Lawyers left the blogs and turned to Twitter and Facebook, where some thrived, Lee says. The performative nature of social media and the exposure to anonymous commentary, though, did away with the more honest, advice-seeking conversations that Lee saw at Associate’s Mind. Instead it was all rhetorical slams and ‘hot takes.’
“I started to think that maybe there is maybe there’s a middle space,” Lee says. “Somewhere that provides what bar associations are lacking for people my age.”
Lee created LawyerSmack, a private forum for lawyers. Every member had to be verified as both a real person, and a real lawyer. They also had to pay a nominal membership fee, that Lee says makes sure his members all have “skin in the game.”
He thinks that people will share more thoughtfully, conversationally, and substantively when their names and faces are attached to a profile. He’s seen the forum grow, spawning several subject threads, including a little Canadian discussion zone, with about fifteen Canadian lawyers talking.
Omar Ha-Redeye, Executive Director of the Durham Community Legal Clinic, thinks a site like LawyerSmack could be especially useful for lawyers looking for practice management advice from their colleagues. He noted, though, that closed forums have risks of their own.
