In my last post, I looked at two different legal blogs to show how two different successful blogs had very different approaches and styles. Today, I’d like to back up a bit and examine the issue of ownership.

I don’t have statistics, but I think it would be fair to say that most blawgs are owned and maintained by individual attorneys. There are others that are owned by firms, and have their attorneys add the content.

So the question is: Who owns the content? In the case of blawgs owned by firms, usually there is a policy in place that explicitly states any articles written by attorneys are property of the firm. Just like an article written for the firm’s web site, the firm owns the article.

But what happens in the case of an attorney-owned blog, updated during working hours? If the attorney owns the blog (and it’s content), but uses the blog as a marketing tool for the firm, does the firm have any ownership? And if that attorney were to leave the firm, does s/he just take his blog to the next firm?

Here’s a hypothetical: Attorney Smith has his own blog, which he updates while working at his firm. On his site, he says that it’s his own personal blog, but he also links to his firm, giving his contact information at the firm. His blog becomes very popular, attracting a fairly large, targeted audience. Once in a while, other attorneys at the firm will post an article on the blog that they’ve written.

He even develops a monthly newsletter, which goes out to all the firm’s clients as well as his own mailing list. In addition, anyone who subscribes to his personal newsletter can also be added to the firm’s mailing list if they opt-in.

It’s a win-win situation. The attorney gets more business and the firm gets a bigger mailing list.

But the attorney gets a better offer from another firm and decides to leave. Here are some very important questions to ask in this situation:

1. Does his old firm have the right to keep the mailing list generated by Attorney Smith’s Blog?
2. Can the attorney keep the articles posted by other attorneys?
3. Does the firm have any ownership in the blog, since it was updated during working hours?
4. Can the firm republish articles from the attorney’s blog on their own web site without giving citation to Attorney Smith?

Yes, your firm should consider blawging. But before jumping in, it’s essential to come up with a clear ownership policy.

Related Articles:
The Weblog Question:
People are starting Weblogs in growing numbers, but the owner of the content isn’t always clear

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