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Busting out the ghostlawyers
Lawyers in the US have been outed for paying off writers to scribe their legal blog entries in what has been termed "ghostblogging". The practice, increasingly becoming common for busy lawyers…
Lawyers Weekly
Lawyers in the US have been outed for paying off writers to scribe their legal blog entries in what has been termed "ghostblogging".
It has been described by blogger Mark Bennett on his blog, Social Media Tyro, as predominantly occurring through services like Legal Ghost Blogger which, for a small fee, offer legal clients a steady stream of content to use on their blogs.
Needless to say, Bennett is not amused by the practice. "Holding someone else's resume, face, or results out as your own in marketing your practice is fraudulent," he wrote. "No ethical lawyer could possibly think that any of that would be okay.unethical and fraudulent."
But Bennett's comments have stirred a debate across the internet, especially as he sought to publicly shame some of the key lawyers regulatory using the Legal Ghost Blogger service.
Bennet, who describes his blog as existing "because the world doesn't need any more self-professed experts" later defended his move in highlighting those guilty of ghostblogging by noting that: "the only tool we have in any effort to enforce rational rules for lawyer marketing online is the credible threat of reputation harm resulting from misconduct".
Folklaw asks, what next? Lawyers asking journalists to pose as ghostlawyers?
