Regulating Lawyer Blogs as Advertising

Today’s e-gram from the ABAJ leads with a story about the Bar in Albany considering regulating lawyer blogs:

BLOGOSPHERE ABOIL – N.Y. Proposal Would Designate Lawyer Blogs as Advertising

A few juicy extracts:

“Computer-accessed communications” such as blogs should be included in New York’s definition of legal advertising, and therefore require state scrutiny, according to a proposal from by a committee created by the state’s Administrative Board of Courts.

The state code of professional responsibility should extend court jurisdiction to out-of-state legal advertising that appears in New York.

Do we have any Slaw readers in New York State?

The provision relating to blogs is part of a proposed general rewrite of the rules on lawyer advertising contained in the New York Lawyer’s Code of Professional Responsibility.

One proposed change would require lawyers to file copies of computer-accessed communications with the attorney disciplinary committee in the appropriate judicial department of the state. The revision also would require lawyers to retain copies of all written advertising, including Web sites and communications that may be accessed by computer, for at least one year.

“This seems to be another in a series of recent regulatory efforts by state bar regulators that seem woefully out of touch with the Internet era,” wrote Dennis Kennedy, a St. Louis lawyer who posts at Between Lawyers.

Enjoy blogging while you can. Or get your comments to Albany by November 15.