Posted: October 23rd, 2014
There’s no better way for a law student to network with leading lawyers, alums and potential employers than blogging (or also called ‘blawgging’ when referencing legal blogs). In addition, there’s no better way for a law student to demonstrate their passion for and desire to get into a niche area of the law than blogging. Writing frequently helps to improve your expression, and the blog format means you learn to explain things in a clearer, more concise manner. Being able to explain something simply and accurately is the best way to be certain you and others understand it.
Then there are the career benefits. Blogging is particularly helpful if you are interested in a specific area of the law where opportunities are few and competition for particular positions can be somewhat intense. When you have no prior experience, all you can do is tell your prospective employer how interested you are in a particular practice area or legal niche. This typically involves saying, “Oh yes, I’m really interested in this area of the law,” and then worrying whether you sounded too enthusiastic or not enthusiastic enough when you said it.
If you had a blog, you could tell the employer that you’ve been blogging about that particular area of practice for some time, thus proving both your knowledge and your interest, particularly since you’ve been writing the blog in your free time. Later on when you are a practicing lawyer, a blog is can be helpful for attracting clients, motivating you to keep up to date with new developments in your practice area and networking with fellow practitioners, particularly as more and more lawyers are reading law blogs as a way of keeping up to date. Who knows, you may even end up a bit of an authority on your specific blogging area.
There are plenty of free blogging platforms on the Internet today, but WordPress and Blogger are the most commonly used. There are plenty of custom templates to choose from, but if you’re not feeling tech-savvy, seek out a tech-savvy friend to help you with setting up an account or check out the links below. Then, choose a central theme that interests you and be sure that it is one that you are passionate about. A blog takes a lot of a commitment, so your chosen topic area has to be something you won’t tire of after one or two posts. Maybe you want to write about your experiences during your summer clerkship, or maybe you want to be more academic and write about a specific area of the law – it’s your call. Need more tips and advice? Check out the links below which will help guide you through the setup and blogging process:
