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Law Blogs
Some Whys, Wheres and Hows
Nate Russell and Rebecca Slaven
October
6, 2011
May 15,
2014
Agenda for today’s webinar
• Orientation: Webinar Platform (2 mins)
• About Law Blogs – Canada & Abroad (7 mins)
• Finding & Searching Law Blogs (25)
• Citing Law Blogs (5)
• Audience: Blogging for Peers or Clients (10)
• Tools and Tips (5)
• Q&A (5)
• Micro-survey to offer your feedback
Getting you oriented
• We welcome questions or comments by
chat on the right side of your screen.
• If at any point you don’t see the chat
window on your screen, move your mouse
to the top of your screen and a set of
buttons will be revealed; clicking on the
“chat” button will display the chat window.
2
1
3
To send a chat:
1. Select “All Participants”
from the dropdown
2. Type your note
3. Click “Send”
Welcome
Law Blogs
Finding, searching and drawing out blogs that matter in
your practice.
Presented by
Nate Russell
Liaison Lawyer,
Courthouse Libraries BC
Pre-Webinar Survey
Look, we’re interactive…
Circulated on Friday with 35 responses. Great response!
The “average rating” will guide the focus today
Look for the scores on each title card (and see where
your interests rank in relation to other attendees)
1 (not at all
interested)
2
3
4
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
23.53%
11.76%
23.53%
20.59%
20.59%
8
4
8
7
7
3.03
Pre-Webinar Survey
Comfort levels…
We asked “Please rate your familiarity with
internet technology and new media”
1 (I'll keep my
fountain pen,
thanks)
2.86%
1
2
11.43
%
4
3
4
5 (I'm usually the
one answering the
tech-questions)
42.86%
37.14%
5.71%
15
13
2
Average Rating
3.31
Today’s Objective
Take away at least one thing about law blogs
that you didn’t know before and will find
useful…
About Blogs
1 (not at all
interested)
2
3
4
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
23.53%
11.76%
23.53%
20.59%
20.59%
8
4
8
7
7
3.03
About Blogs
History
Evolved from the “online diary”
2003 “blog” and “web blog” became official
Oxford English Dictionary:
A frequently updated web site consisting of personal
observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically
run by a single person, and usually with hyperlinks to
other sites; an online journal or diary.
About Blogs
Features
Traditionally, blogs offer personal views
Typically, less formal in tone and content
Typically, they are syndicated through RSS
How Lawyers Use
Blogs
1 (not at all
interested)
2
3
8.57%
3
8.57%
3
34.29%
12
4
28.57%
10
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
20.00%
7
3.43
About Law Blogs
Rise of Law Blogs
•
Sometimes called “blawg”
•
Wide array of subject: marketing, humour, substantive analysis
•
Wide array of intentions: love of law, reputation, “Google Juice”
•
Over 3,500 law blogs in USA
•
Approximately 490 in Canada
•
96 in BC
•
Estimated annual growth = 25% - 30%
•
Some are just a platform change from a newsletter (a quarter
perhaps?)
About Law Blogs
Canadian Law Blogs
233
250
200
150
96
100
50
0
62
25
5
5
7
8
32
4
About Law Blogs
Factors in Growth
• Recognition that blogging is nothing more than
networking over the internet to build relationships
and word-of-mouth reputation
• Decline in general practice & rise of niche
markets… which blogs help to establish
• Blogs as the hub of a social media presence
• Rewards of cultivating expertise in a public forum
Source: Kevin O`Keefe,
www.lexblog.com
Law Blog Consultants
Incidental Proof of Law Blogging’s Significance
• Web and blog strategy and marketing consultants
• Local and North America consultancies
• Stem
• Skunkworks
• LexBlog Inc.
Source: Kevin O`Keefe,
www.lexblog.com
Infographic: Blogs v. Social Media
…versus Phil the Groundhog
Source: www.gngf.com/
Discovering
Canadian Blogs
1 (not at all
interested)
2
3
0.00%
0
6.06%
2
24.24%
8
4
24.24%
8
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
45.45%
15
4.09
Finding Law Blogs
Sources:
LawBlogs.ca
CanLII Connects
SLAW
Lexology
Mondaq
In Focus
Lawblogs.ca
• www.lawblogs.ca
• The directory for Canadian Law Blogs
• 487 blogs registered (large and small firms)
• 58 substantive practice areas
• 11 Other categories (e.g. legal tech, industry news, etc.)
• Three line previews of recent posts
• Snapshot of what's happening by category/area
• Run by Stem Legal, affiliated with the "Clawbies" law
blog awards (www.clawbies.ca)
In Focus
CanLII Connects
• www.canliiconnects.org
• Launched April 2014 with nearly 27,000 entries
• Law insights and no nonsense
• Vetted account system — lawyers, scholars and others
with professional competency in legal analysis
• Case commentaries & case summaries
• "If you are routinely summarizing cases, consider
adding those summaries to CanLII Connects.“
• CanLII Connects created to deliver "big insights through
organizing small contributions."
In Focus
SLAW
• www.slaw.ca
• Canada's online legal magazine since 2005
• 24 bloggers
• 60 columnists
• 0ver 11,600 posts
• Some substantive law but more legal industry news,
practice management and technology
• Custom RSS and email subscriptions
• Global blog search tool
In Focus
Mondaq
• www.mondaq.com
• Global syndication of law, accounting & finance info
• Mid to major Canadian firms only (list)
• Mix of blogs, netletters and other material a firm
publishes online
• 26 main topics, over 100 subtopics
• Free bi-weekly email news alerts on topics
• RSS updates by topic
In Focus
Lexology
• www.lexology.com
• Global syndication of law blogs
• Clean and easy user-interface
• Mid to major Canadian firms only (fewer than Mondaq)
• Strictly blogs, not other docs
• 43 main "work areas" (few subtopics)
• Free email news alerts on topics
• Custom RSS updates by topic or keyword
Mondaq v. Lexology
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Mondaq
Lexology
… number of posts in 6 months
Mondaq v. Lexology
Finding BC Law Blogs
Small Firms, Big Blogs
•
Erik Magraken’s BC Injury Law Blog www.bc-injury-law.com/blog (Personal Injury)
•
Stan Rules Rule of Law www.rulelaw.blogspot.ca (Wills, Trusts, Elder Law, Estates)
•
JP Boyd’s BC Family Law Resource Blog www.bcfamilylawresource.blogspot.com (Family Law)
•
William Macintosh Immigration Sage www.immigrationsage.blogspot.ca (Immigration)
•
Leisha Murphy’s Divorce and Wealth www.divorceandwealth.ca (Family)
Searching
Law Blogs
1 (not at all
interested)
0.00%
0
2
11.43%
4
3
22.86%
8
4
20.00%
7
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
45.71%
16
4.00
Searching Law Blogs
Google Blogs
•
www.google.ca/blogsearch
•
Organic rather than planned directory of sources
•
Add yours to www.blogsearch.google.ca/ping
Pros:
•
Many unexpected sources
•
Email or RSS alerts
Cons:
•
Expect broad results you might not expect (e.g. WESA is also
Women's Economic Security Act)
•
Many established law blogs simply not identified
Searching Law Blogs
SLAW
•
http://www.slaw.ca/canadian-law-blogs-search-engine
•
Searches discrete, curated directory of sources
•
Based on the list at www.lawblogs.ca
Pros:
•
The source for large and small firm content
•
Powered by Google
Cons:
•
Dependent on the list at www.lawblogs.ca
•
Only searches blogs which were listed as of June 26, 2013
Searching Law Blogs
Mondaq
•
http://mondaq.com/search.asp
•
Searches discrete, curated directory of sources
•
Keyword or region/topic/author/timeframe filter
•
Pulls blogs and more from its global contributors list
Pros:
•
Widest scope of mid & large Canadian firm web content (blogs+)
Cons:
•
Uses a hybrid of search tools (which is confusing and inconsistent)
•
Keyword search results preview disguises the source, showing date
and headline only
•
Keyword searches all regions, with no simple way to limit to Canada
Searching Law Blogs
Search Results: The Good
Mondaq Search Results: The Ugly
•
Mondaq’s brand hides
true source
•
Other countries added
to the mix
•
Locating the Canadian
stuff takes luck and
effort
Searching Law Blogs
Lexology
•
www.lexology.com
•
Searches discrete, curated directory of sources
•
Keyword or region/topic/author/timeframe filter
•
Pulls blogs from its global contributors list
Pros:
•
Great native search controls (e.g. can isolate Canadian results)
•
Better classification structure than Mondaq
•
Seamless keyword or region/topic/firm searching
•
Can run keyword search as RSS feed
Cons:
•
Identifies firm, but not author
•
Fewer firms indexed
Searching Law Blogs
Let’s run an example
“WESA”
•
On Google Blogs, Mondaq, Lexology, Lawblogs.ca
Law Blogs
Use in Courts
1 (not at all
interested)
11.76%
4
2
17.65%
6
3
32.35%
11
4
14.71%
5
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
23.53%
8
3.21
Law Blogs and the Court
A Range of Missions
“A general debate concerning whether law blogs can be
legal scholarship makes little more sense…
than a general debate concerning whether law articles or
law books can be legal scholarship.”
Berman, Douglas A. "Scholarship in action: the power, possibilities,
and pitfalls for law professor blogs." Wash. UL Rev. 84 (2006):
1043.
LINK
Law Blogs and the Court
Sure they’re everywhere, but can you cite them?
American law professor J. Robert Brown:
•
“the evidence is indisputable that law faculty blogs are being read – and
relied on – by state and federal judges and justices.”
The evidence:
•
Blogs in law reviews and legal publications have increased exponentially,
from 489 citations in 2006 to 6,340 in June 2012.
•
Similarly in court opinions over the same period, citations to law professors’
legal blogs climbed from 27 to 88, including two US Supreme Court
references.
Brown Jr, J. Robert. "Law Faculty Blogs and Disruptive
Innovation." JL 2 (2012): 525.
LINK
Law Blogs and the Court
Citing blogs: case in point
As far as we can determine, John-Paul Boyd, through one of his posts on The
Stream, was the first person in Canada to have his law blog cited by a superior
court.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Melnick in C.K.B.M. v. G.M., 2013 BCSC 836, cites
and relies heavily on JP Boyd’s reformulation of the Joyce and Horn models for
joint custody under the Divorce Act and for parental responsibilities under the
new Family Law Act.
It stands as an example of how a well-respected author using a neutral blogging
platform can deliver citable authority especially where there is a paucity of
commentary from traditional sources.
Law Blogs and the Court
C.K.B.M. v. G.M., 2013 BCSC 836
[19] In an April 17, 2013 article, Jean-Paul Boyd, a family law practitioner and
member of the Continuing Legal Education Society editorial board observed:
[…]
JP Boyd, “Adapting Joyce and Horn Models for Divorce Act and FLA” The
Stream (17 April 2013), online: Courthouse Libraries BC
http://www.courthouselibrary.ca/training/stream/jpboyd.aspx
[…]
[22] […] Rather than change the custodial arrangements, I instead will define
custody as follows (in the manner helpfully suggested by Mr. Boyd). […]
Law Blogs and the Court
Authenticity, Reliability, Comprehensiveness &
Permanence
•
“[A] new form of secondary authority, the law blog, or blawg, has taken hold
and become a source that lawyers and judges turn to for support of legal
analysis.”
•
“The citation to blogs has grown dramatically over the last several years.”
•
“A recent study documented citations to blogs written by law faculty in
eighty-nine judicial opinions.”
•
“These blogs, which are generally commentary on the law, play the role of the
traditional law review, and are generally cited for the same reasons.”
Margolis, Ellie. "It's Time to Embrace the New-Untangling the Uses
of Electronic Sources in Legal Writing." Alb. LJ Sci. & Tech. 23
(2013): 191-221.
LINK
Blogging:
Audience
(Peers v. Clients)
Client Directed
1 (not at all
interested)
2
3
26.47%
9
8.82%
3
17.65%
6
4
20.59%
7
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
26.47%
9
3.12
Blogs for Public
Marketing?
•
Marketing is not a CPD accredited topic, however many blogs are marketing
vessels, rather than a venue for legal analysis—so the distinction needs
making
•
The difference between substantive and lawyer-aimed blogging and clientdevelopment (for consumers rather than sophisticated clients) is readily
apparent to most readers
•
Pick a side, and keep to it
•
And consider the Law Society of BC’s model “Social media and social
networking policy”
Margolis, Ellie. "It's Time to Embrace the New-Untangling the Uses
of Electronic Sources in Legal Writing." Alb. LJ Sci. & Tech. 23
(2013): 191-221.
LINK
Blog Ethics
Model Blogging Policy
Highlights of LSBC’s model “Social media and social networking policy”
Your identity:
•
Social media blurs the line between personal and professional lives.
•
once posted to the Web, information can be traced back and found virtually
forever.
•
Treat online identity as a trusted asset that you wish to build
•
Be professional, courteous and respectful at all times.
•
Remember that referencing the firm’s name or attaching your firm’s email
address to any post may imply you are acting on the firm’s behalf.
•
If you list your work affiliation on a social network site, then you should
regard all communications and postings on that network as being
professional in nature.
Blog Ethics
Model Blogging Policy
Highlights of LSBC’s model “Social media and social networking policy”
Responsibility:
•
Online lives are ultimately linked and, whether or not you choose to mention
the firm in your personal online networking activity, others may make the
association.
•
Online, there is no clear line between your work life and your personal life.
Always be honest and respectful in both capacities.
Blog Ethics
Model Blogging Policy
Highlights of LSBC’s model “Social media and social networking policy”
Transparency:
•
When posting to a professional blog, always use your name: never create an
alias, and never be anonymous.
•
When participating in any professional online community, disclose your
identity as a lawyer and affiliation with the firm as well as your professional
and/or personal interest.
•
Recall that the Canons of Legal Ethics require that a lawyer’s conduct at all
times should be characterized by candour and fairness.
Blog Ethics
Model Blogging Policy
Highlights of LSBC’s model “Social media and social networking policy”
Truthful:
•
Never be false and misleading in your online credentials or posts.
•
For example: if a lawyer attends a CLE course at Harvard for a weekend and
states “Harvard trained” in a bio, this is inaccurate.
Lawful:
•
Don’t post information or conduct any online activity that may violate
applicable provincial or federal laws or regulations.
•
Do not use the words “expert” or “specialized” or “specialist” in any activities.
Peer and Practice
Oriented Blogs
1 (not at all
interested)
8.82%
3
2
14.71%
5
3
26.47%
9
4
14.71%
5
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
35.29%
12
3.53
When Peer-Blogging Works
The individual’s voice
•
Passions should be narrow in scope, not too general even if a practice is
•
Passion for the topic is the #1 ingredient
•
Solos more willing to say “I think this…” and be recognized for that
personality
•
General interest blogs rarely survive beyond a year specific
Peer-Blogging
Start as a guest blogger
Courthouse Libraries BC’s The Stream is always open to lawyers as guest
contributors of mid-length posts (500-1,200 words) that can provide:
•
Practice-oriented content
•
Informed commentary from people active in an area of practice
•
Timely subjects – blogs lack encyclopedic depth but offer instantaneous
commentary
•
No marketing – i.e. not self-aggrandizing stories or self promotion
Peer-Blogging
Starting one’s own blog
Tips for starting out:
•
Always secure your own domain (it’s worth the $10 to have a URL you can
take with you)
•
Try out a Wordpress.com free account
•
Leverage your blog work through social media with automatic sharing tools
(e.g. Jetpack by Automatic)
•
Try it out for a year without expectations
•
If you last a year, you can last 5 years
Tools and
Platforms for Self
Publishing
1 (not at all
interested)
26.47%
9
2
14.71%
5
3
20.59%
7
4
17.65%
6
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
20.59%
7
2.91
Some Tools
Wordpress
•
More customizable
•
Can migrate blogs into and out of it
•
Support your own domain
Blogger
•
Popular among some of the most active BC
bloggers
•
Free and dead simple to start
Using RSS
1 (not at all
interested)
3.03%
1
2
18.18%
6
3
24.24%
8
4
27.27%
9
5 (very Average
interested) Rating
27.27%
9
3.58
What is RSS?
RSS feed is a…
• regularly updated summary of web
content
• with links to full versions of that
content
• that you subscribe to
• using a RSS feed reader
What is RSS?
Resulting “XML” file can look like nonsense
What is RSS?
… or a more orderly page like this
What is RSS?
They clean up when you plug them into a program…
RSS from Blogs
Canadian Law blogs — most offer RSS
http://www.lawblogs.ca
OK, You Have the Feeds
Now what?
… use a Feed Reader (AKA Feed Aggregator)
… there are dozens to choose from
Using RSS Feeds
Adding RSS Feeds to Microsoft Office Outlook
RSS Feeds: MS Office
Adding RSS Feeds to Microsoft Office Outlook
Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
File Tab
Account Settings
click “Account Settings”
On RSS Feeds tab,
click “New”
In box, paste URL of RSS Feed
Adding RSS Feeds: MS Office
Click “File” tab and select “Account Settings”
1.
2.
Adding RSS Feeds: MS Office
Select “Account Settings” once more
3.
Adding RSS Feeds: MS Office
Click “RSS Feeds” tab, then click “New”
4.
5.
Adding RSS Feeds: MS Office
Paste the RSS Feed into the field…
6.
http://news.gc.ca/web/fden.do?mthd=dpt&ft=atom&crtr.dpt1D=6681
Organizing Feeds: MS Office
Organizing RSS Feeds for case files
Overview
1. Change feed name
2. Click “Change Folder”
3. Select destination
4. Click “New Folder”
5. Name new folder
6. New RSS posts appear as unread messages
Organizing Feeds: MS Office
Change name and destination folder
1.
2.
Organizing Feeds: MS Office
Indicate location and click “New Folder”
4.
3.
Organizing Feeds: MS Office
Name folder — view it populate with new posts from the RSS
feed as though it were an inbox
DoJ
5.
6.
Any Questions?
nrussell@courthouselibrary.ca