For Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, the push to create a firm blog came internally from attorneys who thought it was the logical next step to continue a conversation about an important decision or development that typically took place over e-mail.

“We thought why not share that information with our clients, contacts and the general public,” said Machua Millet, who helps run the firm’s blog on insurance and reinsurance, which gets several hundred visitors daily.

There is also the risk that not blogging could make a firm look out of step with entrepreneurial, start-up companies that it might want as clients, said O’Keefe.

Things to Consider

But in order to pay off — whether by securing new clients or maintaining old relationships — a blog cannot be created on a whim, said Amy Campbell, a Boston-based marketing specialist who has worked with law firms.

She said that the best way for lawyers to use blogs is with help from their in-house marketing department or a Web marketing consultant. “This way, the attorney can concentrate on the content of the blog while allowing the blog expert to setup and take advantage of the technology,” she said.

Lawyers must also be mindful of certain ethical issues, such as blogging about client matters that could breach their duty of confidentiality, explained Andrew Perlman, a legal ethics professor at Suffolk University.

Blogging lawyers must also be careful to comply with rules of professional conduct. “Because some states consider blogging to be a form of lawyer advertising, they could get into trouble with bar disciplinary authorities if they fail to follow the rules related to advertising,” Perlman said.

In addition to disclaimers stating that the blog posts are commentary and not legal advice, a number of blogs, including Edwards Angell’s insurance blog, are addressing liability issues by preventing readers from commenting publicly.

The Future of Legal Blogs

What is perhaps more important than keeping blogs updated and ethically compliant, is understanding how the social medium could change the practice of law, a trend some attorneys are already noting.

Rosenberg said he has seen blog posts referenced in the footnotes of court decisions, as well as law review articles that have quoted his blog.

“It’s putting a lot more viewpoints and theories and ideas out into discussion at the level of court decisions and legal academia than the much more closed system that existed before blogs,” Rosenberg said.

Others are skeptical that blogs will be the changing force. “Wikis have a better chance because it’s open source, and people can comment on it and correct it,” Mills said. “Whether blogs will do it, I don’t know. But it will be one of these social media tools, there’s no question in my mind.”