Dennis Kennedy

Quite a while ago, I was joking around about legal bloggers and brought up the topic of Moore's Law. I suggested that I should have a "Kennedy's Law" named after me about legal blogging. So, I used the Moore's Law eighteen-month timeframe and said: "Any lawyer who starts a blog will leave their current law firm within eighteen months."

As luck would have it, I started my blog when I knew I was leaving my old law firm but hadn't announced it officially. I also new a couple of people who launched blogs while they were actively looking for jobs. All of a sudden, my jokey law looked like it had some truth.

In fact, I know people who worried about starting blogs because of Kennedy's Law and that they didn't want to lose or leave their current jobs.

Although the invention of "Kennedy's Law" grew out of an attempt at humor, let's face it, there is a strong element of truth in it. The best bloggers are great writers, very creative and understand, even live and breathe, the potential of the Internet and blogging. Their blogs become creative outlets and bring them new audiences and new friends at a time when some aspects of their jobs may be unfulfilling. Over a reasonable short time, blogs can bring recognition, friendships, respect and opportunities that a blogger probably does not find in his or her current work situation. To make matters worse, an employer might discourage or even penalize a blogger for the time spent on blogging. Eventually, the siren call of the Internet, the blogosphere or new opportunity becomes great enough to prompt a blogger to move into a new situation.

Whether this process happens in all cases (clearly it doesn't) or within an eighteen-month or shorter time-frame (I've got no empirical data on that) to the extent that you can create a "law" is an open question, but Kennedy's Law reflects a very real dynamic.