Law And More

Legal Marketing: Forget blog traffic, focus on viral

"How can I get more traffic to my blog?"  Lawyers who use the blog as a marketing tactic ask me that.  My answer is that they are focused on the wrong thing.  Because of algorithms, digital is all about niches.  Instead of aiming for overall average high traffic, their objective should be creating a post which goes viral.  Given niching, the right people will see it.  If it is provocative enough or useful enough the right people will pass it on to other right people.  Soon enough the phone starts ringing with requests for more information about your services.  You're in the money.  And your blog traffic remains low.   

Tina Renna: NJ Judge rules blogger covered by journalist shield law

A seminal ruling, in New Jersey Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy determined that blogger Tina Renna is covered by the shield law protecting journalists. 

As THE NEW JERSEY LAW JOURNAL reports, Renna, who contributes articles to the blog "The County Watchers," refused to reveal to the Union City Prosecutor Theodore Romankow the names of officials who she alleged made personal use of generators during Sandy.  Upon her refusal, Romankow took legal action. 

If this ruling holds up, then bloggers will have more rights and protections in the legal system.  Usually, judges exclude them from being legally defined as journalists.

Abovethelaw.com, et al.: No inky tears

The world loves a winner.

So, no surprise, everyone struggles to be cited, quoted, and featured in digital media properties such as Abovethelaw.com.  The days they link to us, we are hot.  Then when they stop, at least for a while as Abovethelaw.com has with the "tips" I send it, we are not.  And like dumped lovers, we pine.  We do an autopsy on what we might have done wrong.  We call our psychic, asking if we will ever be in the limelight again, happily crushed under the pressure of heavy traffic and mean comments.

Other big successes include businessinsider.com, drudgereport.com, gawker.com, and techcrunch.com. 

This is in contrast to the sorry state of what is known as "old media."  This week a feature story by Frank Rick in NEW YORK Magazine, which has been able to remain hot despite its old-media roots, chronicles the demise of once-influential media brandnames.  They range from TIME to THE NEW YORK TIMES.  Rich observes:

"Virtually no one in the news business was prescient enough to imagine just how radical the impact of the Internet would be." 

Though they have tried, they still can't manage to get caught up to the new rules of attracting eyeballs, likes, shares, tweets, and comments. Yet all that comes naturally to the Gang of Four at Abovethelaw.com.

What are the rules?  As practiced by the Gang of Four they include:

Never missing a trick.  They and their news scouts monitor, analyze, interpret, and then post on whatever they determine is worth their readers' attention.  They are either right in their assessment or they configure the material to compel.  Recent examples are the wistful recounting by the anonymous lawyer who did not make partner (a primal wound in the legal sector) and an interview with the Martin Luther-like reformer of the profession of law (yes, he believes he can return it to that from a crass business) Steven Harper, author of bestseller "The Lawyer Bubble."

Sarcastic tone.  As anyone around teenagers knows, youth power comes from their ability to speedread a situation, see the ridiculous parts, and then let loose with witty negatives.  We want to avoid a tongue-lashing from the Gang of Four.  Therefore, their influence grows, unabated.

Responses in real time.  When a story goes viral, for positive or negative reasons, the managing editor David Lat will parachute in to highlight the phenomenon, add more perspective, and solicit more input from the world.  In public relations, that tactic is called "managing controversy" and is among the most effective ways to gain enough attention to define the conversation. Many clients are afraid of it.

Developing new products.  Today in my e-mail I received a copy of the Abovethelaw.com newsletter about partner issues.  This extends the franchise beyond the target market of law students and new to four-year associates.

Of course, we can learn from these digital players.  But we may never be one.  Past conditioning in old media might have rendered us too rigid in our mental models, too slow, too polite, too cautious, and too unimaginative about what the market will buy.

Meanwhile, we remain on the fringes, watching, hoping they will again ask us into the magic circle, even for one link. 

Harvard Snoops into Resident Deans' E-mail: Power trumps courts of law, public opinion

The story of Harvard's snooping into the 16 resident deans' email to identify leakers in the cheating scandal still has legs.  Here is a recent THE NEW YORK TIMES article on the fall-out from what many at Harvard perceive as a lack of privacy.  On the front lines of the push-back is law professor Charles J. Ogletree.

There are many reasons why this story is hanging around.  One, of course, is the privacy issue. Harvard's policy, as stated in its handbook, is that it has the right to review e-mail and it will notify those involved beforehand or soon afterward.  The institution did not notify the deans until about six months afterward.

Another issue is the original cheating scandal. The punishment - suspension for some - remains controversial because of its severity.  Also, there are questions about what "collaboration" consists of.  What is the line between collaboration and cheating?  Silicon Valley is built on collaboration.

Yet another matter is the embarassment to Harvard that there supposedly had been leaks.  Those in the know know that leakers usually do what they do because of a resentment.  So, Harvard is not a Happy Valley these days.

However, what is emerging as a central development is that the faculty and staff at Harvard have the power to take on the administration.  Higher education is a changing institution and power is being consolidated in the president of the college or university.  Not that everyone likes that as we are seeing at New York University.  With jobs in many fields scarce, those employed at many institutions of higher education are wary about pushing back on the administration.  Soon enough they could be replaced by an adjunct professor who works for peanuts or another kind of staff assistant who is thrilled to have a job with benefits.

It's interesting to speculate that the power of the Harvard brandname flows to all members of the university.  They all can push back, as they had when Larry Summers was president and they provided him incentive to resign.

This reality could be a major project for scholars on power to research.  Power comes in many configurations.

Horace F. Hunter: Will this Virginia lawyer take digital attorney marketing issues to U.S. Supreme Court?

Lots of court decisions are being made about digital communications.  A recent one by the Virginia Supreme Court concerns digital attorney marketing. 

Essentially, reports BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK, the high court in VA ruled that attorney Horace F. Hunter could discuss his victories in past cases on his blog and website, even without the permission of the clients involved.  However, since the Court interpreted that presentation as advertising, Hunter would have to put a disclaimer on the site.  That would advise readers that past results do not guarantee any future results.

Hunter partly got off the hook because of the First Amendment protection of commercial speech.  But his attorney, notes BLOOMBERG, is First Amendment scholar Rodney Smolla.  Therefore, Hunter could take this case to the U.S. Supreme Court to get fully off the hook and not have to attach a disclaimer.  Instead of interpreting the blogging as commercial speech it could be framed as political speech which would not require the disclaimer.

As lawyers rely more on the digital vehicles to develop new business more courts in more states will likely be making rulings.

Joanne Denison: Hit with ethics violation now that blogging is mature medium

Back when blogging or weblogs was a new medium, the powers that be didn't really know what to do about posts which seemed to violate ethics of a profession, never mind various kinds of law.  It has taken time for leaders in professions, regulatory institutions, trade associations and more to catch up.  But catching up they are.

The most recent example is that the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, reports THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, has taken action against attorney JoAnne Denison.  On her blog "marygsykes," she allegedly posts content which violates the ethical code of that group.  For example, she refers to entities as "corrupt" without providing what is viewed as adequate evidence.

Denison's use of language is surprising.  Blogging become a mature medium which now is considered subject to all the usual rules of ethics, law, and good taste (at least if you want to continue to work).  The days of the wild west are over, at least for personal blogs like Denison's.  Brandname blogs, with hefty resources, like GAWKER, can still go out on a sensationalistic limb which brushes up against questions of ethics and law.

What happens in this Denison saga could provide important lessons to other lawyer bloggers who push the envelope, for whatever reasons.

Wendy Gordon Ends Tabloid Wendy Wednesdays with Lawsuit

There is a line in tabloid gossip between having fun at the target's expense and defamation of character. 

The target of this fun Washington D.C. publicist Wendy Gordon decided the line had been crossed and filed a lawsuit. The defendants are Mediabistro.com, WebMediaBrands, and their bloggers Peter Ogburn and Betsy Rothstein. In 2011, the latter two began a series "Wendy Wednesday" which made negative comments about Gordon  Here you can read the lawsuit, along with all the media people around the world.  It's nice to have something else in DC to focus on in addition to gun control and ObamaCare.

As Will Sommer reports on WASHINGTON CITY PAPER:

"Wendy Wednesdays got pretty ugly, with Fishbowl [bloggers] depicting Gordon as a sex-starved lush lurking around the Washington party circuit." 

Since the lawsuit, the negative blog posts have been deleted. General Counsel at WebMediaBrands Mitchell Eisenberg made the statement that the lawsuit has no merit.

Legal Blogging: The way to viral

What is the law of attraction creating the force which drives legal blog material viral?  Lawyers, the legal media, and those selling to the legal sector need to know that.

Recently, on this blog I accomplished that.  Here is the case study. It's an art, not a science.  And it takes a community.

"Downton Abbey" - Unique marketing opportunity for employment-relations lawyers

Now and then a television series comes along and embeds itself in the minds and hearts of diverse constituencies, ranging from the public and media to professors and government leaders.  Most recently, that has been "Downton Abbey, which enters its third season in America on PBS on January 6th. 

One of its most engaging themes is the grand relationships between the employer and the employees.  When servant Anna marries the butler, artistocrat Mary provides them the bedroom belonging to the family.  Both employers and workers long for that kind of idealized world.

Lawyers specializing in employment relations have access to an infinite number of possibilities for leveraging how work gets done at Downton Abbey, the reality and the myth, for educational seminars, blog posts, Facebook commentary, Google+ chats, keynote speeches, participation on panels, and webinars.  The objective could be to prevent litigation and increase cooperation.  In addition, lawyers can partner with public relations types (my field) to conduct focus groups, both in person and online through workplace intranets, to find out what employees want.  A ManpowerGroup survey found that 86% of workers intend to look for new jobs in 2013 and only 5% plan to stay put.

Common sense tells us that whoppers of resentments can be carry-overs from the most brutal times of the two economic downturns during the 21st century.  In those are the seeds of not only lawsuits but media-capturing events such as the hunger strike U.S. Postal workers staged and THE WASHINGTON POST duly noted.

On both the defense and plaintiff sides there are extraordinary opportunities to create unique branding in employment-relations consulting, litigation, mediation, and legislation.  Given the intense activity in this niche, some lawyers might even decide to run for public office, promising to help put together a new social contract.

Legal Stories With Legs: The Politics and the voodoo

There are those legal stories, like SCOTUS' ruling in Dukes v Wal-Mart, which will be big and remain center stage for a while. 

Then there is the gossip kind which will attract a lot of immediate attention and keep popping up.  They become reference points for other similar stories which also have the potential of becoming big.  The "starter" saga can range from the Aaron Charney gay-sex discrimination kind of lawsuit to that of the former head of McKinsey Rajat Gupta being tried for insider trading. Then come all the rest whose chances of making it big are iffy.  Let's look at how they do go viral.

One way is through partnership among media properties.  Currently "Law and Order" vertical on Business Insider piggybacks on Abovethelaw.com's sources and early coverage of breaking news.  Today that's happened with how former BigLaw player Kelly Newsome switched to becoming a yoga guru.  Here you can read Business Insider's take.  Now Newsome is a household name not only in legal and yoga circles but business ones too. 

Incidentally, identifying the right partners along with then putting together how they will cooperate and teaching them to navigate the rough spots is a fast growing niche in marketing.  Founder of Image Marketing Consultants Kate Sirignano tells of a recent alliance in which a local United Way in Connecticut joined with the Salvation Army to ring bells outside stores and raised $24,000 in an hour.  Wal-Mart matched that.  The Rotary joined with Bill Gates to wipe out polio in nations where it remains a killer and crippler.

Another way a story catches on is through discovery engines.  For some reason beyond just keywords, the engine links to it and readers click it on.  The heavy traffic can go on for days.

Then there is voodoo or luck or simply spotting something that could sell.  One example was when I showed how not becoming a full professor in academia frequently had the same irreversible emotional impacts of not making partner.  That went viral.  In communications theory, that is called the yoking of opposites or finding the relationship between seemingly unlike entities.

Last is the sleeper.  Attorney X or Client Y who is mentioned in a 2007 article gets arrested for a heinous crime.  Fortunately for us writers, with a society subject to so much psychopathic behavior, that is happening a lot.