Blogging for Law Students

In 2 recent interviews I spoke with the Ontario Bar Association and also the American Bar Association on the issue of blogging for law students. Both associations were writing articles for their fall student issues. Obviously I am in favour of blogging for law students and in the interviews I shared some of my opinions why.

The ABA article, by G.M. Fillisko, is entitled “To Blog or Not“. The OBA article, by Omar Ha-Redeye, is entitled “Google Juice: Refreshment for Your Career“.

I think the overall tone of the articles towards blogging for law students could be described as “cautiously optimistic”. This is not surprising since lawyers (and law students) are generally known for being a risk-averse group and there are potential pitfalls to blogging about the law as a student. The articles highlight some of them.

However, I personally think there are some significant benefits to be had from this venture.

Blogging has definitely helped me build my criminal law credentials and set me apart in a world where law students are plentiful and largely anonymous to potential employers. It has also given me the opportunity to show that I have good knowledge of the law and understand it well enough to communicate it to clients.

I use the knowledge and experience I gained in policing to generate the content for my posts, but I think many students feel that they don’t have anything meaningful or interesting to write about. To these people I say that all law students come to the table with a unique set of past experiences and knowledge and it is the synthesis of those experiences and their legal education that gives every potential student blogger something to unique to talk about. In my experience, the legal profession appreciates these diverse perspectives for what they can add to the profession.

Although lawyers and law students tend to be a risk-averse bunch, preferring to “play it safe”, fortune really does favour the bold and the person who is willing to take a chance and try to stand out is far more likely to be noticed and selected than the person who cowers in the shadows because they are afraid of what might happen.

If you are a law student thinking about starting to blog, I would strongly encourage you to figure out what you have to offer to the legal community and start writing!

About the author: Simon Borys is a former police officer who is currently studying law at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario to become a criminal defence lawyer.

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Tags: Criminal Defence Lawyer, Former Police Officer, Kingston, Simon Borys

Posted in Misc Posts