Jay Fleischman Explains It All!

I know that a lot of bankruptcy lawyers read my blogs, and some of them read my blogs so they can find bankruptcy topics and bankruptcy analysis for their own blogs.

How do I know? Well, mostly because they told me!

But there's a very, very smart bankruptcy lawyer named Jay Fleischman who is a nationally known marketing and practice management expert, and he's bringing a road show to Phoenix, along with Cathy Moran, another well-known name in the consumer bankruptcy field.

You'll notice that part of the seminar is about improving service to consumer debtor bankruptcy clients, and I'm all over that!

So I've already signed up.

And if you practice consumer bankruptcy law in Arizona, and you want to hear from the best how to make your practice run more smoothly, and how to harvest more client happiness (I want all my clients to be happy all the time, although that's an impossible goal; but if I pick up one idea I can apply to my practice as a bankruptcy lawyer in Arizona, that's worth it to me!), you'll sign up also.

Here's the information about the seminar, and I'm as serious as I can be: be there or be square, if you're a consumer bankruptcy attorney in Arizona!

Truth in Advertising spoiler: Jay is a friend of mine. Mind you, he's so smart I'd tell bankruptcy lawyers about this anyway. But he's a great guy, and generous with his knowledge.

How Not to Do a Television Interview, if You're a Lawyer!

This is a useful discussion piece.

It is not a good television interview of a lawyer; there is clear stage fright, and a failure to find out ahead of shooting where to focus (on the camera? on the interviewer?).

Watch this space; my next one will be better!

Law Students, Beware!

I think a law degree is a wonderful thing; it teaches you to think like a lawyer, and I'm in favor of anything that teaches people to think like me, right?

But I continue to be sensitive to the fact that many lawyers graduate at the top of their classes from top law schools, and they expect to be the best lawyers in their area of practice, even if it is bankruptcy law and they'll need to compete with me, and then they discover that there are lots of law school graduates, and few, if any, jobs for law school graduates.

This is one of the best articles I've seen about somebody who graduated law school, and discovered that the world was not waiting for him with baited breath.

TV Interview: Debunking Arizona Bankruptcy Myths

Recently I spoke on ABC 15's Smart Family program. Check out the video above for the interview.

Do Law Schools Take Advantage of Law Students?

The question whether it's a good idea to churn out lawyers in an economy already saturated with them is an interesting one.

And I believe that articles like "Law School Economics: Ka-Ching!" will ultimately begin to slow the flow into law schools.

So will blogs like "Life's Mockery", written by a "law school victim"!

Sadly, it appears that the market was flooded with lawyers, and then the economy turned to poop. When that happened, a bundle of great business clients disappeared, perhaps forever.

And the outsourcing of legal work began in earnest.

All of that has created a perfect storm for recent law school graduates, and many established biglaw AV Rated and AVVO 10.0 specialists, and that is very sad indeed, because big-firm lawyers don't learn how to find legal business, or how to set up a law firm, or how to do anything much except how to practice law and how to bill hours.

On the other hand, my good friend Rick Cook has written a gem of a tiny book (an e-book, actually), entitled "Shift Happens", and it describes the sea-change in publishing and how people can now easily publish  and get rich, where before they could publish, with great difficulty, and stay poor.

He's careful to point out that work is involved in writing a book, and in marketing the book, but there are probably a few hundred good books to be written on the topic of law schools, and why it's a better idea to avoid them until the supply of lawyers is absorbed!

And if a recent law grad wants to make a few bucks while waiting to find a job, there's no reason not to write a book while they're waiting.

After all, they have more time than money!

A Job Opportunity for New Law Graduates!

There are far too many lawyers for available jobs these day, and that makes me sad.

But a buddy of mine has just written a nifty e-book about the paradigm changes that have occurred in the publishing industry.  It may just be your new career opportunity!

The book is written by my long-time friend Rick Cook, and it's available as an e-book on Amazon.

The title is Shift Happens. I strongly suggest that you buy it, read it, and use it!

You can thank me later!

Using Google Scholar for Legal Research, for My Favorite Price!

Take a look at this nifty article in The Lawyerist, which discusses what Google Scholar can and can't do as a legal search engine.

Whitey Bulger Gets Lucky

I have often said that it's better to be lucky than smart.

Woody Allen said that eighty per cent of success is showing up.

My addition to that wisdom? Showing up in the right place at the right time. Which moves it to ninety-nine per cent.

In the past, Whitey Bulger was a good friend to his friends, and a bad enemy to have, as behooved a reputed crime boss.

And he's been a "most wanted" for roughly forever.

Now that he's in custody, he has an attorney defending him who has been dubbed "The Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases", Jay Carney.

So it ain't over yet for Whitey Bulger, who can keep hoping that the luck of the Irish will strike again.

p.s. why in the world is this discussion relevant to the world of lawyer marketing and practice management? Well, ask yourself this question: do you have a sobriquet? If you had one, what would it be? Jay Carney has a pretty cool sobriquet, doesn't he? Don't you wish you had one?

And that, in turn, opens a discussion of online reputation management, which is a surprisingly important issue these days. Because, remember, when I was being mostly-in-house for a publicly traded company, somebody invented this thing called The Internet, and now everything is very different from B.I. ("Before Internet").

And is reputation management important? Well, I have a buddy who's a pretty fair attorney. He has claimed his profile on AVVO.com. He has two reviews on AVVO.com, both of which are awful!

Now, would you expect that fact to make a difference in the number of potential clients who are interested in talking to him?

Inquiring minds want to know!

So Maybe WordPress Is Pretty Cool. Maybe. I'll Get Back to You on This.

I have given a lot of thought and consideration to the best platform for business blogging and legal blogging. Law blogs are worthwhile endeavors, and educating clients a noble goal, so working with the best tools for that project is a good idea.

And you'll recall that I've spent a lot of time blogging on Blogger, for My Favorite Price. But my Blogger blogs have been slower than I would have liked when it came to climbing in the pageviews sweepstakes.

And I learned to use MoveableType from my buddies at Justia, and the best Blog Coach ever, Kerri! And thank you both for all your help, Stacy and Tim!

And I played around with TypePad, which I like very much; it's kind of an idiot-proof tool for blogging, and the prices are very reasonable, and the SEO kicks behind.

AND I was previously downright worried about the excessive technical expertise I thought I needed to make a WordPress.com work properly. Fuggeddabout the technical expertise needed for a WordPress.org blog, which I have not yet attempted!

And yet. And yet.

When I actually dug in, with the help of my son Sean, putting together a WordPress.com blog about bankruptcy law and practice and news, it seemed...almost easy. And the SEO qualities of the system seem awfully nice, too.

I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

Justia, Justia, Justia! Woo-hoooo! And a FREE Website? It Doesn't Get Better than That!

I know a bunch of nice folks you probably want to meet.

In fact, you definitely want to get to know 'em, because they can help you a lot. 

They just helped me port my number one, best, and top-ranked Arizona Bankruptcy Blog over to a better blogging platform (MoveableType), and they're about to infuse it with Justia SEO steroids.

Why should you care about Justia? Let me count the ways.

First, they built a spiffy lawyer directory, and if you aren't in it, that's downright silly, because it's free! 

Second, they will give you a cool, free template website, that's SEO optimized. And I'm here to tell you, Justia SEO rocks!

Finally, they'll provide you with a custom website with a great custom design, and superlative SEO, all for a very competitive price! Actually, it's dirt cheap, given the value.

Please don't tell 'em. I want to buy one at their current price!

But wait! There's more!

Justia will also build you a custom designed blog, and provide you with rocket-powered SEO support, and even the world's greatest blog coach!

Now, just so you know, once I started showing up high in the search engines, I thought I knew a thing or two. But Kerri, my blog coach, took my blogging to a higher level, and if I just practice what she told me, I'll keep getting better.

So zip on over to Justia, and put yourself in their directory, and sign up for a free website, and then when your practice increases, upgrade to their custom website, and then a custom blog package. And get a Justia blog coach.

But not Kerri. I don't want you cutting in on my time!

Should You Accept Paid Advertising on Your Legal Blogs?

I have spoken before about the wit and wisdom of Jay Fleischman, who is a very smart man indeed.

Here's a article about accepting paid advertising on your blog, from Jay. You'll note a cute visual gimmick in his blogpost: he stuck a faux-sample-advertisement above the text of his article.

And he made his point with me!

How about you?

p.s. this is an area where there is controversy. I'll post articles that go the other direction when I get a Round Tuit. But, frankly, I see it Jay's way on this issue.

The Lawyerist Wants to Help You Start a Law Practice. For Almost My Favorite Price!

There is a lovely post on The Lawyerist that talks about starting your solo law practice.

For under $3,000.

Check it out; you'll thank me later.

Gimmie a Hand, Okay? Go "Like" My Facebook Page!

You know, I feel remarkably stupid asking for the favor, but apparently it's a good thing for SEO purposes if your buddies go to your practice Facebook Page and click "like".

Therefore, if you're on Facebook, please go click "like" on my little Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer page there, because I certainly want a big, fluffy SEO!

Do You Have Clients Who Want to Be Television Stars?

Yesterday I received a nice email from Lauri, who is interested in casting for a companion series to the television show "Downsized".

Take a look at her email to me, and if you have clients who are interested, be my guest!

Name:
Lauri Lannan

E-mail Address:
lauri_lannan@pietown.tv

State:
California

ZIP:
91607

Phone:
DID NOT RESPOND

How would you like to be contacted?
E-mail
Phone

Brief description of your legal issue:
Hello Joseph,

I am the development coordinator at Pie Town Productions, a high volume, Emmy-nominated production company with more than 47 series under its belt. We’ve produced programming for networks such as Discovery, TLC, A&E, WE, Lifetime, The Food Network, HGTV and OWN. Some of our current shows include House Hunters on HGTV, Meat & Potatoes on Food Network, and Downsized on WE.

I am reaching out to you in regards to a current casting of a companion show to Downsized.

Downsized is our critically acclaimed docu-series on WE that follows a large, charismatic family that has been downsized in the recession and documents their challenges and successes of adjusting to new financial constraints.

Here is a link to information about Downsized on the WE TV website:
http://www.wetv.com/shows/downsized

We are now casting for a companion series to Downsized, and are specifically looking for a large and compelling family who is no longer bringing in the big bucks, is having to adjust their lifestyle, and would like some assistance getting back on track.  The ideal family is fun-loving, honest, emotional...and willing to “put it out there”.

While we understand that you can’t share personal contact information, we do hope you will pass along our information to clients, and anyone else you feel could potentially benefit from a series based around their situation.

Any interested persons may apply here: http://www.pietown.tv/Shows/downsized_ourstory.php

We are happy to answer any questions you may have, please feel free to contact me any time.  And please check out our website which will give you a greater understanding of our programming: www.pietown.tv

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many Thanks,

Lauri Lannan
Development Coordinator
Pie Town Productions

Would You Like a Suite of Free Software to Start Your New Law Firm? AVVO and Sam Glover to the Rescue!

Sam Glover is editor-in-chief of The Lawyerist, and you should subscribe to that if you haven't already done so.

Really.


AVVO.com is a premier lawyer (and doctor!) directory in the United States, and if you haven't "claimed your profile", thanks! More clients for the rest of us!

Sam Glover and AVVO.com have teamed up to produce a priceless learning experience for you.

Priceless? Well, it's free, anyway.

And my guess?

If you're a starving lawyer, starting a practice, it is priceless!

Putting it another way, I wish I'd had cool software like that when I started my practice thirty years ago!

The Price of Success in Blogging, or Your Practice, Explained by Remarkablogger

As you move toward the success that you have desired, you will discover several things.

One is that the harder you work, the luckier you get.

Another thing you'll discover is that if you set a goal, and work like crazy, you will begin to approach your initial goal, or even achieve it!

And your life won't be perfect. In fact, the tools that you used to achieve success won't necessarily support you in your new successful life. So you'll want to take stock, and change your direction, and build a new plan (really, just a small course correction for your old plan).

One nice thing about Remarkablogger's remarkable blog is that you get to see his progress, and the hard work that went into it, and how you can apply the same approaches to your blogging and your practice.

So enjoy his blog, and his insights, and understand that someday you, too, can be working 400 hour weeks, and enjoying it less!

Whatever you focus on and work toward, you'll probably achieve. And when you arrive, it'll be a foreign country to you. You'll probably cope less well at first than after you adjust to the new currency, and the different weather, and the strange new analogies.

And then your success will become an everyday thing, and you can adjust it to fit your new needs!

AVVO, LexBlog, Justia, TypePad, MoveableType, Blogger and WordPress: Comparison of Legal Blogging Platforms, and a Spirited Controversy!

I'm learning more about the differences between blogging platforms, and all of 'em have their good points. Since I started with Blogger, for instance, I still use it as my default blog location, although I know that will probably change very soon. Of course, it is My Favorite Price.

You can also use (this gets a little complicated) a free version of several of the blogging platforms. But I don't suggest that, for a number of reasons. The most obvious reason not to use a free platform is that free blogging platforms tend to have advertisements for competing lawyers on them.

Your first decision when you decide to blog is simple; you need to decide whether you are going to use a hosted-for-you platform or a self-hosted blogging platform (a lot of very serious legal bloggers use self-hosted WordPress, which is a great solution for somebody who is technologically very savvy.  This does not include me. MoveableType is another stable, fully-developed platform that many power bloggers use for their self-hosted blogs).

Are you already a techno-geek, and great with computers? Then, by all means, use a self-hosted blog!

If you're like the rest of us, get to work on a blog that is yours, but is hosted by someone else. You can use TypePad, for instance, which will host as many blogs as you like for about $15 per month, total. Or you can use a semi-free version of WordPress, in which you'll be using their hosting service, but paying a bit extra so you can avoid functioning as a billboard for competing lawyers!

You have a lot of choices as to platforms, and all have strong points, and all have weak points. But if you're a beginner, I strongly suggest that you let somebody else do the heavy lifting for you (for instance, Justia, Lexblog, TypePad, or AVVO).

The list of contenders for your attention in the legal blogging platform competition is pretty nifty; that is, there are a lot of platforms that should make you pretty darn happy. The platforms themselves are a little like automobiles; you can buy the very best blogging platform that an attorney could have, with every custom bell and whistle known to mankind, or you can get a downright...free platform, like this one, Blogger!

I have direct personal knowledge of one premium lawyer blogging service, which is provided by Justia. And I love it, love it, love it! I have no criticisms of it at all, and I have found the customer service to be amazing, and wonderful, and spectacular. They built me a couple of blogs, and are porting my big bankruptcy blog over to a Justia platform soon.  And I cannot wait to see how it thrives when it has the SEO advantage brought to the party by Justia!

The price for Justia blog design and support and "blog coaching" is not free, but the quality of the customer service is priceless; and it will move you forward far faster than floundering around to learn things yourself that Justia knows very well! Here is a list of the top ten questions to ask a prospective blog platform provider, from Justia! Note also: your time has value. If you use a blog designer and blog coach from Justia, your time will be spent actually blogging, rather than trying to learn by yourself how to stick a video into a blogpost.

I have a buddy named Vladimir Gagic who has recently started using blog design and support from LexBlog, and he raves about how wonderful his results have been. I don't have direct knowledge of LexBlog, but I trust Vlad's perceptions and intelligence completely.

So let's think about this for a minute.

There are several wonderful blogging platforms out there. They include lawyer specific platforms that will help you with design and coaching and SEO, including Justia and LexBlog; in addition, AVVO offers a template-driven service that AVVO will host for you, which is supported by WordPress, and the price is very good. There are free blogging platforms like Blogger and TypePad (but don't be silly with TypePad; step up to the plate and pay the $15 per month, sport! You'll be glad you did!) and WordPress.
                                                                                                                                             
WordPress is a great platform, and comes in several flavors; free/hosted by WordPress.com/advertising by others on your blog; and small price/no ads/hosted by WordPress.com...then you get to the self-hosted flavor, where you download software from WordPress.org and host it yourself or use a separate hosting site...which is the point at which my head explodes because I'm not a technical guy. But I do know how to type!).

Whatever blogging platform you decide to use is fine by me, of course, because I don't get a commission from anybody, but your blog should probably be set up to automatically dump your blogposts into your Twitter and your Facebook accounts.

You don't have a professional Facebook account? And you're not on Twitter?

Well, my Findlaw buddies built me a neat little Facebook page, and I am always grateful for the help that my buddy Alex Morris at Findlaw has given me.  And, sure, today I'm only the number 6 most-searched lawyer in Phoenix, out of 8,297 lawyers. And today I'm only the number 331st most-searched lawyer out of 1.444 million in the United States. But for a guy with no marketing budget, it's a good start, right?

Back on topic.

The reason for this post was to discuss the different platforms you may use to blog. I have personal experience with a lot of blogging platforms, including Justia, and Blogger, and TypePad, and WordPress (my WordPress blog isn't live yet, but it may be worth the wait; I'll keep you posted).

As soon as I can figure out how to do it, I'll be signing up for an AVVO blog, and probably a LexBlog blog as well, just so I can tell you all how they stack up.

Now, would you like to see a chart that compares blogging platforms for lawyers? Well, Conrad Saam has devised such a chart, and there are a boatload of comments after that chart!

If I were you, and I was contemplating legal blogging, I would get right over to the AVVO Chart which discusses some differences between platforms, and I would read the comments from such worthies as Kevin O'Keefe, of LexBlog (Kevin maintains a nifty blog entitled "Real Lawyers Have Blogs", which is hosted on...LexBlog!). There are also insightful comments from Rick Klau, of Blogger (listen, Rick, if you'll give me  just a few new templates, we'll talk!),  and Joshua Fruchter (of E-Law Marketing), and well as other notables.

p.s. I'm going to make this easy for you. There are two different roads you can go down to create your blog. You can use an inexpensive, template-driven system that takes care of all the hard technological work for you, and gives you a perfectly good-looking and functioning blog. The places to stop on that road are going to be TypePad Boulevard or AVVO Way or inexpensive, they-host-it-for-you WordPress.com Lane.

The other direction is the plush, premium, we'll-stir-your-coffee-for-you-sir, do-you-like-this-custom-blog-design-sir road. The mansions on that road are located on Justia Avenue and LexBlog Street.

I have gone down both roads, and I have enjoyed my travels on both of them.

If you are a starving lawyer (you are not alone, trust me on this), I suggest that you go to TypePad and pay $15 per month to set up a blog or two. That blog can even serve as your website, capeesh? So you're getting some real value for your $15 bucks a month, and that will even buy you additional blogs! Or use the template-driven opportunity at AVVO, for about $300 per month. Or the semi-free they-host-it-for-you-but-you-pay-extra-for-no-advertising package at WordPress.com.

If you are a well-established lawyer who has a good practice, and wants to make sure he keeps a good practice, by all means pay for the expert help you'll get at Justia. Or, according to Vlad, at LexBlog. The reason I suggest that you do that is that you will be frustrated beyond belief when you try to do simple stuff without a coach on your blog, and if you have a blogging coach, your frustration level will be far lower. Your learning curve, however, will be far higher!

In essence, you are paying for convenience and a custom image for your blog with both Justia and LexBlog. Bear in mine that your stunning blog may make an expensive website less necessary for you!

The two approaches are not mutually exclusive, by any means. You can always start with a nearly-free blog with anybody you want, as long as you don't get stuck with ads for other lawyers on your site, because that looks unprofessional, and a little silly. And it's very inexpensive to turn off that spigot on most low-priced, high-quality blogging platforms.

And note that while I am well acquainted with Blogger, which is a stable, remarkably-easy-to-set-up-and-use blogging platform, there are also about twenty other free blogging platforms that, if you're starving, you may want to explore; most are going to be full of ads unless you upgrade, but some are not.

They include LiveJournal.com, Blogr.com, Xanga.com, Blogster.com, Multiply.com, Blog.com, Freevlog.org, InsaneJournal.com, ClearBlogs.com, Etribes.com, Terrapad.com, Blogsome.com, ShoutPost.com, OpenDiary.com, Greasy.com, Friendster.com, Netcipia.com, SquareSpace.com, BraveNet.com, Tumblr.com, and Posterous.com.

Have fun blogging!

p.s. if you use TypePad to produce multiple blogs for a total, total, total of $15 per month or so, you'll want to "map around" the initial TypePad domain name. It will cost you a little to buy a domain name (think ten bucks a year-ish), and you should do so, for several reasons that I'll discuss more fully when I get a Round Tuit!  And that's when it's good to have a computer-savvy buddy. But that's the only geeky thing you'll need to manage if you use TypePad!

The Easiest Way to Start Blogging without Fear, or Even Brains! Call Justia, and Do It Now!

I have friends. Yes, it shocks even me.

In particular, I have friends at a company called Justia, which is all things to all lawyers. It has a lawyer directory (you're not in that directory? More clients for the rest of us!), and a lot of other stuff.

For the purposes of this discussion, it has an antidote to the fear of blogging, and it's a pretty darn nifty antidote.

You just pick up the phone and call 'em.  Tell 'em you want a blog and blog coach.

They'll do the rest.

Your blog will look like an expensive website, and it will function in exactly that way, only better than most. Here's my blog with Justia. Here's my other blog with Justia. And soon, my other, other blog with Justia will look and function about the same, except for that whole thousand-entries thing.

But even when they build a beautiful blog template to your specifications, you'll still be a dummy about blogging, right?

Wrong, Fearofbloggingguy!

Because you will be assigned a smart person with a job description that didn't exist fifteen years ago: a blogging coach! And the coach will take you step by step though every aspect of blogging, starting with baby steps (after all, at first, you don't know how to add a picture, or a video, or even how to italicize, right?).

And you can relax, because Justia knows what it's doing.

This isn't it's first teach-a-dummy to blog rodeo.  That was me.

What will amaze you is the ease of use of the entire well-thought-out system; you won't be burdened with any geek-speak, and nobody will expect you to know diddly about blogging.

Because if you're a beginner, you have no bad blogging habits.

And if you're already an experienced blogger, you'll learn stuff you wouldn't learn on your own in another half-decade of mindless blogging.

So either way, if you're not blogging today, call Justia tomorrow.

You can thank me later.

p.s. no, it's not free, you dummy. But it is priceless, if you want to educate your clients, and you want your firm to thrive during lean times for lawyers. And while it isn't free, it is far less expensive than it should be. You'll be amazed.

How To Port Blogs from One Platform to Another, As in From Typepad to Wordpress, or Blogger to Typepad

Here's the answer, based on my initial review of the literature.

It's a big fat pain in the neck to port from one blogging system to another. 

Even my genius buddies at Justia have needed to work hard to get my big bankruptcy blog ready for the migration from Blogger over to the Justia/MoveableType platform, and they're professionals!

Now, there are a lot of articles discussing ways to move from TypePad to WordPress, because WordPress has great...press! And I've reached the conclusion that it's a magnificent solution for those who are not as computer-challenged as I am.

And take a look at this discussion of porting capabilities in MovableType! It made my eyes glaze and roll back in my head!

Now, for me personally, a WordPress set-up or port over is a bridge too far.

For me, TypePad is in the sweet spot between power and flexibility, ease of use, absolute freedom to ignore issues like whether my server will fail, and the ability to just...type blogs! And its SEO characteristics seem very, very nifty, as compared to Blogger.

So my guess is that there will be a short-term explosion in demand for computer guys who do exactly one thing: help professionals port blogs!

And that's because there's always a newer and better thingie out there.

Which is why I'm particularly happy with TypePad. It's been around a long time!

Like me!

p.s. yeah, okay, I'm going to go ahead and try WordPress, just because I want to do that. And I'll let you know if all the magnificent press I've read about it appears to be justified. I'll keep you posted. But if it seems too good to be true, you know...

p.p.s. I'm a little surprised that Blogger has lagged behind the competition in blogging platforms so profoundly; my guess is that if Blogger had simply added a ton of templates, and a few more capabilities, it would have been well situated to retain bloggers who had used...Blogger!

p.p.p.s. Embrace your ignorance and start blogging! Today. In fact, I'm going to generate a post about this very topic. But if you look at posts like the above, and become intimidated that you'll need to learn things, that will slow you down. Remember that the easiest way to become a professional quality blogger (if you're a lawyer) is just to go to Justia, contact 'em, and ask to be set up with a blog and a blog coach.

If you listen to your coach, you'll get smart about blogging very quickly, and you'll be very happy with the results, if you do the work.

You won't be sorry you started blogging. Seriously.

Top Ten Most Popular Posts in my Just for Lawyers Blog this Week!

Most Popular Posts on Just For Lawyers this Week!

• Dan Gukeisen, former Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer, Sentenced to Five Years in Prison in Manslaughter

  Dan Gukeisen, who practiced bankruptcy law in Arizona, has been sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the stabbing death of ...
• Which Blogging Platform Should You Use?

  Well, the answer is almost funny, and it's similar to the answer to the question, "Which exercise program should I start?" The answer to...
• What Area of Law Should I Practice? Part I

  When you're a baby lawyer, you really ought to give this issue some thought. Because in four years, anybody can invent himself into an exp...
• High Paying Prestige Jobs for Law School Graduates? Fuggeddaboutit, Says Law Professor, Who Then Does a Buddha.

  In an interesting presentation at a commencement ceremony for recent law school grads, a professor tells students not to yearn for the high...
• Typepad vs. Word Press, from an Expert. But Remember, You're NOT an Expert on Blogging Platforms or Technology!

  Here are some cogent discussions of the differences between Typepad and Word Press , and all of these considerations make sense to me. And...
• Decisions. Decisions. And Schizophrenia. Clio vs. HoudiniEsq!

  So here was my thought. I was going to pick up a buncha licenses for Clio , an online practice management system that had gotten a lotta g...
• No Jobs for Attorneys? Hey, Plenty of Work for Social Media Managers!

  Everybody knows that the job market for lawyers is the pits. The Wall Street Journal has written about it, and so has USA Today . That ma...
• What Blogging Platform Should You Use if You're a Beginner and a Non-Techie?

  Okay, the longer I live, the smarter I get. Because I learn more ways not to do things! Up until recently, I've suggested that absolute b...
• How to Find Guest Posts for Your Blog. On Facebook. While Playing Zynga Poker.

  So there I was, relaxing at the end of a long day at the office. The most mindless endeavor in the world, which puts my racing thoughts in...
• The Rainmaker's Networking Meeting at Monti's Tonight

  See, the appetizers at Monti's are perfectly okay. And the folks at the Rainmaker's Networking meeting are smart, friendly, and actually s...

Typepad vs. Word Press, from an Expert. But Remember, You're NOT an Expert on Blogging Platforms or Technology!

Here are some cogent discussions of the differences between Typepad and Word Press, and all of these considerations make sense to me.

And my choices in building new blogs lets you know where I come out on the topic.

See, what I know about internet technology is simple: I know how to type!

And all I really want to do is to share information about bankruptcy with people and businesses.

And for my purposes, Blogger was great until it became too constricting. But thank you, Blogger, for a long and free run, which is my favorite price! And I'll come back here often to update, and link to my older articles.

But for me, Typepad has it all; remarkable ease of use, nice looking templates, and did I mention that I don't need to know nothin' about nothin' on the Internet?

What happens if I can't get the latest and greatest template for my blogs from Typepad? Or the most amazing brand new Widget?

Well, not very much, I think!

What Blogging Platform Should You Use if You're a Beginner and a Non-Techie?

Okay, the longer I live, the smarter I get. Because I learn more ways not to do things!

Up until recently, I've suggested that absolute blogging beginners start with Blogger, which has absurdly simple setup; hey, if I can do it, you can do it!

Now, if you're serious about blogging, you probably ought to consider talking to my friends at Justia, and let them help you for your first year or decade of blogging; not only will they make your blog beautiful and functional, they'll provide you with a Blogging Coach! And super-duper SEO!

And thank you, Justia!

But you may want to goof around a bit before you get serious, and play around with building your own blogs first, they way I did. After all, how bad could it be?

I'll let you in on it at some point. Time has value, you know?

But now, I'm re-thinking my prior advice to my buddies that they start blogging on Blogger.

While it's easy to use, it lacks a lot of capabilities, and I'm not sure it speaks fluent SEO, which is very odd, because it's owned by Google!

When I've read the Blogger vs. TypePad vs. WordPress vs. MovableType articles, the thing that sticks out to me is that TypePad has a both a very high ease of use factor, as well as substantial capacity to build a nice looking blog with videos, photographs, and similar functionality.

And TypePad also has a free trial function, so I'm pretty strongly inclined to tell my buddies to start with a free trial TypePad blog, move to a baby TypePad blog until they feel comfy, upgrade to the big boy TypePad blog, or just go for the Gold and go from TypePad (to learn the rudiments of blogging) to Justia to get a lot more pageviews from Justia's SEO.

I'll keep you posted as I get smarter!

But free is my favorite price, so going with TypePad for a test drive seems like a good idea to me right now.

And I'm proud of it because I just built it (sort of like with Lego Blocks), so I have to show off my little amateur Typepad Bankruptcy Blog!

Which Blogging Platform Should You Use?

Well, the answer is almost funny, and it's similar to the answer to the question, "Which exercise program should I start?"

The answer to the second question is simple: start the exercise program that you'll actually do! Doesn't matter if you're not jogging, or not lifting weights, or not swimming, or not going to yoga or karate. Not doing it is the same across the board!

And the same rule applies to blogging.

But the answer is almost the same, not exactly the same.

You may want to start with something very easy to set up, and free. That has advantages, and if those are your two major concerns, start with Blogger. It's not my choice for the long term, although I'm typing this discussion into Blogger as we speak!

But Blogger has limitations that I don't yet know how to overcome; still, if my sonny boy is helpful applying new templates, these Blogger blogs may survive for a while!

I have two, going on three, blogs supported by Justia, and they run on top of a blogging system called MovableType. And I like MovableType a lot. It just works, first time, every time. Once the program becomes transparent to you, using it is easy. I may decide to set up a few additional MovableType blogs. Why? Because I can!

On the other hand, there's a little site called TypePad. And I recently started playing with a TypePad blog because it dumps directly into my twitter and facebook feeds, without any effort on my part. And that's a good thing, right?

On the other, other hand, my next projects will include building a WordPress blog, because WordPress consistently gets good press among bloggers.

One other little thing.

You went to law school, and since there was little differential between your I.Q. and that of your professors, they couldn't really use Socratic Method on you. So they just beat you up intellectually, and you couldn't tell the difference, because you were just a law student, right?

That's easy to do, especially in a Research and Writing Class. After all, what do you know? And if your Professor tells you that you can't write, that can have a profound effect on your willingness to be embarrassed by publishing a blog.

Well, guess what?

You've been in practice now for a while, and you've learned a lot that your professors don't know, because most of them didn't have the huevos rancheros to spend time in the trenches, practicing law.

Which is, by the way, not as easy as it looks on television.

And getting harder every day.

So heal your writing trauma by...writing.

The good news is that nobody will read your blog at first, anyway!

The bad news is also that nobody will read your blog at first!

We'll discuss these issues more when I get a Round Tuit.

Until then, stay safe out there!

p.s. you may want to start by blogging in an area where you feel safer than blogging about the law. That's actually a pretty good idea. It will get you into the habit of blogging, and that's a good thing.

I started my blogging career with a hobby blog about Shotokan Karate, which I built for the simple reason that I wanted to drive additional traffic to my karate instructor, Sensei Shojiro Koyama.

After a while, I discovered that my little hobby blog was showing up high in the search engines for a series of Shotokan Karate related search terms, and now my little karate blog shows up in a footnote in Wikipedia!

So I guess I invented myself into an expert by blogging about something I loved.

And you can do the same thing, and enjoy the process!

And after you have have the habit well-established, you can start (carefully) writing about something scary, like The Law.

And if the keyboard doesn't explode, you may decide to keep it up!

p.p.s. Here's one discussion of the top ten blogging platforms; as you can see, there are a lot of choices for you. Don't feel overwhelmed. Just start, and blog a little bit every single day. And you'll soon become relaxed and habituated to blogging.

And do remember that once you press "publish", the post is forever. You may want to consider letting all your posts season for a day or two before you press the publish button, because then the Rubicon has been crossed, and there's no going back!

p.p.p.s. Duhhhhh. Turns out that TypePad isn't, as it thought, a quirky little blog platform. It's been around forever, and has frequently been the center of TypePad vs. Blogger vs. WordPress slugfests, and sometimes comes out the winner!

I played with my new little TypePad blog today, and there are a couple of things I haven't worked out yet. Overall it's a very, very useful blogging platform, with a very good ease-of-use factor. In fact, it seems about as easy to use as Blogger, which has an insanely high ease-of-use factor.

But TypePad seems to be a perfectly worthwhile platform to set up a website (which is really just a one-page blog, right?) or a blog (which is just a multi-page website, right?). It loads quickly, there are plenty of templates to pick among, it's easy to plug in a video, and...well, that's not a bad start!

The price factor is low enough that it ought not stop most lawyers; the big boy package is about fifteen dollars a month, and for the convenience and...well, ease of use, as well as the power to do anything you want with your blog, that's a pretty good deal!

As of now, with so many folks discussing WordPress in such glowing terms, I'm tempted to play around with it. But it was so refreshing to build a blog that quickly (and no, it's not yet a perfect blog. And no, I don't know how to plug in my own domain name; but I'll bet I can get it done pretty easily!).

Now, my Justia-supported blogs aren't perfect either, but they sure are close; so I'll keep an eye on how well all of my blogs do as they casually and slowly drift up the blogosphere, and I'll keep you posted. But for now, I'm quite impressed with TypePad!

High Paying Prestige Jobs for Law School Graduates? Fuggeddaboutit, Says Law Professor, Who Then Does a Buddha.

In an interesting presentation at a commencement ceremony for recent law school grads, a professor tells students not to yearn for the high paying jobs of that past, because they just aren't there. That's the simple truth, and good for Sarah for pointing out that truth.

Emory Professor Sarah Statler goes on, in an analytical approach that sounds Buddhist, to say that desire for those jobs causes suffering, and that by abandoning that desire for those high-paying high-prestige jobs, the suffering can be cured, and happiness can be obtained (and yes, that's a paraphrase).

I found all of that interesting at many levels, and on another level I thought, "Easy for her to say! She's already got a job!"

The Rainmaker's Networking Meeting at Monti's Tonight

See, the appetizers at Monti's are perfectly okay.

And the folks at the Rainmaker's Networking meeting are smart, friendly, and actually send each other business, which is a good thing.

But the reason I keep showing up is simple: Stephen Fairley is a world class speaker who knows at least a hundred different ways to double the size of your practice.

Tonight he talked about a system that he's taught to a few thousand lawyers. It isn't fancy, and isn't technologically sophisticated. A lot of lawyers have been exposed to this approach to bringing clients into a firm. It has only one thing to recommend it, as a system.

It works. Really, really well.

I'm not going to tell you about it, because I'm not a world-class speaker and practice development expert. I'm just a bankruptcy lawyer.

If you want to double the size of your practice in six months, take the courses offered at The Rainmaker Institute. And then apply the lessons that you learn there.

Now, here's the funny thing.

I know, without a question, that the technique he taught tonight works, first time and every time. And I know it because it's the technique I used to build my firm back before there was an internet.

And the funny part was that, even though the lawyers at the Rainmaker's Networking meeting last night applauded vigorously, my guess is that most of 'em won't apply what they learned.

Oh, well. Some of 'em will, and they'll be happy that they did!

Killing and Destroying and Jumping Up and Down on Blogging Writer's Block, by Copyblogger

Copyblogger consistently presents ways to make it easier to blog, or more generally, to write.

The discussion I read today was nifty because it provided a formula for making writing harder, not easier.

And I kinda like that sort of reverse-psychology!

I'll Be Back!

Well, the State Bar of Arizona is in safe hands this year, and they aren't mine!

Congratulations to the brave souls who have taken up the thankless, unpaid task of sitting as Governors of the State Bar of Arizona!

And thank you to all of my friends who voted for me! The number surprised me, because I didn't campaign this year; that made me more grateful to the voters who supported me.

I'll be running again, I expect, and next time I may actually...campaign in the Board of Governors election!

One nice thing about doing things is that you often learn how not to do them!

Dan Gukeisen, former Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer, Sentenced to Five Years in Prison in Manslaughter

Dan Gukeisen, who practiced bankruptcy law in Arizona, has been sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the stabbing death of an ASU student.

So If "Murder", "Shrewdness", "Dissimulation", "Implausibility", and "Mischief" are all used up, What is the Plural Noun for a Buncha Lawyers?

I ran into the list below at a site called "Fun with Words", and I loved the list.

And you know the next question, and you probably know the correct answer: what is the correct plural noun in English for a group of attorneys?

A golden gavel is not the prize for the correct answer, by the way.

herd	of	antelope
army	of	ants
colony	of	ants
swarm	of	ants
shrewdness	of	apes
flange	of	baboons
congress	of	baboons
tribe	of	baboons
culture	of	bacteria
cete	of	badgers
colony	of	badgers
sleuth	of	bears
sloth	of	bears
pack	of	bears (polar bears)
colony	of	beavers
lodge	of	beavers
flight	of	bees
grist	of	bees
hive	of	bees
swarm	of	bees
congregation	of	birds
dissimulation	of	birds
flight	of	birds
flock	of	birds
volery	of	birds
sedge	of	bitterns
siege	of	bitterns
herd	of	boar
singular	of	boar
sounder	of	boar
chain	of	bobolinks
brace	of	bucks
clash	of	bucks
herd	of	buffalo
rabble	of	butterflies
swarm	of	butterflies
wake	of	buzzards
flock	of	camels
army	of	caterpillars
clowder	of	cats
clutter	of	cats
glaring	of	cats
pounce	of	cats
dout	of	cats (house cats)
nuisance	of	cats (house cats)
kendle	of	cats (kittens)
kindle	of	cats (kittens)
litter	of	cats (kittens)
destruction	of	cats (wild cats)
drove	of	cattle
herd	of	cattle
kine	of	cattle
team	of	cattle
yoke	of	cattle (two)
herd	of	chamois
brood	of	chickens
flock	of	chickens
peep	of	chickens
brood	of	chicks
chattering	of	chicks
clutch	of	chicks
cartload	of	chimpanzees
herd	of	chinchillas
bed	of	clams
quiver	of	cobras
rag	of	colts
rake	of	colts
bury	of	conies
cover	of	coots
flight	of	cormorants
band	of	coyotes
sedge	of	cranes
siege	of	cranes
congregation	of	crocodiles
float	of	crocodiles
storytelling	of	crows
murder	of	crows
herd	of	deer
leash	of	deer
parcel	of	deer
bevy	of	deer (roe deer)
kennel	of	dogs
pack	of	dogs
litter	of	dogs (puppies)
pod	of	dolphins
drove	of	donkeys
herd	of	donkeys
pace	of	donkeys
trip	of	dotterel
bevy	of	doves
cote	of	doves
dole	of	doves
dule	of	doves
flight	of	doves
piteousness	of	doves
flight	of	dragons
weyr	of	dragons
wing	of	dragons
brace	of	ducks
flock	of	ducks
flush	of	ducks
paddling	of	ducks
raft	of	ducks
team	of	ducks
aerie	of	eagles
convocation	of	eagles
swarm	of	eels
herd	of	elephants
memory	of	elephants
parade	of	elephants
gang	of	elk
herd	of	elk
mob	of	emus
business	of	ferrets
cast	of	ferrets
fesnying	of	ferrets
charm	of	finches
catch	of	fish
haul	of	fish
run	of	fish
school	of	fish
shoal	of	fish
swarm	of	flies
lead	of	foxes
leash	of	foxes
skulk	of	foxes
army	of	frogs
colony	of	frogs
knot	of	frogs
flock	of	geese
gaggle	of	geese
skein	of	geese (in flight)
wedge	of	geese (flying in a 'V')
horde	of	gerbils
corps	of	giraffes
herd	of	giraffes
tower	of	giraffes
cloud	of	gnats
horde	of	gnats
swarm	of	gnats
herd	of	gnus
implausibility	of	gnus
drove	of	goats
herd	of	goats
tribe	of	goats
trip	of	goats
charm	of	goldfinches
glint	of	goldfish
band	of	gorillas
skein	of	goslings
leash	of	greyhounds
covey	of	grouse
pack	of	grouse
colony	of	gulls
group	of	guinea pigs
horde	of	hamsters
drove	of	hares
down	of	hares
husk	of	hares
leash	of	hares
trace	of	hares
trip	of	hares
warren	of	hares
aerie	of	hawks
cast	of	hawks
kettle	of	hawks
array	of	hedgehogs
prickle	of	hedgehogs
brood	of	hens
hedge	of	herons
sedge	of	herons
siege	of	herons
shoal	of	herrings
crash	of	hippopotami
herd	of	hippopotami
bloat	of	hippopotami
drift	of	hogs
parcel	of	hogs
passel	of	hogs
nest	of	hornets
harras	of	horses
herd	of	horses
stable	of	horses
team	of	horses
troop	of	horses

cry	of	hounds
mute	of	hounds
pack	of	hounds
charm	of	hummingbirds
clan	of	hyenas
band	of	jays
party	of	jays
scold	of	jays
smack	of	jellyfish
herd	of	kangaroos
mob	of	kangaroos
troop	of	kangaroos
deceit	of	lapwings
ascension	of	larks
exaltation	of	larks
leap	of	leopards
leep	of	leopards
lepe	of	leopards
pride	of	lions
sault	of	lions
sowse	of	lions
troop	of	lions
lounge	of	lizards
herd	of	llamas
plague	of	locusts
tidings	of	magpies
sord	of	mallards
stud	of	mares
richness	of	martens
horde	of	mice
mischief	of	mice
nest	of	mice
company	of	moles
labor	of	moles
movement	of	moles
cartload	of	monkeys
tribe	of	monkeys
troop	of	monkeys
troup	of	monkeys
herd	of	moose
barren	of	mules
pack	of	mules
rake	of	mules
span	of	mules
watch	of	nightingales
bevy	of	otter
family	of	otter
raft	of	otter
romp	of	otter
parliament	of	owls
drove	of	oxen
herd	of	oxen
span	of	oxen
team	of	oxen
yoke	of	oxen (two)
bed	of	oysters
company	of	parrots
covey	of	partridges
muster	of	peacocks
ostentation	of	peacocks
colony	of	penguins
crèche	of	penguins
huddle	of	penguins
parcel	of	penguins
rookery	of	penguins
nest	of	pheasants
nide	of	pheasants (on the ground)
nye	of	pheasants (on the ground)
bouquet	of	pheasants (when flushed)
flight	of	pigeons
flock	of	pigeons
drove	of	pigs
herd	of	pigs
litter	of	pigs
farrow	of	pigs (piglets)
sounder	of	pigs (wild pigs)
shoal	of	pilchards
congregation	of	plovers
wing	of	plovers
chine	of	polecats
string	of	ponies
pod	of	porpoises
school	of	porpoises
passel	of	possum
coterie	of	prairie dogs
bevy	of	quail
covey	of	quail
bury	of	rabbits
colony	of	rabbits
down	of	rabbits
drove	of	rabbits
husk	of	rabbits
leash	of	rabbits
trace	of	rabbits
trip	of	rabbits
warren	of	rabbits
nest	of	rabbits (young)
wrack	of	rabbits (young)
gaze	of	raccoons
nursery	of	raccoons
colony	of	rats
horde	of	rats
mischief	of	rats
pack	of	rats
plague	of	rats
swarm	of	rats
rhumba	of	rattlesnakes
storytelling	of	ravens
unkindness	of	ravens
crash	of	rhinocerouses
building	of	rooks
clamor	of	rooks
storytelling	of	rooks
run	of	salmon
school	of	salmon
shoal	of	salmon
bob	of	seals
colony	of	seals
crash	of	seals
harem	of	seals
herd	of	seals
pod	of	seals
rookery	of	seals
spring	of	seals
team	of	seals
school	of	shark
shiver	of	shark
down	of	sheep
drove	of	sheep
flock	of	sheep
fold	of	sheep
hurtle	of	sheep
trip	of	sheep
bed	of	snakes
den	of	snakes
nest	of	snakes
pit	of	snakes
walk	of	snipes
wisp	of	snipes
host	of	sparrows
dray	of	squirrels
scurry	of	squirrels
murmuration	of	starlings
muster	of	storks
mustering	of	storks
flight	of	swallows
bevy	of	swans
herd	of	swans
wedge	of	swans (flying in a 'V')
flock	of	swifts
drift	of	swine
sounder	of	swine
spring	of	teals
ambush	of	tigers
streak	of	tigers
knot	of	toads
hover	of	trout
flock	of	turkeys
brood	of	turkeys (immature)
bale	of	turtles
generation	of	vipers
nest	of	vipers
colony	of	vultures
mob	of	wallabees
herd	of	walruses
pod	of	walruses
pack	of	weasels
sneak	of	weasels
gam	of	whales
herd	of	whales
pod	of	whales
school	of	whales
plump	of	wildfowl
herd	of	wolves
pack	of	wolves
rout	of	wolves
route	of	wolves
warren	of	wombats
fall	of	woodcocks
descent	of	woodpeckers
herd	of	yaks
herd	of	zebras
zeal	of	zebras

The Top Ten Just for Lawyers Articles this Week!

The Top Ten Just for Lawyers Articles This Week!

• Yeah, I'm Running for Office. Fortunately, My Chances of Winning are Slim!

  The election for Board of Governors is now closed, and my guess is that I didn't win, place, or show, partly because I didn't campaign! Whic...
• What Is a Virtual Law Office, and How Do I Build One?

  Well, I have no idea, but this article by Stephanie Kimbro in the Lawyerist shows that she knows. And tells!
• How Awful Is Your Website?

  At some point, you're going to get a website. It'll probably be a crummy website, because we all have to start somewhere. In fact, at the ...
• What Area of Law Should I Practice? Part I

  When you're a baby lawyer, you really ought to give this issue some thought. Because in four years, anybody can invent himself into an exp...
• 

  How Much Is a Solution Worth?

  Lawyers don't sell time, not really. They sell solutions to problems. Which is why, when clients drop into my office, I ask "how can I s...
• The Rainmaker Retreat: Worth the Price, and Then Some!

  I've been to a fair number of seminars concerning the art of rainmaking. I've read a lot of books on the topic. I've lectured to lawyers on ...
• OH, NO! Not an Algorithmquake!!

  I've gotten some clients because of my online educational efforts, since some people like to know what's going to happen next in their bank...
• Decisions. Decisions. And Schizophrenia. Clio vs. HoudiniEsq!

  So here was my thought. I was going to pick up a buncha licenses for Clio , an online practice management system that had gotten a lotta g...
• RealPractice Gives You FREE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT AND WEBSITE SOLUTION; and it Partnered with AVVO, So It's Probably GREAT!

  I know it's rough to be a solo or small firm OR a big firm lawyer during a recession. I get it. Apparently, so does a firm called RealPr...
• Tim Stanley Knows His Stuff! Justia Puts Your Blog on Steroids!

  I recently got a call from Tim Stanley, who runs Justia , along with the lovely Stacy; they created Findlaw, and now that they have sold th...

OH, NO! Not an Algorithmquake!!

I've gotten some clients because of my online educational efforts, since some people like to know what's going to happen next in their bankruptcy cases.

But the most frustrating experience I've had was after I had worked my tail end off in the Internet Teaching Trenches, and succeeded. I became the Arizona Internet "Go-To Guy" for bankruptcy information and bankruptcy education and bankruptcy resources, and I was getting tons and tons of pageviews and phone calls from potential clients.

And then it hit.

The dreaded Algorithmquake.

Da-daaaa-daaaaaa-dummmmmmmmm!

And for a few weeks, nobody dropped in to say howdy; and nobody (relatively speaking) found my various blogs about bankruptcy, or health, or Shotokan Karate to read them.

I was sad. No, I was very sad (sad face goes here).

Google had changed its algorithm and nobody had sent me the memo!

The short version of the horrible story was that I went from being very easy to find to being Casper the Friendly Ectoplasm.

That was because I had been working to show up well for "organic searches", and Google had previously presented information that showed organic searches at the top of the search page, and a map on the side, kinda like electronic fries.

Then the presentation of information changed, and I ceased to exist; because the top searches for many terms became linked to local search and Google Places.

And when Google doesn't love you, it's a dark, dark day, and they don't make hot fudge sundaes big enough to smother the pain.

I figured out the problem by mistake; I was showing a nice computer network geek how to get a little more business for his business, and we went to Google, and we saw a bundle of Google Places entries, and he said, "if it doesn't show up in the top of Google Maps, I just do another search!"

He was sheepish when he said it. I was horrified when he said it. The scales fell from my eyes. I suddenly knew why the phone had recently been quiet. I verified it with some quick searches, and then I knew what I had to do.

I had to find some way to make Google Places love me. Or find a Shadchen to get Google Places to marry me. Or at least date me! 


Now, I survived that Algorithmquake to tell the tale. 


And I was scarred; while there are more efficient and effective ways to check for your rankings, I also spend my mindless hours at the end of a long, long day as a bankruptcy lawyer clicking again and again on various search terms to see that I haven't vanished. 


The first step is admitting you have a problem. I, of course, don't have a problem. I can stop clicking on bankruptcy search terms any time I want. I just don't want to, you know?


So when I ran into an article telling me that Bing was about to change its algorithm in a way that I am completely unprepared for, it made me wish I'd put on my extra-strength Depends today.


And I haven't even gotten started working to make Bing Local Search love me, much less Bing! 

But if you go to my Facebook Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer site and click "like" as much as you want, I may still be able to feed my Bengal and my Wire Haired Fox Terrier. 


If you click frequently, I may be able to rescue some Airedale Terriers, although that may be a bridge too far; they eat a lot. 


But I'm not begging. 


I still have my pride (proud face goes here).

How Much Is a Solution Worth?

Lawyers don't sell time, not really.

They sell solutions to problems.

Which is why, when clients drop into my office, I ask "how can I solve all your problems?"

On the one hand, it often makes them laugh, and sometimes makes them cry, and sometimes makes them stop and think for a minute. It's really fun any direction that it goes.

Except the crying thing. That's not so much fun.

On the other hand, this lawyer has some fun ideas on billing, the most dismal project; he thinks billable hours, as a business model, is dying.

And maybe he's right, and maybe he's wrong. It'll be fun to watch how the future develops.

How Awful Is Your Website?

At some point, you're going to get a website. It'll probably be a crummy website, because we all have to start somewhere.

In fact, at the very first, fumble around with ten different free website setups. They probably won't be perfect, but they'll be better than nothing, and you'll learn a lot about websites that you never wanted to know.

Fumble fast, by the way. Learn as quickly as you can, because about 70% of consumers who look for lawyers start their search on the Internet. 

If you were an art student, or a marketing major, you have some advantages over some of your lawyer peers, especially the ooooold guys, who will fairly soon wake up and say, "Who is that kid who 's siphoning off all my potential clients?" Actually, lawyers who simply refuse to embrace the internet will all say things like, "If I hurry, I can get to the Jack in the Box interviews before they close today!"

And that's depressing in many ways, but it's also true. So get with the program.

But today, you have no clue what a cool website should look like. You don't know phrases like "call to action", and you don't know what effect your video will have on your...conversion rate!

And I wish you didn't need to learn this stuff, but you do.

Recently two friends of mine got new websites, and I love them, for entirely different reasons. One buddy of mine got a crummy, horrible website, but I won't show you that one, because I don't want to embarrass him.

Here's one example of a great website: it's the new website for DeShon Pullen, which she contracted with my friend Alex Morris's firm Findlaw, and I LOVE THIS WEBSITE!!! On the one hand, it's so darn pretty I can't stand it. On another hand, it's simple, which is critical, because if people don't understand what you're about very quickly, they're off with a different Google search.

I have criticized the site with DeShon for one reason.

Can you guess why?

It's because when a potential client clicks onto the website, the "screen shot" for the video is dark, instead of showing a pretty screen shot of her human face. I'm a big proponent of human faces on websites, because humans are programmed to respond to faces, not to text.

Another Findlaw website I love was built for my buddy Vladimir Gagic, which is so different visually from the Pullen site that words fail.

But it's also simple, clear, provides plenty of calls to action, and has a human face showing up on the video on the website. It has something else, which is a tag line, and that is "Summon the Marine". Now, that may seem a little corny to you, but to folks who have been in the military, it tells them a great deal about Vlad in three words.

And, while I don't offer it as a perfect example of a website, I'm pretty happy with my current website, also a Findlaw/Alex Morris kinda deal, because it has drifted toward the top in the search engines. I have recently been assigned a new SEO specialist by Findlaw, and I live in fear that my position in the search engine ratings will drop, but I'll keep you posted on that.

Note that my Justia Blogs have done a good job of rising in the search engines, and they have a look and feel similar to my website, so that whatever "branding" I've done should carry over. Stacy and Keri at Justia are wonderful, and have provided exemplary customer service and value for me. So if my new Findlaw SEO expert isn't as perfect as Amelie, my Justia Blogs should keep me visible in the search engines. On the other hand, I sure hope the new expert is as expert as the old expert.

There are at least two things you'll need to consider in thinking about your website, and you shouldn't go totally crazy if your site isn't perfect at first. Remember, you don't know what to ask for when you're talking with your website designers, so they have to try to read your mind, and that's not always easy.

And while the website needs to have a strong call to action, and a clear message, and invite people to call you or email you, if nobody sees it because it's on page three or four of Google for relevant search terms, is it going to help you much?

Yeah, I know. If you're a beginner at this stuff, this is TMI ("too much information").

Sorry!

p.s. this is obvious, but if you're absolutely new to lawyer marketing, or already pretty knowledgeable, you should really go to the website of my friend Stephen Fairley, and at a minimum get his dvds entitled "Rainmaker in a Box, volume 1 and 2". After that, you'll be hooked, of course.
 

Anti-Cyborg Software! The Terminator is not the Only Cyborg Out There!

Did you ever get a twitter friend request from a stunningly beautiful girl who had posted no tweets at all?

Me neither.

But if you had received that kind of communications, the odds are that it came from a twitborg, or a cytwit, or a cyborg built out of pixels for the purposes of marketing to you, or for less warm and fuzzy reasons.

There's an anti-cyborg service that will filter out all those bad, bad robots with no effort on your part.

It's called "TrueTwit".

I couldn't make this stuff up.

p.s. I haven't yet told you why you should Tweet.

Abide.

All will be made clear.

And resistance is futile.

Yeah, I'm Running for Office. Fortunately, My Chances of Winning are Slim!

The election for Board of Governors is now closed, and my guess is that I didn't win, place, or show, partly because I didn't campaign! Which is fine; getting elected wouldn't increase my income, of course. It would have the opposite effect, because of the time that is involved in working as a governor for the State Bar of Arizona.

But I'm sticking my platform in here, such as it is: that way, I won't lose it, and I can dust it off for next year! And make no mistake; this economy is hard on lawyers, and all of 'em need all the help they can get!

Joseph C. McDaniel, Joseph C. McDaniel, P.C.A graduate of Arizona State University College of Law, Joseph McDaniel began his legal career as a judicial clerk for two Bankruptcy Judges before opening his practice in 1980. Recognized as a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization, Joseph McDaniel is also an AV peer-review rated lawyer.
AVVO has awarded Mr. McDaniel a 10.0 rating, and he is a member of "Arizona’s Finest Lawyers."
Joseph McDaniel is a former Chair of the Arizona State Bar Bankruptcy Section, and a former Chair of the American Bar Association Bankruptcy Committee of the General Practice Section, as well as a former Editor of that Section’s Bankruptcy Update. He has practiced in medium and small firms, and thinks well of lawyers.
Discipline Disclosure Statement: Not applicable.

     Why are you interested in running for election to the Board of Governors? What do you believe are the significant issues facing the members today? If elected, how would you hope to address these issues?
I’m interested serving on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Arizona because I’d like to help my fellow lawyers in every way I can.
This economy appears (from my viewpoint as a bankruptcy lawyer) to be a depression, not a recession. I am aware that many young lawyers and new law graduates are having trouble finding jobs in this economy, and that established lawyers in large firms are being let go because of economic pressures.
Currently, the option of permitting law firms to "outsource" their legal work to lawyers in India is a factor that could have massive negative effects on hundreds of thousands of lawyers in the United States.
The State Bar of Arizona has done many things to help working lawyers, including providing "Fastcase" as a research tool, and trying to assist lawyers in finding jobs. If I’m elected, I will favor every economic benefit that can be provided to lawyers, and I will vote against everything that appears to me to place unnecessary burdens on the backs of working lawyers.
Overall, I want to help lawyers deal with a bad economy.