June 3, 2020 – In mid-March, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spreading across the country, communities of legal bloggers shifted to covering legal developments related to the public health emergency.
COVID-19 triggered a blitz of articles on pandemic-related legal issues by lawyers with the knowledge and expertise to unravel and explain complicated subject matter.
From coronavirus-related legislation and regulation to working and serving clients from home, from adapting to new legal technology to remote court hearings, lawyers kept up with rapid changes through daily blog posts on law firm websites and other platforms.
Bob Ambrogi, an attorney and longtime legal journalist, said attorney-bloggers have been filling voids in traditional news coverage of legal developments for many years.
“There is so much good journalism-reporting coming out of legal blogs, but it’s hard to put it all together and make it accessible,” said Ambrogi, editor-in-chief at LexBlog, a legal technology company that has built a network of more than 25,000 legal bloggers.
Lawyers as Journalists
“Lawyers blog primarily as a means to market their practices,” said Ambrogi, who blogs on legal technology at his LawSites Blog.
“I can tell you any number of stories about lawyers who have been successful building up their practices and achieving prominence in part because of blogging,” he said.
“But I think blogging is more that. One, it’s a very powerful form of engagement, in getting involved with others in your area of interest and your field of law.”
Ambrogi says it’s also a service to the community, whether that’s a community of your clients or a community of other attorneys in your practice area. “There are a lot of powerful reasons for doing it,” said Ambrogi, who has been blogging for decades.
Another reason legal blogging is so valuable: blogs are written by subject matter experts with vast knowledge in their own practice areas. Lawyers in the trenches are following legal developments and providing analysis as those developments unfold.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold, attorneys used blogs to keep clients and the community informed on legal developments and a rapidly changing landscape. Bob Ambrogi, a longtime attorney and legal journalist, says attorney bloggers are providing a form of legal journalism with a significant body of work in all practices areas.
Bring Bloggers Together
But legal blogs exist everywhere, on law firm websites, social media, and other blogging platforms. The vast legal blog library is scattered across the world.
Joe Forward, Saint Louis Univ. School of Law 2010, is a legal writer for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Madison. He can be reached by email or by phone at (608) 250-6161.
The concept of LexBlog, founded by former La Crosse trial lawyer Kevin O’Keefe, was to pull these blogs together into a real-time digital library.
That blossomed into the LexBlog Network, a searchable collection of legal blogs written by lawyers across the U.S., including Wisconsin, all in one place.
“Lexblog created aggregation technology that can pull in blogs from all over the world and organize them in a way that makes them useful and accessible,” Ambrogi said.
O’Keefe likens LexBlog to the Associated Press (AP), which aggregates news stories from across the world for use by localized media outlets on the AP wire.
Legal blogs – and the contributors and organizations profiled on the aggregated publication – become amplified through one publishing platform that constantly evolves with technology, such as technology that indexes websites for Google search.
Ambrogi has served as editor of various legal newspapers, including editorial director of American Lawyer Media (ALM). He says the journalism landscape has changed.
Coming Soon: WisLawNOW Brings Together Wisconsin’s Community of Legal Bloggers
The State Bar of Wisconsin is launching a new online community exclusive for Wisconsin legal bloggers. Called WisLawNOW, this community brings together blog content written by State Bar of Wisconsin members under a single website.
Jump to the sidebar below to learn more.
“What I have been seeing in legal media is the same as we have been seeing in traditional media, which is that sources of reporting are drying up,” he said. “A lot of media outlets are struggling and they are cutting back on their reporting.”
Legal blogs have either replaced or supplemented traditional reporting. “There are a lot of things in law that just don’t get reported by the traditional newspapers,” Ambrogi said.
Traditional media outlets may report a major piece of legal news when it happens. But tomorrow and the next day, legal bloggers will go more in-depth on the analysis of what it means and why it’s important,” Ambrogi said.
“Over time, you get a body of reporting about these developments that cumulatively becomes really valuable. That’s why aggregation platforms are so valuable. They let you pull it all together that, from the reader’s point of view, makes it accessible.”
The Top 79: This Year’s List of Legal Bloggers
For the past five years, InsideTrack has highlighted the most active Wisconsin legal blogs and bloggers to showcase those who are writing on various aspects of Wisconsin legal developments.
The 2020 list includes 79 Wisconsin law blogs. Some of these blogs have been going strong since publication of the first list in 2015.
Other blogs fell off the list. Some blogs are new to the scene. If you think your blog meets the criteria for inclusion but it’s not included, contact State Bar legal writer Joe Forward. The list only includes blogs that posted at least 12 times in 2019, and at least four times in 2020. Blogs must include posting dates.
42 Solo, Small Firm, and Independent Blogs*
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Blog
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Firm Affiliation
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Practice Area
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1
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Andrew Ladd Law Blog
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The Law Offices of Andrew C. Ladd LLC
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Criminal defense
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2
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Appleton Area Law Blog
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Peterson Berk Cross S.C.
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Personal injury law
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3
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Appleton WI Bankruptcy Law Blog
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Helbing Law Office LLC
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Bankruptcy law
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4
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Banking Misconduct Blog
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Judge, Lang & Katers and Mahaney Law
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Banking law
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5
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Boller & Vaughan Blog
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Boller & Vaughan LLC
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Personal injury law
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6
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Bucher Law Group Blog
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Bucher Law Group LLC
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Criminal defense, family law, personal injury
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7
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Cannon & Dunphy Blog
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Cannon & Dunphy S.C.
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Personal injury law
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8
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Carlson Dash Blog
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Carlson Dash LLC
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Business, labor & employment, real estate, estate planning
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9
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Center for Health & Wellness Law Blog
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Barbara Zabawa, Center for Health & Wellness Law LLC
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Health law
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10
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Comics Lawyer Blog**
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Dirk Vanover, Vanover Legal LLC
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Entertainment law
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11
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Due Diligence
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Brian Mahany, Mahany Law
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Whistleblower and fraud recovery law
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12
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Doar Drill & Skow Blog
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Doar Drill & Skow
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General
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13
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Elder Law Blog
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Brian Mahany, Mahany Law
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Elder law
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14
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Employment Law Blog
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Walcheski & Luzi LLC
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Employment law
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15
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Estate Planning Perspectives Blog
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Willms-O'Leary S.C.
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Estate planning
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16
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Ethicking Blog
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Stacie Rosenzweig, Halling & Cayo S.C.
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Ethics and law practice
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17
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Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown Blog
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Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown, LLP
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General
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18
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Herrling Clark Law Firm Blog
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Herrling Clark Law Firm Ltd
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Personal injury, family law, estate planning
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19
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Hurley, Burish, & Stanton Blog
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Hurley, Burish, & Stanton SC
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General
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20
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KEW Tips Blog
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Kramer, Elkins & Watt LLC
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Business, employment, family law
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21
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Krause Donovan Blog
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Krause Donovan, LLC
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Probate and estate planning law
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22
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Loeb & Herman Blog
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Gregg Herman, Loeb & Herman S.C.
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Family law
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23
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Milwaukee Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
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Meyer Van Severen S.C.
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24
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Milwaukee Employment Law Blog
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Alan C. Olson & Associates
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Employee rights law
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25
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Milwaukee Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Accident Law Blog
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Martin Law Office LLC
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Personal injury law
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26
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Murphy & Prachthauser Blog
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Murphy & Prachthauser S.C.
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Personal injury law
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27
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MWH Law Group Blog
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MHW Law Group
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General
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28
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Ogden Glazer + Schaefer Blog
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Ogden Glazer + Schaefer LLC
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Business, food and beverage, intellectual property law
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29
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Paul Ksicinski Blog
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Paul A. Ksicinski, Attorney at Law
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Criminal defense
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30
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Police Misconduct Blog
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Mahany Law
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Police misconduct
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31
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Probst Law Blog
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Probst Law Offices S.C.
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Family law
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32
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Schloemer Law Firm Blog
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Schloemer Law Firm
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Estate planning, tax and business law
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33
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Securities Law Blog
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Halling & Cayo, S.C.
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Securities law
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34
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Stangl Law Blog
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Stangl Law Offices S.C.
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Ciminal defense
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35
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Tesar Law Group Blog
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Marsha Tesar, Tesar Law Group S.C.
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Estate planning
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36
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Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
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Tristan Pettit, Petrie & Pettit SC
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Landlord-tenant law
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37
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Western Wisconsin Law Blog
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Mudge Porter Ludeen & Seguin S.C.
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Personal and workplace injury
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38
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Wisconsin Bankruptcy Law Blog
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Miller & Miller Law LLC
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Bankruptcy & creditor/debtor law
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39
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Wisconsin Business Law Blog
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Schober Schober & Mitchell S.C.
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Business law
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40
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Wisconsin Crime & Justice Blog
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Mastantuono & Coffee, S.C.
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Criminal defense
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41
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Wisconsin DUI Law Blog
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Melowski & Associates
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DUI defense
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42
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Wisconsin Unemployment Law Blog**
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Victor Forberger
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Unemployment law, labor and employment law
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* Blog affiliated with a law firm with fewer than 20 attorneys. At least 12 posts in 2019 and at least four posts in 2020. If the blog does not have an actual name, the law firm name is used.
** These are “independent” blogs. They are not affiliated or branded by a law firm. However, this list still notes the law firm or entity of the independent blogger listed.
15 Wisconsin Larger Firm Blogs*
* More than 20 lawyers. At least 12 posts in 2019 and at least four posts in 2020. Some larger firms maintain multiple blogs. They are not listed separately. If the blog does not have an actual name, only the law firm name is noted.
13 Active State Bar of Wisconsin Blogs*
* These blogs meet the criteria as “active” blogs, with at least 10 posts in 2019 and at least three posts in 2020.
5 Emerging State Bar of Wisconsin Blogs*
* These blogs don’t yet meet the criteria as “active” blogs because they are new or did not post at least 10 times in 2019.
4 Wisconsin Academic Law Blogs
Coming Soon: WisLawNOW Brings Together Wisconsin’s Community of Legal Bloggers
This summer, the State Bar of Wisconsin will launch a new online community exclusive for Wisconsin legal bloggers, Called WisLawNOW, this community brings together blog content written by State Bar of Wisconsin members under a single website.
This network is developed in partnership with LexBlog, a legal blogging network of more than 25,000 bloggers nationwide.
Many Wisconsin legal bloggers have already joined this legal blogging community to expand their reach, showcase their expertise, and contribute to this digital collection of legal information in many practice areas.
Why WisLawNOW?
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Creates community of Wisconsin legal bloggers that readers can access in one place.
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Improves member access to a growing, timely library of legal knowledge that is searchable and responsive to mobile devices. And, members can find or subscribe to content of specific interest through practice-area channels.
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Uses technology to expedite information delivery and extend the reach of member-generated content, potentially leading to lawyer-to-lawyer and consumer referrals.
No Cost to Join WisLawNOW
WisLawNOW is a member benefit of State Bar membership. Legal bloggers who join WisLawNOW will continue to publish on their regular platforms, and RSS technology will automatically pull their blog posts into the WisLawNOW website.
The blog author’s law firm and profile will be highlighted in the post, linking back to the original blog post. To get an idea of what it might look like, take a look at a similar blog aggregator offered by the Illinois State Bar Association, called IllinoisLawyerNow.
Blog posts must meet the Blog Post Inclusion Criteria. WisLawNOW will feature blogs related to the practice of law, including substantive legal developments, analysis of legislation or regulatory change, practice management and technology issues, lawyer ethics, lawyer wellbeing, and other topics that relate to the work of Wisconsin lawyers.
To increase readership of this blog content, the State Bar expects to distribute an email digest to members every other week to showcase the best of this content.
This email means greater distribution of your blog post. In essence, WisLawNOW allows Wisconsin legal bloggers to amplify their message, creates a community of legal bloggers, and allows readers to access all Wisconsin legal blogs in one place.
The State Bar is actively onboarding member-bloggers for a full launch in early July. To be included in WisLawNOW, members must complete a short online form.
After filling out the form, the blog will be reviewed for substance and technical requirements. For more information, read WisLawNOW’s FAQ.
Join now
