Nikhil Nair from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies have written about why lawyers should consider blogging very seriously.

In this age of the Internet, lawyers have two kinds of reputation. One online and another offline. How does a lawyer build up his online reputation? Blogging is the first and most important step!

Attract and increase client base

More the blogposts one writes, the more are his chances of being noticed on the internet. Blogging is a great way to make your presence felt online. Online legal forums and blogs are on a rise these days – and these are getting a lot of attention from other lawyers and potential clients. These are great places to showcase your expertise. A section of clients can be impressed by the very fact that his/her counsel is a known personality online and a veteran at blogging.

A lawyer can establish oneself as an expert in a chosen area without violating lawyers’ ethics by showcasing his expertise in the form of a blog. When he publishes in-depth blog posts that help potential clients or customers solve their problems, they come to trust the lawyer and respect him as an expert in the field. They are likely to be interested in hiring the lawyer blogger who they follow online already rather than a stranger they don’t know at all.

Connect with the people and stay on top of things

A lawyer is always learning. He can always improve his writing and research skills and blogging is one of the ways to stay sharp. Stephen king said if you want to become a great writer then read a lot and then write a lot. Blogging not only allows you to cultivate an audience and enthrall them with your writing – but even gives you a strong reason to keep yourself updated with new developments and what people are talking about on the law street. A person who blogs on a specific area of expertise is very likely to closely follow all developments in that area of law in interest of his blog – and this would have ripple effects on other aspects of his practice and level of expertise.

Let Google love you.

How cool is it when your name or article is shown on top of the search results on Google? Google’s algorithm makes an attempt to serve the most relevant results on top for every google search, and well written, thoughtful articles which people enjoy reading or share with friends are very likely to show up on top of google searches, driving massive traffic to your posts. Imagine potential clients searching for a lawyer sitting in another country and your name popping up on the top of a google search – will you not like that?

In-coming Opportunities

There can be many new opportunities brought in by blog readers and those who follow your work online. Opportunities can be clients, new projects or invitations to events or organizations to deliver a talk. When online visibility builds up to a certain point, these derivative benefits will come across your way.

Book assignments

Publishers often approach popular bloggers to write books – because a popular blogger has already established a connection with the audience. The publisher needs no further proof that the blogger’s writing is well received in the market. Since lawyers often write books and consider writing a book published through a well-known publishing house to be an accomplishment – blogging is a first step towards the same.