Anonymous legal blogging

Most legal blogs are written anonymously; one big exception is law professor blogs. Why the anonymity of most legal blogs? In my case, I chose to be anonymous because most of the other lawyers and near lawyers online were anonymous. While I did not have any specific concerns initially, I followed the crowd. Perhaps the other anonymous lawyers recognized risks that I had not accounted for.

Watching the presidential race reminded me that one reason to be anonymous online is to make sure that nothing you write comes back to bite you in the ass later. Obama, despite having two books where he reveals much personal detail, still has the media researching every writing they can get their hands on. In fact, several media outlets published the syllabus and final examinations from Obama's Con Law classes at the University of Chicago Law School. Isn't this going a little far? I'm not planning on running for president. But I could see myself running for a local office of some sort in the future.

Also, let's be real. The legal profession is one of the most conservative. Being from a liberal place, it is not special to see two women kiss. In fact, it's a regular greeting in many countries. However, such a kiss got two summer associates canned in Minnesota, a fairly liberal place. Although kissing is different from blogging, I can see some words being pulled from a blog and being placed out of context in a way that could look real bad. In our profession, is that enough to hurt a career or to lose a job? My fear is that it is and that is why I'm still mostly anonymous.

I'm not totally anonymous. My facebook page links here, although I might change that soon. Also, several friends of mine know who I am. I also have my face in my profile and on several other sites with the same nickname. Doing this helps me remember that I'm never really anonymous. I'm sure someone could figure out who I am if they tried. After all, I'm not doing much to hide it. Knowing my identity is not truly hidden helps me watch what I say online and blog responsibly.