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A leap into the unknown

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We push the youngest member of our team Bridie Sheldon into writing a blog… about blogging.

Imagine you have just thrown yourself off a bridge. You are plummeting ever nearer and nearer to the ground and then, in a split second, the free falling feeling turns into a stomach churning rebound up into the stratosphere, or so it feels. This is because you have a piece of stretchy cord tightly strapped around your ankles.

Yes, I’m talking about bungee jumping. For some, including myself, the idea sounds exhilarating. The feeling of free falling is undeniably unbeatable, giving you the chance to let go of everything… and fly.

Why would anyone not? Well I have to admit, I remember standing at the top of the ragged gorge and, as I looked down, I began to think of the risks involved. What happens if they didn’t calculate my weight correctly or what if the bungee snaps…? I could end up with a serious headache.

I guess you could look at blogging in a similar way. Why, as a lawyer or barrister, throw yourself headfirst into the ragged gorge that is the internet?

I am aware of the growing attention that has been paid to blogging lawyers and barristers. So, what better than to write a blog on blogging! As social media platforms have seeped into our everyday lives – Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube and Twitter for example – it has never been so easy to share opinions and advice with colleagues and the world at large.

Emma Barnett, in a recent article in The Sunday Telegraph, has pointed out that the days of one-way communication are over in corporate life, yet another article in the same paper reports that over 60 of the FTSE 100 companies have not yet taken advantage of social media. No doubt it is a similar situation in the legal world.

According to Hugo Parcell of Relationship Audits and Management, speaking on ‘The Use of Social Networking Sites for Business’, the advantages of legal blogging are:

  1. Blogging allows law firms to engage with clients and the public on a personal level.
  2. Blogs allow the sharing of valuable content.
  3. Bloggers increase the profile of their firms in the marketplace.
  4. Bloggers create networking opportunities and make a name for themselves. This gives them an advantage to someone who may rely just on LinkedIn, for instance.

In much the same vein Ben Whewey, writing in Legal Week a while back, asked if blogging can help your legal career, [Blogging - can it help your legal career? Legal Week, 21st Feb 2011] and the conclusion (based on the balance of comments posted) is a qualified yes.

This was borne out when I found myself in the company of a group of young litigation lawyers recently; the general view was that they were thoroughly enjoying the firm’s encouragement and the support provided when it came to blogging. The entire group had given it a go and plan to carry on doing so in the future.

Chris Dale in his blog [Blogging, Friending and Tweeting: what lawyers should and should not do, 1st April, 2011] also expresses support for the idea that law firms should be encouraging juniors and associates to blog.

We should probably give the young ones scope, to some extent, to fly with new ideas; the etiquette of everyday discourse is worth clinging on to; the basic tenets of old journalism and established marketing principles are important, but one must be flexible as new methods of publication come along. A lot of it comes down to common sense.

He cites a debate on Twitter questioning whether a junior or associate could be trusted to blog – the view was that you would not have such junior people flying the firm’s flag at a cocktail party, so why would you let them publish things in the firm’s name?  Chris Dale suggests that you have the wrong associates if you would not trust them at a party…

The debate ended with the sensible question “Why are we applying old rules to a new environment?” My view is that riding the juniors’ interest in new techniques is something which benefits the company or firm as well as the individual – provided that the rules and parameters are clearly defined.

 

This leads me finally to a very topical question; is blogging a trusted form of communication? And…

  1. Who is going to take your blog seriously?
  2. Who is going to read your blog?
  3. To what extent are “serious clients” going to pay attention what their lawyers blog about?
  4. What are the risks?
  5. Is the bungee cord strong enough to hold you?

It may be stretching the point but I have reached the conclusion that blogging should be enjoyed and encouraged by the law firms as a positive aspect to a lawyer or barrister’s career and life. It is an up and coming and liberating method of communication.

The bungee cord question is a matter of best practice and proper safeguards. This is a topic which I look forward to discussing in my next blog.

Photo credit: Bungee jumping at night by Bill Morrow under Creative Commons  Attribution 2.0 Generic Licence


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