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From the category archives:

Blogging

Yet Another Reason Not to Use Canned Content

August 25, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Courtesy of Professor Eric Goldman, here’s yet another reason to avoid canned content or ghostwritten materials in law firm newsletters, and by extension, blogs: it’s a sure-fire way to convert ordinary, First Amendment protected content into regulated advertising.
Holtzman v. Turza (N.D. Ill. August 3, 2010) serves as a cautionary tale of what happens [...]

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Impact of Blogging on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners

March 21, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Back in December, I had the amazing privilege of sharing a panel at Norwestern’s Fourth Annual Judicial Symposium on Civil Justice Issues with Eugene Volokh and Mark Herrmann, co-founder and former blogger at Drug and Device Law (as an aside, Herrmann’s last word as a blogger came in this article on both the pros as [...]

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Ghostbusting in the Blogosphere: Is Ghostblogging Unethical & What’s the Best Way to Deal With It?

February 1, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Back in 2004, now my departed-from-the-blogosphere friend David Giacalone predicted that Ghostblogging Will Kill the Blogosphere.  In a thoughtful post that considered the issue from all sides, David criticized the ethics of ghost blogging and lamented that that mass produced, ghostblogs would be "devoid of the spark of life that has put magic into this way [...]

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Blogging: It’s a Matter of Trust

December 14, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that my word is my bond, something that you can trust.  My blog is comprised of many, many words, all of which form a trusted bond with my audience and other bloggers.   I worked hard to establish this trust and I take it seriously, as do most legitimate [...]

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Why Big Firms Don’t Blog Well: Not Too Much Risk, But Too Little Passion

December 3, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

Chalk one up for the solos and small firms.  For what it’s worth, we dominate the ranks of the Third Annual ABA Blawg 100.  By contrast, only two large firm blogs made the cut, Mark Herrmann observes at Drug and Device Law, one of the chosen. 
Mark contends the lack of an engaging voice accounts for [...]

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Blawg Review #215

June 8, 2009 by Carolyn Elefant

It’s 2:30 am on the morning of World Oceans Day, as I sit here drowning in a sea of submissions for Blawg Review #215.  Buoy, I’m in trouble, with a sinking feeling about all I have yet to do.  But before I sail into the heart of this post, let me share with you why I [...]

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Do You Read Blog Archives?

January 27, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Having blogged for over five years now, I’ve amassed a considerable body of archives, both here and here (pre 11/2004).  But does anyone read archives?  With so much currently available information, do blog readers ever re-visit the past?
I don’t want my older posts to fall into obscurity, so please let me know (1) whether you [...]

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Reach Out And Make A Connection

December 16, 2007 by Carolyn Elefant

Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity offers a great tip, echoed by What About Clients: reconnect with your business network so that you can continue to nurture and reinforce the trusted relationships that produce not only business referrals, but personal fulfillment. Taking a page from Curt Rosengren, Herz recommends that you try speaking [...]

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Some Disparate Thoughts on Empowerment and Creating Opportunities Through Blogging

December 16, 2007 by Carolyn Elefant

Many of us who decide to start a law firm do so to gain autonmy and take charge of our careers; to “own, not loan” our talent. So it’s no wonder that so many solo and small firm lawyers have an affinity towards blogging, which is just as empowering as starting a law firm. [...]

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