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More lawyers blogging to educate, market themselvesJul 10, 2010 (Star-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Wilmington attorney Gary Shipman doesn't work in the Gulf coast. He isn't handling any litigation stemming from the disastrous oil spill nor is he necessarily an environmental law expert. But that doesn't mean he lacks an opinion on whether people affected by the disaster should hire a lawyer. (He thinks not.) So he turned to the Internet to expound his legal expertise. Not in an e-mail, Twitter or Facebook though. Nope. He blogged. Shipman is part of a growing number of attorneys across the country who write legal blogs to educate people about the law, market their services or both. "Number one, it's a great way to disseminate information to, quote, unquote, consumers about issues that we know they should be or are concerned about," Shipman said. "Number two, it's a great marketing tool." As the younger generation turns to the Internet and more specifically -- social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter -- attorneys are finding ways to stay relevant. Moreover, legal blogs are becoming increasingly popular with attorneys who are shying away from the traditional Yellow Pages advertising and setting up their own websites, Twitter and Facebook accounts. The American Bar Association Journal counts more than 3,000 legal blogs in its directory, with 25 of them in North Carolina. "I think that online communication is becoming increasingly common and lawyers need to go where their clients are," said Molly McDonough, online editor of the ABA Journal. "A lot of lawyers are finding value in sharing and getting information online." For attorneys, blogging is not only immediate, but there's little to no cost involved -- simply the amount of time it takes to pen a post. Additionally, attorneys are finding blogs hit a target audience looking for information on a certain topic. Also, in what's bad news for news outlets but good news for attorneys -- they're spending less on traditional advertising such as newspapers or TV. Not everyone sees legal blogs as a marketing tool. Kevin O'Keefe, CEO and Publisher of LexBlog, a company that helps lawyers use blogs and social media to develop their practices, said blogs provide a path for attorneys to build their reputation -- not to peddle a product. "It is not a marketing tool per se," said O'Keefe, who is based in Seattle. "It's a relationship-building tool. It's closer to taking somebody to a luxury box at a football game than an advertisement." Shipman, whose firm Shipman and Wright has been blogging for two years, said he received some calls after posting a blog titled, "The BP Claims Process -- Do I need a lawyer?" He isn't necessarily collecting new clients, but said blogging has increased the number of calls his firm has received and the variety of issues that callers are asking about. "We literally have hundreds of inquiries a month," Shipman said. "It's purely and simply because of our Internet/social media activity whereas through the other marketing we were doing ... we might get 30 or 40 calls a month." For other attorneys, it's had the opposite effect. Wilmington attorney Thomas Kerner, who writes a business law blog and a judgement enforcement blog, said he doesn't get as many calls as he used to, but when he does, they're more focused. "It's not a big thing as far as generating business," he said. "But what's nice about it is it kind of lets people see in a little more detail what you do." Rice Law managing attorney Mark Spencer Williams said various attorneys write on the firm's blog so clients can be better educated. "We're of the mind-set that clients should have some say so in the direction of their case, and if we can educate them more, they can help us because they know what we're looking for and they can ask articulate questions," he said. Williams added: "There's some attorneys who give me grief for the stuff we put out -- it's like giving away the farm -- but I don't see it that way. It builds consumer trust and knowledge and makes them better consumers." Stephanie Kimbro, an attorney who runs a Virtual Law Office -- meaning she conducts all her business online -- said that with a blog, attorneys have to learn to produce educational content that readers will understand and appreciate "and do it in a way that doesn't take too much of your own time." "It's helped me create a reputation and a brand for my law practice," she said. "A lot of times I will hear from people and I've never met them in person, but they know me pretty well." Veronica Gonzalez: 343-2008 On Twitter.com: @StarNewsOnline To see more of The Star-News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.starnewsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Star-News, Wilmington, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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