw

200. She also writes regularly and is frequently asked to speak to law firms and

organizations like the ALA and LMA on strategic business development topics. Amy‘s

extensive experience with coaching attorneys on business development skills recently led

her to a passionate appreciation of social media as a powerful tool in this area. Over the

past two years, she has helped hundreds of lawyers and law firms to integrate social

media (including LinkedIn and blogs) into their business development efforts. Amy lives

in suburban Washington, D.C., and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with her architect

husband Larry, son Abe, and cranky parrot, Dewey.

Table of Contents

PART 1: LINKEDIN 15

INTRODUCTION 12

Why LinkedIn? 12

Why Blogs? 12

Why Amy and Adrian? 13

How the Book Is Set Up 13

CHAPTER 1: Why LinkedIn for Lawyers? 18

1.1 Overview 18

1.2 LinkedIn & Lawyers: Like Milk and Cookies 18

1.3 World‘s Biggest Stack of Business Cards! 19

1.4 How the LinkedIn Network Works 20

CHAPTER 2: Succeeding at Business Development with LinkedIn 22

2.1 Overview 22

2.2 An Associate Builds a Book of Business 22

2.3 The Power of a Group 23

2.4 The Gift that Kept on Giving 24

2.5 The Right Thirty-eight People 25

CHAPTER 3: Developing a LinkedIn Strategy and Plan 28

3.1 Overview 28

3.2 LinkedIn Strategy Worksheet 28

3.3 Translating Your Worksheet to Your Profile 29

CHAPTER 4: Your Profile as a Platform – The Basics 32

4.1 Overview 32

4.2 ―Title‖ Does Not Mean Job Title! 33

4.3 Website and Blog 33

4.4 Personalized URL 34

4.5 Summary 35

4.6 Experience 37

4.7 Recommendations 37

4.8 Interests 37

CHAPTER 5: Creating a Strategic Profile – Demonstrating Expertise 40

5.1 Overview 40

5.2 Enrich Your Profile with LinkedIn Applications 40

5.3 Most Popular Attorney Applications 42

5.4 Events 43

5.5 Legal Updates 44

5.6 Blog Link and Wordpress 44

5.7 Box.net Files 44

5.8 Google Presentation and SlideShare 44

5.9 Tweets 45

5.10 Reading List by Amazon 45

5.11 Company Buzz 45

CHAPTER 6: Keep It Fresh with Advanced Applications Strategies 46

6.1 Overview 46

6.2 Reorder Your Profile 46

6.3 Reorder Your Apps 47

6.4 Change It Up 47

CHAPTER 7: Build Your Network 50

7.1 Overview 50

7.2 Import your Outlook Contacts to LinkedIn 51

7.3 Who Warrants an Invite? 52

7.4 Best Practices for Network Maintenance 54

7.5 Search and Join Groups 54

7.6 Make the Invitation Work for You 55

CHAPTER 8: Posts - Express Yourself on LinkedIn 56

8.1 Overview 56

8.2 How to Write LinkedIn Posts 57

8.3 Be Interesting and Achieve Your Goals 58

8.4 Ideas for Posts 59

CHAPTER 9: Listen and Engage 62

9.1 Overview 62

9.2 Weekly LinkedIn Email 62

9.3 Your LinkedIn Home Page 63

9.4 Participating in LinkedIn Groups 63

9.5 Group Discussion Topics 66

9.6 LinkedIn Questions and Answers 66

LINKEDIN 201:

Business Development Strategies 67

CHAPTER 10: LinkedIn Business Development—Introductions 70

10.1 Network Size: It Gets You in the Game 70

10.2 Network Strength: Employ the Power of Introductions 70

10.3 What to Do If LinkedIn Says You‘ve Run Out of Introductions 71

10.4 Introduction Etiquette 72

CHAPTER 11: LinkedIn Business Development—Connections, Events, and Posts

74

11.1 Overview 74

11.2 Connections: As Plain as the Nose on Your Face 74

11.3 Events: Exponentially Increase Conference Results 75

11.4 Strategic Use of Posts and Comments 75

CHAPTER 12: LinkedIn Business Development—Groups 78

12.1 Overview 78

12.2 Starting a LinkedIn Group 79

12.3 How to Use LinkedIn‘s Follow Feature 80

CHAPTER 13: LinkedIn Business Development: Strategic Targeting 82

13.1 Overview 82

PART 2: THE LAW BLOG 84

TO BLOG: Understand What You‘re Getting Yourself Into 86

CHAPTER 14: What Is the Focus of Your Blog? 88

14.1 Overview 88

14.2 Push versus Pull 88

14.3 Pick Your Target Carefully 89

CHAPTER 15: Writing a Blog Proposal 92

15.1 Overview 92

CHAPTER 16: How to Start a Blog (Technically Speaking) 96

16.1 Overview 96

16.2 The Simple and Free Blog 96

16.3 Professionally Designed and Hosted Blog 97

16.5 Premium Blogs 98

16.6 Who Owns the Blog, You or Your Firm? 98

CHAPTER 17: Personal Law Blog vs. the Group Law Blog 100

17.1 Overview 100

17.2 The Personal Law Blog 100

17.3 The Group Law Blog 100

17.4 Pros and Cons of Each 100

17.5 Can I Hire Someone to Write My Blog? 102

CHAPTER 18: A Simple Guide to Writing Blog Posts 104

18.1 Overview 104

18.2 How Do I Publish My First Blog Post? 105

CHAPTER 19: Promoting your Blog 108

19.1 Overview 108

19.2 Email Announcement/Signature Line 108

19.3 Share on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook 108

19.4 Join Groups on LinkedIn and Share Your Articles within the Group 109

19.5 Upload to JDSupra and Share through Legal Updates 110

19.6 Share Your Article on Legal OnRamp or Martindale Hubbell Connected 111

19.7 Send your New Article to Your Top Prospects in a Personalized Email. 111

19.8 Create a Monthly e-Newsletter 112

19.9 Give Your Article or White Paper Away as an Opt-in 112

19.10 Print out Your Article or Post and Give It Away When You Speak, in Exchange

for a Business Card 112

CHAPTER 20: Understanding the Story of Your Google Analytics 114

20.1 Overview 114

20.2 Unique Visitors 115

20.3 Bounce Rate 116

20.4 Time on Site 116

20.5 Traffic Sources 116

20.6 Which Content Is the Most Popular? 117

20.7 Search Engine Optimization ―SEO‖ and How Are People Finding Me? 118

CHAPTER 21: Other Metrics that Show Your Blog Is Succeeding 120

21.1 Overview 120

21.2 New Followers/Connections 121

21.3 Opt-in 121

21.4 Feedback 122

21.5 Emails/Phone Calls 123

21.6 Appointments 123

21.7 New Clients 123

CHAPTER 22: Making the Blog Work for You 126

22.1 Overview 126

22.2 Motivation 126

22.3 Building an Editorial Calendar 126

22.4 Organization 127

22.5 Overcoming Fear 127

CHAPTER 23: The ROI of Blogging: Will Your Blogging Efforts Be Worth It? 130

23.1 Overview 130

23.2 Interviews 130

12

INTRODUCTION

In 2007, Lehman Brothers collapsed. Soon after that, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley,

AIG, and a number of other mega-institutions would have followed suit but for the

government of the United States stepping in to bail them out. This whole period of time

created a lot of uncertainty for the market. It doesn‘t take an economist to appreciate that

risk and uncertainty make investors uncomfortable.

When investors are uncomfortable, they keep a significant portion of their money on the

sidelines, waiting for the moment or the signal showing that the time is right. Economists

refer to this as a coordination failure; the economy appears to be stuck in a recession not

because there isn‘t money available, but because everybody is waiting for the green light

that indicates the bull market has returned, that it is safe to put your money back into

play.

The attitudes of lawyers toward social media show a similar coordination failure. Even

though more than 100 million professionals now use LinkedIn, even though 51.4% of

corporate counsel will think twice before hiring a lawyer who lacks a credible online

presence (http://www.bticonsulting.com/PDFs/BTI_How_Clients_Hire_2011.pdf), and

even though in a 2010 survey, 43 % of in-house counsel cited law blogs as among their

―go-to‖ sources for news, many lawyers are still on the sidelines. They are waiting for a

signal; they want to know the time is right. Well, let me be the first to tell you, the time is

right, and we're eager to help you get started.

Why LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is used by executives from every Fortune 500 company in the United States.

Seven out of ten in-house counsel use LinkedIn as a tool and half of those rely on it to

make hiring decisions (same BTI survey listed above). LinkedIn has become the de facto

online social network for professionals. We find it ironic that many lawyers suddenly

paid attention when LinkedIn went public, but more than anything this solidifies its place

among professionals for online connecting.

The other reason we are writing about LinkedIn is because it seems to receive significant

media attention. In a recent article we wrote together for The National Law Journal, we

explained ―5 tips lawyers don‘t know about LinkedIn‖ (http://bit.ly/rpa7yk). To be

honest, Adrian was pretty skeptical that it would be a successful article. LinkedIn has

been around forever; aren‘t people sick of hearing about it? It turns out, not at all. It was

one of the most-read articles of the entire month at The National Law Journal and it was

Adrian's most-read column of all time. We always tell lawyers to give their clients what

they want. It turns out lawyers want better information about LinkedIn.

Why Blogs?

13

There is nothing new about blogs. Some argue that law blogs in particular are dead. They

claim we are better off asking questions on Quora, discussing issues on the new Google+,

and sharing via Twitter and LinkedIn groups. The people suggesting this are not paying

attention to the statistics, especially among large law firms. This past year, there has been

an explosion in blogging among the AmLaw 100. Whereas they had approximately 130

total law blogs in the fall of 2010, just eight months later, in June 2011, this had grown to

270 (http://adriandayton.com/amlaw100blogs).

Blogs are a home base for all your social media efforts. Twitter and LinkedIn are both

instantaneous, and old discussions are soon forgotten. Great blog content can live forever

in your site and bring you continuous traffic from searches on Google, Bing, or Yahoo, as

well as traffic in the form of referrals from other sites. The other aspect of blogs that

makes them so powerful is that they have a tremendous leveling effect. In the old days,

you needed to drive a certain car, have a membership at the right club, and have the Park

Avenue address to attract great clients. Now you are judged by the quality of what you

have to say online. The law blog can be a great place to make that impression on others.

Why Amy and Adrian?

Amy Knapp is an expert in business development strategies for law firms from boutique

to AmLaw 200 firms. A significant part of Amy‘s practice is coaching attorneys in

business development skills, which led her to explore social media as a business

development tool. Over the last two years, she has been called on to teach and train firms

in social media strategies, blog development, and effectively develop LinkedIn strategies.

Adrian is an attorney and social media evangelist, and since writing his first book, Social

Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition, he has had the opportunity to speak to lawyers all

over the world and has worked for the past two years consulting to some of the largest

and most respected law firms in the United States and Australia on how to use social

media to develop business. Adrian writes a weekly column on social media for The

National Law Journal and is a monthly contributor to the BigLaw newsletter for

TechnoLawyer.

How the Book Is Set Up

There are no prerequisites to this book; it is written to help any professional start from the

very beginning. Each chapter builds on the last, and while you are welcome to skip ahead

if you are a savvy user of both LinkedIn and blogs, you may enjoy the stories and case

studies that are woven throughout the book.

Book One is the LinkedIn section, and throughout it you will hear the narrative voice of

Amy Knapp. Book Two has a focus on blogging strategies and there you will hear the

voice of Adrian Dayton. We have co-written many of the chapters, but we thought this

would be an effective way to share with you our ideas, injected with a healthy dose of our

personalities.

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We have included short assignments and checklists of practical applications with both

LinkedIn and blogging. While you are doing them, ask yourself, ‖Which of these tactics

could I use on a regular basis to build relationships with my existing clients and which

could I use to make new connections? Our hope is that this book will lead you to a

personal plan of social media action that will change the way you look at marketing and

lead you to new behaviors that will bring greater business development success.

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CHAPTER 4: Your Profile as a Platform — The Basics

4.1 Overview

Several years ago when LinkedIn was just gaining popularity, I was encouraging an

attorney client to target her LinkedIn Profile – particularly the title – which is what is

most visible to those who are using the search function or who might be browsing

Contacts of Contacts (think friends of friends). She listed her title as Owner at the Smith

Jones Law Firm, no doubt because she was proud of just having been made partner. I

pointed out that she was a Family Law and Divorce Attorney with expertise in a

particular North Carolina county. If she was on LinkedIn to meet potential clients,

wouldn‘t it make sense to let them know what she did? Even when I showed her how this

could benefit her, I couldn‘t convince her at the time. Today, I‘m happy to see that it says

―Experienced domestic relations attorney in _________, North Carolina.‖

Why do attorneys as a group tend to want to be as broad and general as possible in their

marketing? Both firms and individuals resist stating what they do and for whom, for fear

of excluding someone who isn‘t their ideal client, anyway. If you have any hope of

creating a dynamic and effective LinkedIn Profile, you‘re going to need to resist that

urge!

Here‘s how you‘ll know that you created a strategic LinkedIn Profile. Your ideal client,

who has never heard of you before, stumbles upon your LinkedIn Profile and says,

―Eureka! It‘s as if this attorney is speaking directly to my needs!‖

SIDEBAR 3: Search Rules

There are several simple steps that everyone can and should take to ensure that they

maximize their LinkedIn ―findability,‖ both in external searches (like Google or Bing)

and internal searches that are performed within LinkedIn itself.

The most searchable fields5 in your LinkedIn Profile are:

Name

Title

Public Profile

Summary

Specialties

In order to harness the power of LinkedIn‘s searchability for yourself, refer back to your

answers on Questions 9 and 10 of the worksheet and be sure to incorporate those words

and phrases into these searchable fields.

5 Other fields such as zip code but may not be as relevant for business development

purposes.

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4.2 ―Title‖ Does Not Mean Job Title!

Now is the time to create or update your title so that it speaks directly to your target client

and shows up dynamically in relevant searches. Refer back to your answers to Questions

1 and 2 on the LinkedIn Strategy Worksheet in the last chapter and give it a spin.

Remember that you have 120 characters, and that you can either do your test in a Word

document or play with the length right on LinkedIn. Here are some actual attorney titles

that do a good job of being specific:

Investment Management and Broker-Dealer Attorney at Smith, Baker & Smith

LLP

Experienced Domestic Relations Attorney in Northern Virginia

Partner at Smith & Baker specializing in product liability defense and commercial

litigation

Telecommunications Attorney at Smith & Samuels LLP

Franchise Attorney Serving Franchises in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region

Sometimes, attorneys just put their foot down when told they shouldn‘t list their title as

Partner or Owner. I‘ve heard reasons like, ―Now that I‘m a partner, I have so much more

credibility and I want to people to know!‖ Or, ―I just founded this firm last year, darn it,

and I want people to know I‘m the founding partner.‖ If you fall into this category of

attorney, go ahead and follow your instinct. Revisit the issue in six months. No potential

client is ever going to search for a ―Partner, Smith & Smith‖ and six months from now

you might be ready to ―go to the client side.‖

4.3 Website and Blog

Everyone should add their company website to their LinkedIn Profile, and a blog is great

to list if you have one. LinkedIn allows you to list up to three websites at the top of your

Profile. Our best tip here is to actually list the name of your website on your Profile;

don‘t just say ―Company Website‖ or ―Blog.‖ Here‘s how:

1. On the Edit Profile page, click Edit next to Website.

2. On the Additional Information page that pops up, choose Other and then type in

the name of your website using capitals and lower case letters (plus the .com) as

shown in this screenshot:

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4.4 Personalized URL

As with many social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to ―claim‖ your

personalized URL, which is invaluable for search engine optimization on Google. This is

a simple but very important step, because if Google can‘t find you, neither can anyone

else! Because LinkedIn ranks at the top of any relevant searches, when someone puts

your name into the Google search bar and you have claimed your URL on LinkedIn, it

will likely appear in the first three search results.

Claiming a personalized URL is simple and everyone should do it. Here are the steps and

screen shots to help you do it:

1. Log in to LinkedIn.

2. Go to the Profile main navigation button, and then Edit Profile on the pull-

down menu.

3. Click on Edit next to the URL following Public Profile.

4. You will land on a new screen that says, ―Your Name, take control of how

you appear in public search results.‖ On the right-hand side of the screen you

can choose how your Profile appears in search results. Obviously, you want to

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choose ―Make my Public Profile Visible to Everyone,‖ because otherwise,

what‘s the point? It‘s called social media for a reason!

5. Scroll down until you see the box headed, ―Your Public Profile URL.‖ Click

on ―Customize your Public Profile URL‖ and type in your name. Voila!

4.5 Summary

The next part of your profile which is crucially important to a compelling and strategic

profile is the Summary section. This is where you have the opportunity to talk about your

work and accomplishments from a big-picture perspective. It‘s also your opportunity to

become a three-dimensional, interesting, and likeable person. Because the Summary

section is where experienced LinkedIn users have learned to inject personality and

interest, it is probably the most frequently read part of a LinkedIn profile, after the title

beneath your name.

Your Summary section is not the place to sound like a lawyer or curriculum vitae. This is

the place to put your career in context. Have you built on your skill at playing cards to

represent online poker sites or casinos? Give us the backstory! Are you an employment

attorney who has a master‘s degree in psychology? This is the place to talk about it. Are

you a regular speaker at client industry conferences or do you frequently publish in

respected client trade publications? The end of the Summary section is a great place to

list those accomplishments.

You have 2,000 characters to play with here, which is quite a few, and no one said it all

had to be in paragraph form. For your reference, 2,000 characters are six to seven

paragraphs and you can check the character count by cutting and pasting your text into

www.lettercount.com.

Here are two examples of Summary sections that we are admire; if you look around

LinkedIn, you will no doubt see lots that don‘t reach their potential. If you don‘t feel

comfortable writing a Summary that sings, consider turning to a writer friend, relative, or

even a member of your firm‘s marketing department to provide some copywriting

assistance.

Note that the Specialties field is on the Summary Edit page. Be sure to fill this in with as

many words or phrases that apply to you to maximize the number of times you show up

in search results within LinkedIn.

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Good summary:

SIDEBAR 4: The Holy Trinity for Online Bios (And Your LinkedIn Summary)

37

Specific. A specific practice focus, defined by the clients you serve and what

benefit you bring them. Demonstrate that you are exceptional through signals

(Harvard graduate, published author, co-author of award-winning blog, etc.) or

through the creation of a "category of one" (Business attorney with a Ph.D. in

organizational psychology; Virginia land use attorney serving religious

organizations).

Likable. Clients hire people whom they (1) like, (2) trust, and (3) think know a

lot, in that order. So write your Summary section so that the reader has a sense of

who you are, why you practice the type of law that you do, and what benefit they

would receive from working with you. Yes, share your credentials, but don‘t

forget to let your personality shine through.

Credible. You demonstrate credibility without overreaching and violating ethics

rules by using what economists refer to as ―signals.‖ A signal is a unique

experience or attribute that tells a story. Some of the most common signals are

―Harvard educated,‖ ―New York Times Best-selling Author,‖ or ―winner of the

Biggest Loser.‖ What signals can you use in your Summary? Common ones

include ―Super Lawyer‖ or ranked ―Top 40 lawyers under 40,‖ fluent in three

languages, former Assistant District Attorney, etc. Even if you if haven‘t won any

prestigious awards, there are things you have accomplished that make you stand

out.

4.6 Experience

A good rule of thumb is to list your last three jobs. Unless you are now or will be soon in

the job market, these entries can be more concise than the summary. However, if there

are elements of one of these three positions that are crucial qualifications for the work

you are pursuing, definitely mention them. Expand the list to four or five jobs if one of

those was high profile and/or especially relevant to your work. Were you Special

Counsel to the President five jobs ago? By all means, list five jobs rather than three!

4.7 Recommendations

Recommendations are tricky for attorneys because of state Bar rules, and in general, we

recommend that attorneys forego soliciting or accepting recommendations on LinkedIn.

Note that LinkedIn may consistently tell you that your ―Profile is not complete‖ because

you have no recommendations. On this point, ignore them.

If on social media you ever feel tempted to do something that raises a question in your

mind about Bar rules, our advice is, ―When it doubt, sit it out!‖

4.8 Interests

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Here is an opportunity to add a little personal interest — don‘t miss it. Mine (Amy‘s)

includes my love of cooking, tropical islands, and crab pots. I have had people ask about

the last one, based on having seen it on my LinkedIn Profile, and I can tell amusing

stories of running crab pots in Rehoboth Bay during the summer. This section can be a

great source of ice-breaking conversation ideas for meetings with new Contacts.

ASSIGNMENT 2

Complete the basics of your Profile — Title, Website & Blog, and Personalized

URL.

Write a thoughtful summary in the first person. If you need to, get help from your

firm‘s marketing person, significant other, or friend who is a good writer and

knows your strengths.

Make sure your jobs are listed, and include a summary of your relevant

experience in those positions.

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CHAPTER 15: Writing a Blog Proposal

15.1 Overview

One of my favorite palindromes (words or phrases that are the same backwards and

forwards like “taco cat” or “racecar”) is this one: “A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama.”

I’ve always wanted to include this palindrome in my writing and here it happens to fit

(sort of). The first step in blogging is to create a plan. This is also helpful if you want to

sell your law firm on a blog. You need to show them that you have a plan, that you know

what you’re getting yourself into, and that it won’t turn into another unfinished project.

We‘ve learned from experience that the best way to do this is to create a simple blog

proposal. Before you panic and say, ―I have no interest in writing a business plan for my

blog.‖ Let us ease your fears by sharing that a blog proposal is quite simple; it can be

completed in just about thirty to sixty minutes.

15.2 Blog Proposal Essentials

“It takes the right kind of people to do a blog. It’s like having a puppy. You can’t

just leave for a month and forget all about it. There has to be a commitment and a

willingness to think long-term and see the bigger picture.” — Bob Kleiber,

Marketing Director at the AmLaw 100 Firm of Dorsey & Whitney

There are four essential parts to the blog proposal:

1. Competitive Landscape: Do a quick Google search to find what your competitors are

doing with blogs. Read the types of blog Posts that are being written. Who isn‘t saying

what needs to be said? What could you add to the conversation? Make a list of similar

blogs and the types of law firms using them. If your top competitors have a blog, but they

don‘t cover your specific topic, this can go a long way to influencing firm management.

2. A Title: Demonstrate that you‘ve picked a name for the blog, or even just a couple of

possible names.

Examples:

The Rule Against Perpetuities Blog: For those who never learned it in law school

Ponzi Palace Blog: How to prevent yourself from becoming the next Bernie

Madoff

Alternative Dispute Resolution Blog: Information for those who would rather not

sue

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These are all humorous examples, but you get the point. Pick a specific topic in your area

of expertise and find an interesting angle to cover. Some of the interesting angles my

clients have covered are:

Spatial Law (as in outer-space)

Furniture Law (it‘s big business in the South)

Urban Infrastructure Law

Immigration Law for Businesses

Wireless Site Development Law

Some of them are not very funny, but all have been good specific topics for blogs focused

on a certain industry or type of client.

Once you have decided on a topic and title, head over to Go Daddy (http://godaddy.com)

and look for a URL that will work for your newfound focus. You may need to get

creative to find a name that is still available. I recommend you stick to web addresses

that end in .com or .net.

3. A Summary: Summarize the specific focus of the blog, why it‘s relevant, and how it

fits into your marketing or business development plan.

4. A List of Five Potential Blog Topics: If you can easily think up five topics, then go

ahead and brainstorm ten or fifteen. This may be the most essential part of the blog

proposal because it shows that coming up with fresh insights and new content on a

weekly basis isn‘t going to be a problem. Use the list that we ended the last chapter with

to help you generate ideas.

That‘s really all there is to it. Bring the proposal to the appropriate department at your

law firm and share it with them. ―Here is my plan for a blog, how it fits into my market,

and what I can start writing about immediately. So, can I have a blog?‖ You may need to

bring it to the head of your department first, get buy-in from him or her, and then take it

up the chain. You know best how your organization works; the key is to come prepared

with a plan and the enthusiasm to see your project through.

I love the blog proposal for two reasons. One, it helps the law firm filter out who is

seriously interested in blogging and who is just bored. If someone is willing to take thirty

minutes to write up a proposal it shows they are willing to put some real work into a blog.

Marketing departments are very wary of lawyers that show up with no preparation and

expect a blog to be imagined into existence. The other helpful aspect of the blog

proposal is that it gets the lawyer to understand that this is a long-term commitment and

they need to think beyond one or two articles.

Here is an example of a complete blog proposal for what turned out to be a very

successful blog:

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Blog Proposal

1. Title: The e-discovery Myth or The Myth of e-discovery (http://e-

discoverymyth.com is available)

2. Overview: The e-discovery Myth will be a blog co-written by Dennis Kiker

and Bill Belt. The scope of the blog, evoked by its title, is to expose and debunk

the various myths about e-discovery, and provide corporations with rational,

business-sensitive advice about e-discovery. Some of the myths that we will take

on include:

e-discovery is different than traditional discovery. In fact, e-discovery is a

natural extension of traditional discovery, and is focused on the

identification and production of information that is relevant to an issue.

The simple truth is that, over the past thirty years, an increasing

proportion of potentially relevant information is stored only on computers

rather than on paper. Rather than think in terms of e-discovery and

traditional discovery, LeClairRyan's DSP focuses on discovery

holistically, combining the traditional processes associated with the

identification and collection of paper records with the expertise necessary

to defensibly identify and collect electronically stored information (ESI).

e-discovery is the same as traditional discovery. While it is important to

remember that the purpose of and basic processes for discovery of ESI

and paper are the same, there are distinctions that are important and

require specialized expertise. Because the volume of ESI is so great,

identification, preservation, and collection of potentially relevant

information requires a combination of methodologies and technologies

that require multi-disciplinary expertise and skills that most law firms

simply do not have.

e-discovery will inevitably consume an inordinate amount of corporate

resources. Chicken Little is alive and well in the e-discovery marketplace.

Vendors and law firms alike line up to advise corporate clients on the

latest technologies and processes that must be employed to deal with this

modern litigation challenge, processes and technologies that inevitably

increase the cost of litigation. LeClairRyan understands that its clients are

not in the business of litigation, that the primary purpose of the enterprise

is to create value for its shareholders. Regardless of how necessary,

discovery is a distraction from that purpose. As counselors to our clients,

we are always cognizant that we must help manage the balance between

cost and burden, so we partner with our clients on developing approaches

that are reasonable under the prevailing circumstances, and stand beside

them to defend their actions.

3. Sample Blog Topics

An introductory blog outlining some of the themes above

ECA — What is it, and how do companies leverage it to save money?

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Realities of alternative fee structures. How can companies and law firms

collaborate to create more sensible billing structures?

Off-shore, near-shore, home-shore? What makes sense for attorney review?

Data mapping for litigation — a sensible approach

The above blog proposal was longer than most, but it was very effective in convincing

firm management to allow this group to start a blog. It‘s time for you to create a blog

proposal of your own!

ASSIGNMENT 12

Draft a quick blog proposal.

Remember to include: competitive analysis, a title, a summary, and five to ten

blog topics.