Slashdot reports a potential Crack Down on Blogging Lawyers.
"The New York bar has proposed new rules which would define blogging as advertising. Should these rules be enacted, any New York lawyer who blogs on any legal topic in New York would be required to submit any new blog post to the New York Bar for review."
But fear not readers, should such a bar be enacted, at least until the appellate decisions came down, I'd just switch to blogging about food.
my controversial book about a day in my life as Public Defender in the South Bronx is finally available for Kindle and Ipad.
3 comments:
. . . . Does the New York Bar recognize the First Amendment? Are you also subject to discipline if you were to do something so outlandish as . . . um . . . maybe write a book? If so, what would happen to a lawyer who might write a book about something like . . . um . . . the problems with the courts in one of the boroughs of New York City . . . like um . . . maybe the Bronx?
Yeah, I think the New York bar needs to dust off the Bill of Rights before they enact such a stupid rule. You can't regulate all speech just by blindly labelling it all advertising, and thus commercial speech. Also, at least for people who work in the public sector, or for corporations, how would that rule apply, since they are not advertising. And why single out blogging? What about lawyers who appear as legal pundits on talk shows or give interviews with reporters on legal cases or issues. Surely, many of them would admit that part of why they do it is that they hope they'll get more business out of it. But, do they have to presubmit all that to the Bar, too? Of course not.
What about defense lawyers who offer pro-bono assistance to high profile defendants in hopes that a victory and the attendant press coverage will help them pick up more paying clients? Isn't that ADVERTISING? What about prosecutors (calling Mr. Nifong) who indict weak cases and make numerous inflamitory statements to the press about the defendants because they are facing a tough election? That sounds like advertising. What about doing your job well and receiving unsought public recognition for doing so? More advertising!
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