You are now viewing the third iteration of the Texas Appellate Law Blog. In reflecting on the changes that took effect earlier this week, I decided that a transitional post was in order.
Where We’ve Been
I started this site on January 1, 2007 after experimenting for a few months with blogging, which at that time was relatively new. I had opened a solo appellate practice after several years at a large law firm and was looking for ways to get my name out there. I had specific ideas about what I wanted the blog to be, but knew from my initial efforts that I didn’t want to build it by myself. The first version of this site (pictured to the left) used an established theme with some customization from the designer.
The initial design was very functional, and I quickly got traffic and attention from the blog. Not too long afterward, I heard about a group in Seattle that focused their business on turnkey blog solutions for lawyers. In March 2008, after signing up with LexBlog and going through their design and training process, I transitioned to the second version of the site (pictured to the right).
The second version helped establish me as a Texas appellate specialist, and I received many compliments on it. The media started calling for comments and insight on appellate issues. Appellate judges would sometimes bring up the blog in cocktail conversation. It was a nice compliment to my practice.
Meanwhile, my practice continued to grow and change. I formed a professional corporation—Smith Law Group, P.C.—and added lawyers and staff. We hired LexBlog to design a firm-specific website, which is in the final stages of development and will be launched soon. After four years, the time had come to freshen things up a bit with the blog, leading to what you see now.
Where We’re Going
What does all this mean for you, the reader?
The blog will no longer be my firm’s primary web presence. The new Smith Law Group website will serve that function. Substantively, the blog will become more like it was when I started it almost six years ago: a place for me to share thoughts and insight about Texas appellate practice and to encourage open dialogue on that topic for the benefit of trial lawyers, in-house counsel, and judges. Other SLG lawyers will post occasionally, and guests may appear from time to time, but what you read here will mostly come straight from me. Firm announcements and press-release-type information will be posted on the SLG site rather than here.
The blog now has its own Twitter feed. As an alternative to RSS or email subscriptions, readers may follow the blog and receive updates via Twitter at @AppellaTex. In addition to updating the blog’s Twitter feed whenever a new post goes up, I will use Twitter to supplement the blog’s content with news blurbs or other items that I may not have posted about. The @AppellaTex feed is featured in the blog’s sidebar, along with links to my personal Twitter feed and the firm’s feed.
Shortcuts to to LinkedIn and Facebook groups focusing on Texas appellate practice. People use social media differently. Some want to keep it strictly professional, and others have a more personal approach. Between the blog (which now has a more dynamic comment feature), the @AppellaTex feed, the Texas Appellate Law LinkedIn group (which currently boasts 430 members), and a new Texas Appellate Law Facebook group, anyone interested in Texas appellate law can join the conversation.
An improved social-media sharing function. Appearing at the bottom of each post are sharing buttons for Twitter, Facebook, email, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. If you’re so inclined, the ability to share a post with your network of choice is only a click away.
Links to other prominent appellate blogs. These are included in the footer, further encouraging discourse on appellate-related issues.
I have enjoyed blogging as much as anything else in my practice. Although the return on investment is hard to measure directly, blogging has paid more dividends over the years than I can describe. I am looking forward to the next phase.