FOR THE TECH SAVVY, THE BUZZWORD IS BLAWG
Simple Web Sites Let Lawyers Share Knowledge, Opinions

BY JASON KRAUSE

Ernest Svenson is a blawger, and he doesn’t mind saying so.

Svenson, technology partner with Gordon, Arata, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan in New Orleans, runs Ernie the Attorney, a typical Web log, or blog for short. A blog is basically a simple Web site with plain text messages usually written by one person, along with related news snippets or hyperlinks to articles.

Svenson’s site has a mix of tidbits about blogging and technology, and general-interest news items with running commentary Svenson writes in his spare moments. And, because his blog deals with law-related matters, it fits into the subcategory of blawgs.

For Svenson, blawging started as a diversion. "This was just an interesting thing I was experimenting with in my spare time," he says. "But when I started getting hits from more people other than just my family, it became clear that this was turning into something bigger than just a vanity project."

A small but growing number of lawyers are turning to Web logs as a tool for their law practice. Blawgs resemble a kind of self-published, online newsletter. They are being touted as a communications tool to reach the nation’s lawyers, a public relations tool to display a lawyer’s knowledge of the law, and even a knowledge management system for lawyers to share expertise within a firm.

Setting up a blawg is easier than building a Web site, thanks to a number of free services, like blogger.com. However, most blawg publishers say the free services tend to crash, which is why most have upgraded to a paid service, usually costing about $40 a year.

Once blawgers set up the basic design of their sites, all they need to do is send their postings to their Web log service. Readers can often comment on the site, creating a feedback loop between the reader and blawger.

But what interest might someone’s random musings be to the average lawyer? Blawgers say that these kinds of Web pages allow them to communicate with people of a shared interest, creating a place for lawyers to keep up with the latest news and ideas in their field.

"Almost every law firm is trying to build a knowledge management system for itself to take advantage of the expertise within the firm," Svenson says. "But with blawgs, it happens organically. If you gave your lawyers their own blawgs, pretty soon everyone within the firm could see who knows the most about different topics."

Eugene Volokh, a UCLA School of Law professor, runs The Volokh Conspiracy, a blawg for readers interested in technology and civil liberty issues. He believes blawgs are a natural outlet for lawyers to fully immerse themselves in their field.

"To me, it may not be entirely practical, but lawyers are a gregarious people, … [and] a lot of them don’t have an outlet for their interests," he says. "Blawgs give them that."

The number of people reading blawgs is still small but growing. A popular site like Instapundit might get 50,000 hits a day. Volokh says he registers 3,000 to 3,500 visitors most days.

"It’s a great PR tool, too," Volokh says. "I’ve never met Howard Bashman, but if anyone ever asks me if I know an appellate lawyer in Pennsylvania, I’m going to recommend Bashman because I’ve read his blawg [How Appealing] and found him to be insightful and well-informed."

But the main concern for lawyers will probably always be that Web logs can be too time-consuming to read, to create or to maintain. The Web log publishers who commented for this story typically spend an hour or more a day working on their site, either at work or after hours.

"Are blawgs useful or just a waste of time? I’d say neither," Svenson says. "It’s too early to say exactly what their usefulness is, but it’s clear something interesting is happening."

Other popular blawgs include the following:

• Scotusblog is all about goings on at the U.S. Supreme Court, published by Goldstein and Howe, a law firm specializing in supreme court cases.

• Law Meme is a legal Web log from the Yale Law School.

• Lessig Blog, it should be no surprise, was launched by Lawrence Lessig, one of the best-known legal scholars on Internet-related issues.

• West Virginia Supreme Court keeps lawyers updated on the latest news, decisions and other announcements from that state’s supreme court.

• The Trademark Blog is aimed at trademark lawyers. It is written by Marty Schwimmer, a trademark attorney.

©2002 ABA Journal