Dennis Kennedy is well known for hit annual bloggie Awards.

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Dennis Kennedy: Author, DennisKennedy.blog
[By Charisse Dengler]
In a legal field bursting with blogs, Dennis Kennedy is probably most well known for his annual Bloggie Awards. A true
technology buff, Kennedy is excited to find out what the future of blogging holds.
“What I think is happening right now—which Kennedy said he has always been eager certainly start their own blog awards; but
is fascinating to me—is that you have a group to embrace new technology. A member of when they didn’t, he decided to turn them
of lawyers who have been blogging for two, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Law into an annual event.
three, four years, who sometimes write Practice Management Section and the ABA’s
about law and sometimes they don’t. And TechShow board, Kennedy said he’s always “With blogging, you have your own printing
then you have sort of a newer group of law been involved in the latest happenings in press or radio station,” he said. “So, I wanted
blogs that are very focused on marketing. regard to technology. to do this thing where I recognized some of
They’re really geared toward new clients and the people I just thought were doing a great
building business and stuff like that. So, it’s “I was one of the first group of lawyers with job with blogging. In the day to day of trying
fascinating to me to see how that evolution a website back in 1995. I was one of the to think of something to post, you sometimes
is going to occur and how that approach will first group of lawyers with a blog here a few don’t mention the people who do a great job
work over time. That, to me, is just one more years ago,” he said. “So, technology and the on a daily basis; and you just kind of take that
of the really fun parts of the Internet.” Internet have always been key to what I’m for granted.”
doing, and I left the area of estate planning
Kennedy, who has been a lawyer for almost because I wanted to do some things I felt Kennedy, who speaks to law firms about
23 years, wanted to go into the legal field brought me closer to what was happening integrating technology into their practice
from the time he was in high school. After with the Internet.” fields, has a lot of advice to give to lawyers
a number of his teachers and professors in who are resistant to new technological
high school and college told him they thought Kennedy first got into blogging while writing trends.
he’d enjoy working with the law, he decided a column on Internet marketing. So, when
there just may be something to their advice. he began to think about experimenting “Sometimes I like to say lawyers are at the
Since graduating from law school, he has with his writing, he decided to leap into the awkward age, where both their children and
worked in firms of all sizes; and he thinks blogosphere. their parents know more about technology
there are good things and bad things about than they do and are more comfortable
each. Currently, he is a solo practitioner. “I decided I had to have a blog, and I gave it with technology; but I think that there is a
to myself as a birthday present three years certain fear that lawyers seem to have about
“There are a lot of things I like about what ago,” Kennedy said. “I would say for me, my technology, and I realize it’s difficult for
I’m doing now,” Kennedy said. “In another blog is about my writing, but it touches on a people to get over,” he said. “I always say
sense, when you’re a solo, you’re a solo. lot of issues. So I, by choice, named my blog you need to find some area of technology—
You’re working by yourself most days. So, DennisKennedy.blog because I wanted to be whether it’s the Internet or something
there are some aspects to being around able to write about anything that interested else—where you can do some things that are
really great people—really good lawyers, me; and I felt like if I did the technology practical that will give you some experience
really smart people—that I miss. And then, law blog or the legal technology blog or and give you enough practice so that you can
as a solo, you don’t get as many chances something like that, then it would be very become a lot more comfortable.”
to do really big projects that you can really limiting. And I didn’t want to do that.”
sink your teeth into that you get a chance to However, Kennedy thinks that it’s the clients
do at a larger firm. So, there are pluses and The Bloggie Awards, Kennedy’s very own who will finally succeed in pushing attorneys
minuses to each approach, and I’ve sort of creation, were launched so that he would toward technology. He feels that the Internet
been fortunate that I’ve had good results?in have a way to honor bloggers that he felt has made for a more educated client—a
all the different things I’ve done.” were doing a great job. He said, in the client who expects the use of technology
beginning, he thought someone else would from his or her attorney.
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THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH
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“Between clients pushing and electronic They’re so much better than they were in the Dennis Kennedy’s blog
discovery and other things happening, I don’t past. It’s a great time to learn, because you www.denniskennedy.com/blog/index.html
think that lawyers are as able to hide from can do all this cool stuff now.”
technology as they used to be in the past American Bar Association
10 years. You can’t hide from it anymore,” ON THE NET www.abanet.org
Kennedy said. “You really have to step up
to the issues. The good news is that the DennisKennedy.com
computers and the software now are great. www.denniskennedy.com
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