Over at Kevin’s Real Lawyers Have Blogs, the boy-wonder, Rob La Gatta, has been doing a series of interviews with bloggers of interest (as well as some that  aren’t very interesting at all).  Rob does some great work.  His  latest interview of Mike Dillon, the general counsel of Sun Microsystems, really made me think about what’s happening in the blawgosphere.

They say the Colt .45 was the Great Equalizer, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the blawgosphere.  We have lawyers and law professors, from the youngest to the oldest, the rookie to the very experienced, the person at the top of the food chain and the new-hire, all in the same space.

As Mike Dillon noted, there aren’t a lot of general counsels blogging out there at the moment, largely because they come from a time when this technology wasn’t part of their life rather than any disinclination to do so.  But companies and Biglaw are starting to blog.  Sure, they do it poorly, but it’s a start.

Online, we all look the same.  No one is black or white.  No one is male or female.  No one has a beautifully-made bespoke suit to dazzle all comers when contrasted with the pajama-clad home officer lawyer.  Before the blawgosphere existed, there was little chance that a solo criminal defense lawyer would cross paths with the general counsel of Sun Micro.  Other than having tables near each other at Bouley, we existed in different spheres.  Today, we’re cyberneighbors, and I can knock on his door anytime I please.  He can ignore me, but at least I know where he lives.

And today I know more about Harris County, Texas than I ever would have believed possible (or needed to know).  I have met a core group of lawyers around the country to whom I can refer cases, ask questions, and enjoy a camaraderie of my choosing.  This is nothing like the old days of NACDL meetings, where the closest we came was comparing the size of genitalia to see who was the most important lawyer in the room.

Even non-lawyers can get into the game.  Comments by lay-people can be informative, insightful, or just plain dumb, even though they think they’re brilliant.  But, for better or worse, they can access lawyers around the world who they would never have a chance to meet or question otherwise.

While I have a tendency to get a bit snarky with the lawprofs, the fact is that some of these guys are brilliant and offer true scholarship in their fields.  And I get to read their stuff and sometimes engage them in conversation!  Note  this comment by “Frank”, none other than  Co-Ops‘ own  Frank Pasquale, one of the best and brightest there is on health care law.  But here, he’s just Frank.  How cool is that?

Granted, some blawgers have a pompous tone, bespeaking the self-importance of the blawger.  I guess that’s their way of trying to show the rest of us that they are important and serious, even though they carry no greater weight around here than anyone else.  Whenever I get too big for my “breeches”, I have  Gideon to give me a smack.  I’ve occasionally posted a  snarky post or comment for others to do the same.  Some get it.   Others are just too self-absorbed to learn anything.  No matter, since they will survive or not on their own merit, regardless of how self-important they are.  In the blawgosphere, even the lowest on the totem pole can tell the highest to get lost.

But this is a world where people spend far more effort getting along, learning from each other, engaging in communication, rather than trying to be a “show off” in a new venue.  Who knows if the woman who just commented that she liked your post is the managing partner of some Biglaw firm, or general counsel of some major corporation.  Online, we all look the same.  The only thing that distinguished one from another is the content of our message. 

Thanks to Kevin and Rob for allowing me to realize just how revolutionary the blawgosphere can be.  How cool is that?  Very cool.