|
Originally published in Student
Lawyer magazine, December 2004 (Vol. 33, No. 4). All rights
reserved.
Join the Blawg Bandwagon
Legal weblogs, or blawgs, provide insider information on law
school and legal careers. An experienced blawger describes why you
should tap into this resource.
by Todd Chatman
(Todd Chatman, tchatman@law.gwu.edu,
is a second-year student at George Washington University Law School.
His blawg, Ambivalent Imbroglio, is at http://mowabb.com/ai.)
Blawg Risks and Responsibilities
How to Start a Blawg
A Blawg Sampler (with links)
In law school, our minds can become so cluttered with new words
and concepts that it’s difficult to add another to the mix.
Still, I encourage you to learn one more: blawgs. They’re
a wonderful resource to help you cut through the chaos and enrich
your experience in law school.
Blawgs are frequently updated web sites written by law students,
law professors, and lawyers. The term comes from the conjunction
of “web” and “logs” into “weblogs,”
or simply “blogs.” Blogs contain short postings from
their authors on every imaginable topic, from reality TV to the
latest political scandal. A blog about the law is a “law blog”
or “blawg.”
Law student blawgers frequently write about aspects of law school—
from the moment the blawger first considered enrolling, to his or
her first class, to skills competitions, exams, summer jobs, fall
interviews, graduation, and beyond. In addition, most blawgs, like
their non-legal counterparts, allow readers to respond and add to
posts. This feature enables law students from across the country
to share their experiences of law school in a new way.
During exam study breaks and the upcoming semester holiday, consider
reading some blawgs to see what they are and what they can do for
you. As a 2L who has been blawging steadily since before starting
law school, I can tell you that my own site, the comments I’ve
received from readers, and the blawgs I read regularly have helped
me overcome the challenges of law school, network with my peers
and legal practitioners, and gain valuable insight into career paths
and opportunities. Reading and writing blawgs could do much the
same for you.
Not convinced? Here are eight reasons to read blawgs or start
your own:
To get good advice
Kristen, a 2L at the University of Washington whose blawg is semi-anonymous,
says blawgs gave her a good idea of what to expect in her first
year of law school. “I read many before starting law school,
and I thought they had great advice for incoming students,”
she says. Blawgs help make law school more predictable for Kristen
because, at every turn, “things keep turning out just like
somebody’s blawg said they would.”
Reading and responding to blawgs can help you make decisions about
law school dilemmas. The collective wisdom of blawgers can help
you choose which classes to take and which competitions and activities
to join. They can provide strategies for approaching legal writing
and research tasks, outlining and studying for exams (some blawgers
even share outlines), making classes worthwhile (even the boring
ones), and more.
To cope with law school
For many law students, reading and writing blawgs is a good way
to develop a sense of community. “Blawging is great as a stress
relief and a way to get positive feedback on things you are thinking
about or doing,” Kristen says. “The blawging community
is very supportive. People are quick to drop a line and let you
know of a solution to a problem you’re having or to encourage
you when they think you sound a little off kilter.”
David Gulbransen, a first-year student at Chicago-Kent College
of Law, says student blawgers enjoy sharing the ups and downs of
law school with a diverse readership outside their campuses.
“You can’t really commiserate with the peers in your
class. After all, these are the people you are trying to beat,”
he says. “With a blawg, you can share your thoughts about
law school without—for the most part—having those thoughts
turned against you in the [law school] rumor mill.”
University of Michigan blawger Heidi Bond says reading blawgs
can give students helpful insights into experiences they’re
not having. “I like reading law blogs in part because it’s
interesting to see how other people’s law school experience
differs from mine,” she says.
Bond says these aspects point to a benefit of blawging that goes
beyond the obvious. “Sanity in law school is a form of success,
and it’s one not achieved by everyone,” she says. “It
doesn’t go on your transcript, but it’s still a form
of success.”
To keep in touch
Wyatt, a law student at the University of Wisconsin, began blawging
as a means of keeping up with family and friends back home in the
South. CK, a 2L blawger at a Midwestern law school, started her
blawg to stay in touch with friends, but the focus has changed over
time.
“As my readership grows, I find that I’m leaving out
more details than I would if it was just my friends reading, which
is contrary to the reason I started it in the first place,”
CK says. “I’m actually considering moving or password
protecting my blawg for this very reason.”
Still, CK values her new audience. “I really like my readers,”
she says. “They are smart and interesting, and I enjoy the
comments I get.”
To learn about legal topics
Denise, a 1L at the University of Michigan, is attending law school
to focus on civil rights for gays and lesbians. She started her
blawg “to have a public place to articulate my thoughts on
law school and what’s happening elsewhere in the country and
the world, with particular emphasis on LGBT issues.”
In addition to helping individual students learn about legal topics
they’re interested in, blawgs can help student organizations
keep members updated on their activities and on news and developments
relevant to the group’s mission. Many law professors and lawyers
also use blawgs as a way to stay current in their specialties. Blawgs
like How Appealing, which focuses on appellate practice, or the
SCOTUSBlog, which analyzes activity at the U.S. Supreme Court, provide
insights on practice-related topics.
To practice your writing skills
Aspiring writers are drawn to blogs as a way to hone their craft.
Harvard 3L Jeremy Blachman, whose blog includes comedy sketches
he writes, says he started blogging “as a way to force myself
to write every day and to give me a place to store ideas.”
Blachman originally thought he would be his own primary audience,
“and if people found and read it, that would be a bonus. But
it quickly gets
addictive.”
University of Iowa law professor and blawger Tung Yin says maintaining
a blawg can help students prepare for practice. “Being a lawyer
is about thinking, reading, writing, and arguing,” he says.
“Blawging can hone those skills.”
Blawging also is a convenient way to keep a diary of your law
school days. University of Wisconsin law professor Ann Althouse
says her blawg helps her learn about herself and turn otherwise
passive experiences into more active, rewarding ones. “The
blog form is a wonderful thing,” she says. “It creates
a habit of writing every day, allows you to write about anything,
and transforms everyday passive experiences like web reading, print
reading, and TV and movie watching into an active process of writing.”
To help your job search
Blawgs can help you network, explore career options, choose which
internships to take during your summers, find out about job openings,
and more. Specialized blawgs written by legal professionals can
give you an idea of what practice in different areas of law is really
like.
If the content of your blawg is appropriate, consider informing
potential employers about it to display your writing ability or
help them get to know you better. (Discuss this with your career
services adviser to determine whether this approach would be helpful.)
Keeping a blawg also can be helpful when you update your résumé
and compose cover letters: Your archive of blawg posts will remind
you of all you’ve accomplished in law school. If you don’t
have your own blawg, reading others’ may help you feel and
sound more knowledgeable in job interviews.
To learn from faculty
Reading and writing blawgs allow opportunities to interact with
law professors—your own and those from other schools. “I
enjoy reading blawgs from law professors,” says University
of Michigan blawger Heidi Bond. “It’s a reminder that
they’re human, which is sometimes easy to forget in law school.
And I learn about some of the things they think about and the research
they do.”
University of Iowa law professor Tung Yin points to another benefit
of reading law professors’ blawgs: “If you read just
the legal posts, you get real-time analysis of legal issues from
professors. Reading Ann Althouse’s posts on Newdow, for example,
is like getting a Cliff Notes version of what could be a law review
article’s analysis of the case. If you read the nonlegal posts
as well, you get a sense of how law profs can be curious about a
whole number of things.”
To learn from practitioners
Many student blawgers, such as Chicago-Kent’s David Gulbransen,
recommend reading blawgs by practicing lawyers. “I enjoy reading
a few student blawgs,” he says, “but I really read more
attorney blawgs, like Notes From the (Legal) Underground, Ernie
the Attorney, Bag and Baggage, Stay of Execution, and My Shingle.”
Gulbransen says blogs by legal practitioners help keep him “grounded
about what it is like to actually be an attorney.”
Illinois lawyer Evan Schaeffer, author of both the Illinois Trial
Practice Weblog and Notes From the (Legal) Underground, says lawyers
often create blawgs for the same reason Gulbransen likes to read
them—to help those who are just starting in the profession.
“When I was a young lawyer, I worked in a large firm, so
there were lots of other lawyers to go to with questions,”
he says. “These days, by becoming involved in the weblogging
community, you can get the benefit of working closely with a large
group of lawyers even if you’re on your own.”
•••
If the experience of current blawgers is any indication, reading
and writing blawgs is a good way to make your years of law school
and future practice of law more fun and fulfilling. Blawgs may not
be for everyone; you certainly shouldn’t use them as an excuse
to avoid studying, keeping up with coursework, and meeting personally
with your career adviser, potential employers, and others who are
instrumental in your job search. But, as a supplemental tool in
law school, blawgs are definitely worth checking out. At the very
least, you’ll discover what the blawg bandwagon is all about.
Return to top of page
Student
Lawyer home page
Blawg Risks and Responsibilities
Although the growing community of blawgs offers potential benefits
for the legal profession, it comes with some risks. A survey by
MIT reports that as the number and awareness of blogs increases,
“more bloggers find themselves having to deal with issues
of privacy and liability. Accounts of bloggers either hurting friends’
feelings or losing jobs because of materials published on their
sites are becoming more frequent.”
Though most law students don’t have to worry about losing
a job while in school, blawgers are concerned about how future employers
might react to their blawgs. “I remain very careful about
what I post,” says Boston College 2L Matthew Stein, who has
attempted to strike a balance between anonymity and full disclosure.
Stein chose not to blawg much about his job last summer, even though
it was a rich experience and would have provided a great deal of
interesting material for his readers.
In addition to having concerns about employers, law students also
sometimes worry about professors reading their blawgs. University
of Michigan blawger Heidi Bond says she became more conscious of
what she was writing when she learned her professors were visiting
her site. Still, she didn’t think of it as a bad thing. “Probably
more professors have read my blawg than I realize,” she says.
“In some ways, it really just means that they know me better
than they would if I were just the standard one out of a hundred
in the class.”
An episode at the University of Michigan last spring suggests
law students who blawg ought to assume their professors and classmates
are reading what they write. According to Bond, a student known
as “White Lancer” used his anonymous blawg to make fun
of a professor for a reading assignment and to bash another student
by name. “The professor mentioned in class that anyone with
an IP address was never anonymous, and White Lancer was scared into
good behavior,” she says. Although the incident was minor,
it’s a reminder to blawgers that everything they post is public.
In this way, blawgs also may teach law students important lessons
about personal and professional responsibility.
—Todd Chatman
Return to top of page
Student
Lawyer home page
How to Start a Blawg
Starting your own blawg can be as easy as registering a username
and password at a web site. Sites like Blogger.com
and LiveJournal.com
provide everything you need to get started—for free. Simply
register (anonymously, if you’d like), choose how you want
your blawg to look by picking an option from a variety of layouts,
type your first post, and click “publish.” Just like
that, you’ll have your own blawg.
If you want more features (such as better comment functions and
the ability to post images), try TypePad.com
or Movable Type (www.movabletype.org).
The latter also offers free and paid versions, but it requires more
technical savvy to set up and maintain. WikiPedia, the online, open-source
encyclopedia, lists more than 30 writing and publishing tools you
can use to start a blawg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog).
For some, the toughest part of starting a blawg is coming up with
a name. Many law students like to pull their blawg’s title
from legal terminology, such as sua sponte, de novo, or “open
and notorious.”
Another important decision to make as you start your blawg is
whether you’d like to remain anonymous or put your name on
every post. Whichever you choose, remember that many blawgers who
don’t want to be identified are nevertheless “discovered”
at some point. True anonymity is illusory on the web. The most you
can hope for is to remain below the “Google radar,”
so that if someone searches the web for your name, your blawg won’t
be the first result on the list.
—Todd Chatman
Return to top of page
Student
Lawyer home page
A Blawg Sampler
Many blawgs provide links to these and other blogs and blawgs:
Letters of Marque (http://blog.qiken.org).
Written by Heidi Bond, a 2L at the University of Michigan, and packed
with advice on how to succeed in law school. See the summer 2004
archives for an extended advice series on everything from reading
cases to taking exams.
Sua Sponte (www.suasponte.org).
The author is a 3L at a Midwestern law school. Features a detailed
guide to transferring law schools based on her successful experience.
Transmogriflaw (http://journals.aol.com/transmogriflaw/journey).
Written by a 2L who is currently taking a semester off to have a
baby. Full of advice and anecdotes about law school and how having
children can affect the law school experience and a legal career.
Ditzy Genius (www.ditzygenius.com).
An anonymous 2L blawgs about the lighter side of law school.
Blawg Wisdom (http://blawgcoop.com/wisdom).
“Advice about law school from those who are in it.”
A collection of links to blawg posts containing advice about aspects
of law school. Categories of advice include pre-law, 1L, and exams.
Ambivalent Imbroglio (http://mowabb.com/ai).
My own blawg about law school and other topics.
De Novo (www.blogdenovo.org).
Group blog featuring discussions of current legal topics, politics,
and the field of law more generally.
How Appealing (http://legalaffairs.org/howappealing).
“The Web’s first blog devoted to appellate litigation,”
by Howard Bashman.
SCOTUSBlog (www.goldsteinhowe.com/blog).
News and analysis about the U.S. Supreme Court. Written by staff
at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Goldstein & Howe.
The New England School of Law OUTLaws (http://nesloutlaws.blogspot.com).
A blawg on LGBT issues.
Oy Vey (www.joshualfriedman.com).
A disability-rights advocate’s blawg.
Punishment Theory (www.punishmenttheory.blog-city.com).
A blawg on criminal law and philosophy, written by law professors
and lawyers.
Equal Vote (www.equalvote.blogspot.com).
A blawg by Ohio State University law professor Dan Tokaji on civil
rights and electronic voting.
The ACS Blog (www.acsblog.org).
The blawg of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy,
written and edited by law students from across the country.
Law Student Writing Blog (http://lawstudentwriting.blogspot.com).
A blawg by Legal Writing Success, a consulting firm that helps law
firms and law schools with legal writing needs.
Law Professor Blogs Network (www.lawprofessorblogs.com).
A network of blawgs designed to help law professors in their scholarship
and teaching.
Althouse (www.althouse.blogspot.com).
Commentary on the law, politics, pop culture, and life in Madison,
Wis., by University of Wisconsin law professor Ann Althouse.
Yin Blog (http://yin.typepad.com).
Legal topics, pop culture, and more, co-written by University of
Iowa law professor Tung Yin and University of Georgia law professor
Kevin Heller.
The Leiter Reports (http://webapp.utexas.edu/blogs/bleiter).
Editorials, news, and updates from University of Texas law professor
Brian Leiter.
Lessig Blog (www.lessig.org/blog).
Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig comments on intellectual
property issues.
Instapundit (www.instapundit.com).
University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds writes on politics
from a conservative perspective.
The Volokh Conspiracy (http://volokh.com).
Group blog featuring legal analysis and political commentary from
more than a dozen lawyers and law professors, including UCLA law
professor Eugene Volokh.
Notes From the (Legal) Underground (www.legalunderground.com).
Written by Evan Schaeffer, an Illinois trial lawyer.
Ernie the Attorney (http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634).
Among the most prominent blogs by practicing lawyers.
Stay of Execution (www.scheherazade.org).
A small-firm lawyer in Maine offers observations about practice.
My Shingle (http://myshingle.com).
A lawyer writes about the challenges of going solo.
Bag and Baggage (http://bgbg.blogspot.com).
Provides an extensive list of specialty blawgs.
Blawg.org (www.blawg.org).
A directory of law and legal-related weblogs organized by categories
and popularity.
Your Blawg? Start your own and join the blawging
community!
—Todd Chatman
Return to top of page
Student
Lawyer home page
|