Carolyn Elefant has put together a “a star studded event on a very hot and timely topic:  Practicing Law in the E-Court of Public Opinion: How the Internet Can Make or Break a Lawyer’s Reputation,” in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, January 24th.  This is indeed a hot topic, as many lawyers who have had the fortune (or misfortune) of finding their names prominently heading a scathing series of post flying around the blawgosphere.

The Panel, hosted by Carolyn, includes:

www.myshingle.com‘s Carolyn Elefant, Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant,

Mark Britton, CEO, President, Co-founder, Avvo.com

Andrew Mirsky, Mirskylegal.com

David Lat, Editor in Chief, www.abovethelaw.com

Jonathan Frieden, Odin, Feldman & Pittleman, PC,  Ecommercelaw Blog

And if you aren’t going to be in Washington next Thursday to argue before the Supreme Court, no problem.  Teleconferencing is available.

Carolyn describes the purpose of this panel:

Popular websites like Above the Law provides gossip and behind the scenes news from large law firms, while Avvo allows clients to post their opinions about their attorneys.  You’ll hear how the web can affect lawyers’ reputations, for better or for worse, identify ways to respond to threats to reputation and use the Internet to your advantage and learn about relevant legal concepts like First Amendment, libel and privacy law that relate to your ability to protect your reputation. 

This should be a fascinating discussion of great consequence for all lawyers, whether you blog or not.  After all, you never know when some wag like Lat is going to seize upon one of your cases, or some personal peccadillo, and make you an overnight internet star against your will.

While there are many posts that both highlight and applaud the fine work done by lawyers, there are also a wealth of posts that rip unsuspecting lawyers heads off, subjecting them to professional ridicule.  We see it all the time.  How should we handle our posts about unsuspecting others, and what do you do if you happen to be the unwilling subject of the blawgosphere’s attention?

Great topic.  Great panel.  Definitely something that everyone reading this should check out.

By the way, note that Carolyn has studiously avoided inclusion of me or any other criminal defense lawyer on the blawg, thereby adding unquestioned credibility to this star-studded event.  Remember, if your reputation is smeared in the e-Court of Public Opinion, there’s no place to appeal.