Except He Wasn't A Lawyer, And You Said Nothing

There will be no links to him here, the moronic, career-suicidal law student that in 2012 called himself a "lawyer" on his twitter bio. It's over, he's deleted his account. He's gone. He's let me know privately he now understands what he was doing, what he was possibly doing, and in a moment of maturity - he said "thank you."

Yes, I was the twitter police, again.

Yeah, you remember, the lawyer-turned convicted felon who was still soliciting business on twitter, pretending to still be practicing?

And so last night someone tells me about a young law student who claims to be a "lawyer" on twitter. The typical "happysphere" lawyers, who see confrontation as a "friend" and "follower" killer, a dead end to social media rock stardom, sat back and enjoyed the show - apparently for days, weeks.

But as one happysphere lawyer told a "rookie lawyer" that inquired about me: I'm mean.

After asking the law student whether he considered who may see his twitter-feed (his law school Dean, the Bar), he claimed it to be entertainment. After I asked who may be entertained, he contiued to explain. I explained that explaining this was only creating a "paper" trail, and suggested he get the hell off twitter.

So he did.

Yes, I "bullied" him off twitter.

Except he didn't see it that way.

It was just some of the lawyers on twitter that did.

You said nothing. You thought it was funny.

I, Mr. Mean, decided to help a brother out.

Because I'm mean.

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

Because First You Have To Be Dead

Long before I signed a lease for my office space, the cleaning crew in the building was there, and I trust they'll be there long after I leave. There's a few things they do that keep them coming back every day as the sun sets. One, they clean the place. Two, you could leave a diamond ring, 2 Rolex watches and a stack of cash on the desk and it would be there the next day, and three, they have this policy where unless a box, container, or other thing on the floor that looks like it's garbage, actually says "GARBAGE" (I write "BASURA" because I actually know these folks), they don't throw it out. That's right, that empty cardboard box appearing to have no relevance or future, will remain in the middle of the hallway the next morning if there's no instructions on what to do with it.

Sometimes that fourth thing is a bit annoying, but sends the appropriate message - we have a job to do, and begging for forgiveness is not helpful at contract renewal time. You want the box thrown out, just say the word, literally.

In contrast, this philosophy that there's a hierarchy of authority in the business world was rejected at last week's "Marketing Partner's Forum." That's right, Sally in marketing, is on her way to becoming a "Marketing Partner." This group is just a few motivational conference quotes away from relevance in the 70% of law firms that don't have a "Marketing Partner."

The following platitude went viral in the conference twitter stream and I'm sure emptied a few tissue boxes:

@cindygallop: You heard @silviacoulter, #MPF12 peeps: BREAK THE RULES and ask forgiveness, not permission.

That's right, the marketers have had it with lawyers, especially when it comes to social media, saying no, "not for us," "not our image," "no," just "no." If the grey hairs, whose only significance was to grow a successful law firm, won't listen to the 28 year old social media star, well, they're going to just do their own thing, start pounding away on twitter and LinkedIn and blogging, and apologize later.

They don't ever discuss rules, especially when they say things like this:

Rule 5.3 Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants:

With respect to a nonlawyer employed or retained by or associated with a lawyer:

(a) a partner, and a lawyer who individually or together with other lawyers possesses comparable managerial authority in a law firm shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that the person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer;

(b) a lawyer having direct supervisory authority over the nonlawyer shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer; and

(c) a lawyer shall be responsible for conduct of such a person that would be a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct if engaged in by a lawyer if:

(1) the lawyer orders or, with the knowledge of the specific conduct, ratifies the conduct involved; or

(2) the lawyer is a partner or has comparable managerial authority in the law firm in which the person is employed, or has direct supervisory authority over the person, and knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or mitigated but fails to take reasonable remedial action.

Now when it comes to rules, the marketers have an easy out - one, they don't apply to them, and two, they are seen as "scare tactics" by lawyers like me who constantly throw them in their face and, well, maybe hurt business. Anything that hurts business is wrong, and communist, and part of the past, and mean.

Marketing folks didn't have to swear to their state Supreme Court to follow some rules, they reject the constant droning of "be careful with social media," and reject any notion that anyone should be "scared" of the consequences of stupidity on the internet.

I responded that I thought their "seek forgiveness not permission," nonsense was a good way to get fired, to which one of the merry group of morons responded something about how you wouldn't want to work for someone that didn't "follow" that premise.

Who are these lawyers to tell the marketers how to run a law practice?

Of course the marketers would like my cleaning crew to take a page from them and just start throwing out boxes, then saying "oops," and there's really no example of how this philosophy (other than my mean, mean, rants) actually was detrimental to someone's career.

And then last night, oh no, ut oh, damn, not again:

The managing editor of a student-run news organization that covers Penn State resigned Saturday after the publication's Twitter account sent messages saying former coach Joe Paterno had died, according to a letter on the publication's website.

That's right, the kid woke up Saturday morning, probably threw back some badly needed coffee, some cold 2 day old pizza, went for a run, did a little homework, had some tweets pop up from the paper's twitter account about Joe Paterno dying, and this morning, well, he's out of a job.

Just like that.

Yeah, see, the problem was, Joe Paterno didn't die. The family spokesman (usually a family member or someone a cell phone call away in another room), never said he died, because he wasn't dead.

News about a death is sad, and even sadder when you hear about it while you're still trying to live.

He's not a marketer, but he's begging for forgiveness right now.

"I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State might be cited by the national media,'' his letter said. "Today, I sincerely wish it never had been."

Yeah, I know, you're just some local student-run paper at Penn State, and when you tweet something about the death of Joe Paterno, why think that anyone else may read it?

The kid had some help from some other, better known media outlets that couldn't be bothered with that old, dying journalistic concept of "verification:"

The incorrect information found its way onto media websites, including CBSSports.com, People.com and the Huffington Post.

CBSSports.com had run a photo of Paterno with a caption saying the longtime Penn State coach "loses his battle with lung cancer at 85.'' The blurb did not include the source of the information.

In an apology on its site, CBSSports.com said the mistake "was the result of a failure to verify the original report. CBSSports.com holds itself to high journalistic standards, and in this circumstance tonight, we fell well short of those expectations."

Oops. Sorry.

The now former editor did say something that's true, of which the perfect "verification" is his own stupidity:

"In this day and age, getting it first often conflicts with getting it right, but our intention was never to fall into that chasm,'' the letter said. "All I can do now is promise that in the future, we will exercise caution, restraint, and humility."

Caution, restraint, humility.

Not really exciting buzzwords like "thought leader," "game changer," "rock star" "evangelist," or "epic."

They're terms of the past, that have caught up with the future.

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and aren't a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand.

Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

Let the Legal Conferences Of The Stupids Begin

Now that the holidays are over, it's time for failed and former lawyers turned tech hacks and social media experts to gather and give each other hugs and remind each other that lawyers who have offices and wear suits are part of the past.

Of course I am here to give you all the conference information you need. First, let's talk about

Legal Tech NY!!!!!

Legal Tech NY, otherwise known as LTNY, (self described as the "most important legal technology event of the year" and otherwise known as LTNY!!!!!! on twitter because the children can't communicate in something that's not an acronym (LOL!!!)) is the precursor to the ABA Tech Show, which is where the non-practicing LTNY attendees go next if they haven't maxed out their credit card or mommy and daddy will foot the bill.

Besides the 394 hours of e-discovery seminars, here's a couple others to catch at Legal Tech NY, sorry LTNY!!!!:

iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps: "Another burning question that continues to occupy minds of the legal technologists and their clients worldwide is
“Laptop or Tablet?” In a can’t-miss briefing by experts, this session “iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks and Apps,”
addresses ways the iPad can serve as an effective mobile tool for legal professionals and how it can enhance their
workflow and communication.

eDiscovery in a Facebook world: Social Retention & Its Requirements

Growing & Retaining Your Client Base Through Technology & New Media

One of the high notes of LTNY!!! is that none (update: after tweeting incessantly "I don't know if I'm going to LTNY in a pouty effort to get a free ticket, one former lawyer has been substituted in) of the usual suspects of failures are speaking. Good job LTNY coordinators. It's about time some conference realized that former and failed lawyers shouldn't be put in front of practicing lawyers learning how to better their practices.

And coming up this week...

MPF12!!!!! (social media folks love exclamation points)

That's the Marketing Partners Forum: Driving Innovation in a Transforming Legal Marketplace. I know, but just stay with me here, I never knew Lucy the marketing girl was now called a "Marketing Partner" either.

This conference, having darkened my door in Miami, has all the buzzword seminars:

Social Media to Drive Revenue

The Future of Marketing: Redesigning the Way You Do Business In The New World Order (New World Order is of course, social media)

Aligning Brand with Strategy (always need a branding seminar)

Effective Approaches to Selling and Building Relationships (selling relationships? Is that like prostitution?

Reaching GCs Through Social Media (Translated: how to stalk the people that really want nothing to do with you)

Web Trends 2012

Where’s the Money? (This just made me laugh)

And of course, my favorite social media guru, Adrian Dayton, will be there selling his new book "how I convinced everyone that after 8 months practicing law I could tell BigLaw how to use LinkedIn and Blogs to bring in business," or something like that.

Adrian is moderating a panel, which in social media guru land means "I AM SPEAKING AT A BIG NATIONAL CONFERENCE." Bob Ambrogi, for whatever reason, has agreed to be on this panel.

Have fun everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

I Stopped Taking Insulin One Week Ago (A Post For My Type II Diabetic Friends)

You may have started out like me. Eight years ago next month it was a diagnosis with the number 330. Got some glucophage, changed my diet, and in a month it was 103. A few years later, a few different additional pills later, it was time for the needle. One shot a day turned in to 4. We changed some pills around and got it to one shot a day. It's been fine. A1c about 6.5 or 7. Life is good.

Meet my chiropractor and nutrition freak of 10 years, Dr. Todd Narson. He's got this 21-day purification program.

No, it's not a "juicing" diet. It's some shakes, lots of vegetables and fruit for 10 days, and then we add in some chicken and fish and when it's over, we, on our own, decide how to live our lives. Todd is my dear friend, and he never asked me to do the program. He doesn't know I'm writing this post. I'm not getting a dime off the next program he sells to a friend of mine.

The primary goal is not weight loss, although that obviously comes with it (down 8 pounds in 10 days). The goal is detoxification. As Dr. Todd tells me "your body is not set up to digest certain foods."

So this post is about as salesy as it gets.

I've been on this program for 11 days, and 7 days ago stopped taking my 30 units a day of insulin. I also reduced my nightly amaryl pill by half.

My morning blood sugars have been numbers like 86, 95, 101, 105, 126, 95, and 112.

Why?

Obviously it's because of reduced food intake and the things I am not eating - but the important point is that one year ago my doctor was hinting at an insulin pump, and in the last week I've realized that I can control my diabetes with food and exercise.

I feel better, I am thinking clearer, I am sleeping better.

I don't crave the typical things that Dr. Todd is concerned about - coffee, sweets, and my beloved wine. I wasn't a daily coffee drinker, didn't eat sweets that much, and am not an alcoholic. I do miss bread and chips, but I can tell you that when this is over, I will be much more focused on eating well and eating crap as an occasional treat. I'm really enjoying trolling the farmers markets and loitering in the produce section at Whole Foods. Getting re-introduced to fruits and vegetables is a lot of fun.

Today I begin re-introducing chicken and fish and we'll see what happens to my blood sugar levels. If I have to start taking some insulin again, that's fine, but to know that a type II diabetic CAN regulate blood sugar with serious changes in diet, is something I hope you think about.

This program is not easy. The first day or two is really tough, and can be tougher if your body needs more time to detox. Then it gets easier. When you start feeling better, losing weight, reducing medication (if you can do that) it makes it that much easier.

This isn't for everyone, but if you have been contemplating whether you can make serious changes that will affect your life for the better - consider this program.

You can also do some things yourself, like stop eating shit and exercise a little.

That works.

Whatever you do, you should definitely check with your doctor first*

*I didn't do that because I am arrogant and will tell him what I did when I feel like it, right now I'm enjoying life, and the numbers show that.

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

The Short But Interesting Life Of The Article III Clerk

A couple days ago I stumbled upon a twitter account "Article III Clerk." It purported to be a young federal judicial clerk to an older judge (Bio: "Current law clerk for a Senior U.S. District Judge on the East Coast. He’s really fucking old, so I roll the dice of justice on my own"}, and he tweeted with the arrogance of, well, some young federal judicial law clerks.

I had a suspicion it was a joke. It was over the top.

"The opposition you filed was goddamn unreadable. You think I want 10 more typo-ridden pages about what light I should view evidence in?"

It was actually funny. He thought out loud about the stupidity of pleadings he received, claimed his judge was never around (and senile) so he was running the place, and he had 127 followers.

But it was also, well, strong:

"Judge called from home today to “check in.” I got it under control you senile fuck. Go back to napping underneath 20 blankets."

"I really, really hope the Judge doesn’t die while I’m clerking."

I, being the all powerful with about 3,700 followers on twitter (some who actually aren't spam bots or porn peddlers) asked why he only had 127 followers.

With an hour he had 40 more.

Then he got the attention of Eric Turkewitz, who also wondered if it was a joke:

If truthful, he’s revealed that he works for a senior federal judge on the east coast who may not be well, that he is 27, and the court clerk is female. That’s a lot of biographical data to narrow down the possibilities. Also, that he’s incredibly arrogant for a young pup that may never have stood in the well himself.

And now he's gone. Poof. Deleted his account.

It could only be because it was true.

And for anyone practicing in his judge's court, that's pretty scary.

Of course there will be those who will say he was "bullied" off twitter. You know, the other liars and frauds that want to peddle their thoughts and consulting services to desperate lawyers? They'll whine and cry and say Turk was mean and that poor young kid got scared.

I say he got smart, and ended it before it was too late.

Maybe.

It's never too late to make a U-turn, unless you've already gone off the cliff.

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

Marketing Yourself As The Lawyer (Coward) You Are

Sometimes I wonder whether to write about the things that just make me embarrassed to be a lawyer. There are things so stunning, so pathetic, that I have trouble transferring thought to words.

But this is something you need to know.

While I have devoted much of the space here to talking about lawyers who lie on the internet and pretend they are someone else, this is a case where two lawyers have allowed another "lawyer" to treat them like a hostage in a third world country, (Link takes you to apology of Lori Palmieri to Joseph Rakofsky, it has no title as a title would give it "google juice" and not be a very good marketing tactic, better not to be able to find it when looking to hire Palmieri because it would damage her marketing plan), spewing propaganda for the purpose of saving themselves.

And they have done so magnificently.

Their next move should be to advise their state bar that they no longer have the character and fitness to practice law and are surrendering their licenses.

They have both settled a case, caved in to the plaintiff, where there is no jurisdiction over them.

Let me say that again.

They couldn't lose.

They couldn't even be ordered to attend one court hearing.

Nothing would have ever happened.

Settling a case under these circumstances is called incompetence.

And of course these lawyers have their defenders.

But defending incompetence and cowardliness is embracing those concepts as acceptable.

Lori Palmieri, markets herself as a fighter - she's "your key to justice." Former prosecutor turned criminal defense lawyer. She gives no appearance that she would ever cave in to nothing. Never. Ever. Nor that she would criticise those that chose to fight. Palmieri graduated from my law school and claims membership in FACDL, but I've never met her, and never heard her name, anywhere.

Martha Sperry, well I'm not sure she practices law, as she spends her days blogging advising on shiny toys and apps. But she is a lawyer, and she should know that if there's no jurisdiction, there's no jurisdiction.

In fact, Martha wrote:

I was sued by Mr. Rakofsky and I do not feel his legal claim has merit against me. But I believe in the legal system and that is where I feel this dispute should be resolved, not the blogosphere.

But then hypocrisy set in...

Martha wrote several posts in apology, and then shucked and jived in the comments section like no other in response to the questions of real lawyers, and former co-defendants.

She resolved her case, in the blogosphere.

And of course she claims that people are "messaging" her in support, as all tech hacks and cowards do. We haven't seen any of these messages, but I assume (if they really exist) they are from the people who think Martha is wonderful and nothing she does is wrong because she knows a lot about Google and shiny toys.

And it's not even that these "awwyers" settled, it's their attack on the fighters, those who understand the law, who really practice law, and who won't be bullied (there's that word again) by a lawyer with no case.

It's the, "uh, well, I, uh, what are you asking me, uh, well, I, uh," responses.

Why did they settle?

Fear.

Couldn't be bothered.

Maybe they're broke and can't afford to file a motion to dismiss.

Maybe they don't know any lawyers who would help them.

Maybe a combination of all three.

But if you check out their internet presences, you'd never know the background.

And don't we love that?

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

The Silver Bullet Of Legal Marketing, For Like When Tornadoes Kill People

I have failed you all. I have spent my time here raging against the scumbag legal marketers who believe that the road to success as a lawyer is filling the internet with garbage - automatic twitter feeds, multiple accounts, ghostwritten blog posts about the latest car accident and who just got arrested.

I have spent my time spewing silly advice about building relationships, networking, organic marketing, speaking, writing, and have totally missed the boat on the best way to get cases.

I found it.

It's here. For you.

Just watch.



Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

They Couldn't Wait (An Angry Rant, With Profanity)

As the 2011 holiday season grew closer, the social media and tech hacks got, as Elmer Fudd says, “bewy bewy qwyat.” Lawyers, real lawyers, turned their focus to family, travel, closing out their year, settling those last few cases, and the interest in buying into the salesmanship of former lawyers peddling social media and tech bullshit waned.

It was kinda nice.

But yesterday, the first day back for most lawyers, brought out the rash of shit that is the failed and former lawyers, and those with no business advising anyone in the legal profession, going on and on about why lawyers need to “get on board,” with social media and shiny toys. It was like they were holding their breath for 3 weeks and just couldn’t take it anymore. The flood gates opened – where was their next desperate lawyer looking to “harness the power of social media?” Where was the next broke lawyer looking to learn which Apple product they were required to have to “survive?”

There was this post about worthless garbage predictions about things with power switches and that post about how cool social media for lawyers is and the other 12 posts about which software lawyers “must” use in 2012 to survive. Most from former lawyers, who still wont admit they were failures in practice or just weren’t very good or interested in being lawyers. They now just want to tell you how to do it right.

I have a question for all of you – all you out of work failures with law degrees trying to play yourselves off as some authority on anything:

Why don’t you all just shut the fuck up?

You use your moniker as “lawyer” to try and convince the desperate among us, those looking for any website, toy, or marketing trick to help them “make money as a lawyer,” that you are their savior. There you are, ready, willing, and able to try and sell them on your lies that you somehow, after leaving your mediocre, or worse, failure of a law career, are worthy of taking money from your former brethren to help them reach wealth and fame doing the same thing you couldn’t do yourself.

You beg to speak at conferences and say nothing. You speak down the hall from conferences that never heard of you. You speak to 12 people and because someone tweeted about it, 30 people tell you how awesome you are.

You tell lawyers they need to “get on board” the same train you jumped off of years ago.

You are a fraud. All of you.

That’s why you stay close to each other, congratulating one another for doing nothing but stating the obvious. One of you is quoted by the other fraud and the other merry group of morons chime in with their “congratulations!”

Congratulations for what?

For the fact that another lawyer turned marketer fraud thinks you are worthy of their love?

You sit in the stands and pretend you know how to teach the players on the field what they need to do to be better.

But you were unable to stay on the field.

You stopped playing.

These players (lawyers) want to continue playing, they’re not looking for a career in failure.

So why don’t you get the fuck out of our profession in total?

Go. Stop taking money from lawyers to make them dumber, lazier, and more reliant on things that do nothing to better the profession.

You worsen our profession. You make money turning it in to nothing short of a group of document pushing, robo-typing, shiny toy addicts. You know nothing about client representation, being an “officer of the court,” or the high honor of having the license to advocate for a person, entity, or cause.

You are pathetic. And none of us that cherish the privilege we have been given to be officers in the third branch of government have any use for you.

Those that have a use for you, those lawyers too stupid to realize that paying you, listening to you, acknowledging that you are a member of our profession, are conspirators in your fraud. And should drive the bus out of town on which you are a passenger.

Go. Away.

Happy New Year.

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.

2012: The Year Lawyers Become Great Through Lawyering, Not The Internet

Analogize two new restaurants. One with a great website, pictures of the beautiful decor, private rooms and a great wine list, ability to make reservations online, and testimonials from customers like Julie R. and Bob W. It also has an active twitter account and Facebook fan page. "Like" them on Facebook for a free appetizer.

The other, located behind a hard to find strip mall, it only has 12 tables, and the website has a couple typos, with the only contact information being a phone number. It says "call for reservations."

In 3 months, the first restaurant goes out of business.

The food was terrible.

In 3 months, you may be able to get a reservation at restaurant 2 that's not at either 5:30 p.m. or 10:15 p.m.

The food is amazing. Everyone is talking about this place.

Everyone was also talking about restaurant 1.

Restaurant 1 thought they would balance the reality that the food sucked, with their awesome internet presence.

And this is what's going on in the legal profession.

Can't get a job? Create a persona on the internet.

No one is hiring you? Start blogging. Blogs are great for Google attention.

Going out and developing relationships will "take too long? Hire a social media expert to blast your mug and (trumped up) credentials all over the net.

Lawyers are being taught that being a good lawyer is second, or third, to marketing on the internet.

Now I'm not unrealistic, if you're doing a good job and no one knows about it, that's a problem.

The question is: who do you want to know about it?

As I ask lawyers frequently, "tell me if the best case you ever got was from the internet."

When the "I found you on the internet" call comes in, do you see dollar signs? Real, dollar signs?

We all use the internet for the same reason - to find the best deal, the cheapest price. Are you the best deal? The cheapest? Is that what you want to be?

My friend Kevin O'Keefe, (and he is my friend by function of him having bought me a beer and otherwise not giving a crap what I say about him nor taking it personally) who never misses an opportunity to (not so) subtlely pimp his blog sales company, tried to say the same thing, but couldn't help himself from encouraging lawyers to participate in the race to the bottom.

I was almost moved to tears that the leading blog salesman for lawyers would pen a post titled:

You have more than an opportunity as a lawyer in the new year : You have an obligation to be great

And it started off in typical fashion, the marketer paying required homage to the God of Marketing, Seth Godin:

Godin shared what he wrote 9 years ago that applies equally today.

Here's a question that you should clip out and tape to your bathroom mirror. It might save you some angst 15 years from now. The question is, What did you do back when interest rates were at their lowest in 50 years, crime was close to zero, great employees were looking for good jobs, computers made product development and marketing easier than ever, and there was almost no competition for good news about great ideas?

Many people will have to answer that question by saying, "I spent my time waiting, whining, worrying, and wishing." Because that's what seems to be going around these days. Fortunately, though, not everyone will have to confess to having made such a bad choice.

Great stuff. Now is the time to set your path, to stake your claim in your profession.

Kevin continues eloquently with Lord Godin's words:

The thing is, we still live in a world that's filled with opportunity. In fact, we have more than an opportunity -- we have an obligation. An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To find ideas that matter and to share them. To push ourselves and the people around us to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration. To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing.

Yes, yes, yes.

We, as lawyers, have obligations to do great things, to be "amazing."

Yes. Amen.

And then Kevin makes his (pitch) point:

While recent grads and lawyers who have been practicing for decades bemoan the lack of legal work and opportunities, other lawyers are running laps around them by harnessing the power of the Internet.

Curiously, as in most posts written by former lawyers-turned-marketers and social media experts touting their "trade," there is little to no specific examples. When marketers and social media "experts" are asked why they consistently leave out evidence of their claims, they harken back to their days as lawyers and say "would your clients want their names mentioned in a blog post?" They claim that the attorney-client privilege is somehow relevant to the marketer-desperate lawyer relationship. It protects them from having to admit that their claims are just that - claims.

So I don't know which lawyers are "running laps" around other lawyers by "harnessing the power of the internet."

I had a website and a blog long before the marketers darkened the door of our profession, and I have found that harnessing the power of lawyering much more enriching than harnessing the perceived power of the "where are all the cheap, unknowing and easily duped" clients.

But that's me.

Kevin continues:

The Internet has served as the great equalizer over the last decade. Lawyers have left established firms to chase their dreams of doing the work they want for the types of clients they want with the type of lifestyle they want. Other lawyers have carved out niche practices in larger firms, making them an asset to the firm, as opposed to a liability at the age of 45 or 50.

Lawyers have left established firms to chase their dreams of doing the work they want for the types of clients they want with the type of lifestyle they want?

Because of the internet?

See, I laugh at that, but I'm not Kevin's audience. His audience are those that actually believe that the internet is where their dreams start, and are bound to come true.

People have different types of dreams, I guess.

And then Kevin goes in for the kill (drum roll please):

Never before could a lawyer start a blog to demonstrate their passion, expertise, and care. Rather than a good lawyer taking decades, if ever, to build meaningful business relationships and establish themselves as a go-to lawyer in a niche area of the law, lawyers are doing so in a couple years through blogging.

That's right, the shortcut, the alternative, to developing meaningful business relationships over time and establishing yourself as a go-to lawyer, can be done in a couple years through....

blogging.

That's according to Kevin O'Keefe, of Lexblog (click link for information on how to buy "turn-key professional blog service.")

Kevin ends his post with Godin's question:

Why not be great?

I agree. But blogging doesn't make you great, it makes you a blogger. It may even make you a shitty blogger.

Lawyering doesn't make you great - it makes you a lawyer. Great lawyering makes great lawyers.

Unless you're selling blogs.

Anonymous comments are welcome as long as they say something relevant and half-way intelligent and arent a vehicle for a coward to attack someone. I trust you understand. Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.