Leadership for Lawyers

New Directory of Legal Blogs

A taxonomy of legal blogs:

http://3lepiphany.typepad.com/

has a wonderful list of legal blogs.

Blawg stories beget blog posts

I've tried not to blog about bloggers.  I would rather stick to information and opinions that might benefit folks.  However, I continually find this blogosphere thing fascinating.  For example, the Denver Post featured a story on law firms blogging three days ago.  They called me for background because www.leadershipforlawyers.typepad.com was listed onthe Denver Post Blogroll.  Then:

-  Denise Howell (blawg pioneer) posts, "Kudos to Holland & Hart for confirming what should be self-evident: a bit of inflammatory feedback is likely to come with the territory and no reason to yank down a perfectly good blawg. "

-  Another blogger - Timothy Hadley -  mentioned in the article, Math Class for Poets, posts several stories on being interviewed, with links to Holland & Hart's blogs, and echo's Denise's praise of Holland & Hart's blogs.

-  Still another blogger mentioned in the story - Larry King of ColoradoDivorceMediation.com contacted me via email, who wrote,  "In my view of the world, MARKETING is a way more important skill than just about any other taught in law school, and most mediators haven't dialed in to its importance at all." 

-  A leadership consultant read the article, visited our blogs, and contacted me by email to see if we could trade secrets over coffee some day.

-  More than 20 blogs have picked up the Denver Post story,ranging from commenting on the content to simply summarizing the article. 

Rick Klau - www.rklau.com/tins/ - once told me that blogs are an online, two-way conversation about ideas.  I am surprised, and very pleased, to discover this to be true.

-  Mark Beese

They blawg the law and the blog won!

The Denver Post featured Holland & Hart's two health care blawgs in a story on law firm bloggers last Sunday.  Reporter Greg Griffin wrote about Greg Piche, a health care lawyer who launched his health law blog four years ago.  Griffin's hook is a story on how a disgruntled reader blasted hundreds of Holland & Hart attorneys for one of Greg's posts about a cross-dressing ER doctor.    The blog, while debated among partners, survived and has resulted in new work for Piche, totaling between 33% and 50% of his practice. 

The author was kind to mention Holland & Hart's other blog, http://securities.blogs.com/hh/, as well as www.leadershipforlawyers.typepad.com.

I found it amusing that during the interview the reporter admitted his bias:  he was surprised to see a 60 year old lawyer be the first blogger from a large law firm.   Bernard Wooten, our web-marketing guru, and I never thought twice about it. 

New Blogs

Malcolm Gladwell has a new blog:  http://gladwell.typepad.com/.  Gladwell forsook blogs before, but has now come around.

David Maister has a great new blog:  http://davidmaister.com/blog/
along with podcasts, articles, video and his unique attitude.  Worth checking out.

Four Tags

Larry Bodine has asked me to respond to a version of an email chain asking people to give the "top four" in various categories.  I can't stand the email version, but in the odd chance that people are clicking through law practice web sites from Monica Bay to Ernie the Attorney to Rick Klau and Kevin Toefl, I'll comply.

Four Jobs I've had:

• Funeral Director Assistant, the mortician's name was Mr. Dye.
• Studio Assisant to famous artists, Bob and Stephanie Cole.
• VP of an international import-export company
• Marketing Director of an architectual/engineering company

Four movies I can watch over and over:

• Groundhog Day
• Any "Indiana Jones" movie
• Any "Back to the Future" movie
• The Blues Brothers

Four TV shows I love to watch:

• Comedy Central's Daily Show
• West Wing
• Winter Olympics
• World Cup Bobsledding/Luge/Skeleton on Speed Channel

Four places I've been on vacation:

• Salzburg, Austria
• Zion National Park, Utah
• Algonquin Provicial Park, Ontario Canada
• Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Four tunes that play through my head:

• "You've Got to Have Heart" from "Damn Yankees"
• "Good Vibrations", Beach Boys
• "Yellow Submarine", Beatles
• "Boulder to Birmingham", Emmylou Harris

Four websites I visit daily:

• www.Google.com
• www.Zoominfo.com
• www.Rockymountainnews.com
• www.leadershipforlawyers.typepad.com

Four books I really love: 

• Malcolm Gladwell:  The Tipping Point and Blink!
• Top Peters:  Everything to Wow! to his "50" series
• The Bible
• Philip Yancey: What's So Amazing About Grace?

Four places I'd rather be:

• Right here, in Evergreen Colorado
• Right here, in Evergreen Colorado
• Right here, in Evergreen Colorado
• Right here, in Evergreen Colorado

Four bloggers I'm tagging:

• http://legalcompass.typepad.com/
• http://www.gerryriskin.com/
• http://lexthinkinc.squarespace.com/lexthink-blog/
• http://coloradocomments.blogspot.com/

LPM Blogs

Law Practice Today lists about 20 law practice management blogs with topics ranging from client service to leadership to increasing partner income.  A new blog by veteran law firm marketer Silvia Coulter (www.legalcompass.typepad.com) is among the list, as well as Patrick Lamb's In Search of Perfect Client Service.  Check them all out here.

Blawgosphere

This blog started off as a means to learn about blogging, as well as a place to collect my thoughts about leadership for lawyers.  Larry Bodine encouraged me to blog, saying it was a great way to improve my writing skills and attract media attention for my firm.  In the five months since I've started the blog, I've learned a few things:

• At a recent Rocky Mountain LMA meeting, blog expert Doyle Albee claimed that blogs are two-way conversations.  This has been true for L4L, and a nice surprise.  I have received emails, phone calls, and comments from a wide range of people who are interested in leadership in law firms.  I've especially enjoyed corresponding with other bloggers who are exploring issues of restorative justice, culture change, leadership and practice management.
• Conversations lead to cross-linking and reading of other blogs.  I've learned that there is a subculture of lawyers, consultants and coaches who believe that there are alternatives to big-firm, 2100-hour expectetancies, and eat-what-you-kill marketing.  You can find many of these blogs at http://www.blawg.org/  and http://www.renaissancelawyer.com/.  Conversations open doors and connections of all sorts.  It really is all about conversation.
• People actually read this blog.  I average about 125 visitors per week. Most visitors come from other blogs or legal sites that link to L4L.  Less than half find the site via a search engine. 
• Sometimes a post strikes a chord such that people will link to the site.  The popular Whataboutclients.com called L4L "my kind of blog", Renaissancelawyer.com named L4L their Fall "Blogs to Watch", and the Canadian Bar Association chose L4L as their "Pick of the Week".  I still can't believe anybody really reads this stuff.
• I find myself thinking about ideas more.  It starts as the need to update the blog (uhg! Got to feed the dragon!) and ends up as a fun and interesting mental excercise.
• Thanks for visiting.  Drop me a note if you have any suggestions or ideas on how I can make L4L more valuable. 

Gerry Riskin

Edge Group's has launched a new blog at http://www.gerryriskin.com/.  Gerry is one of the few legal bloggers that tackles leadership and strategy issues, as well as having an interesting set of legal blog links.  Riskin is a Canadian lawyer who has been consulting with law firms around the world for more than 20 years.  His blog reflects Gerry's humor, sarcasm, and insight into the typical dysfunction of law firm management.