Publication Opportunities with the BLS

When I was first recruited to be an active member of a CLA subcommittee, I had no clue how the system was structured. I was recruited to join the Insolvency Law Committee, a committee of the BLS. (The BLS is one of eighteen sections of the CLA; that is a story for a different day.) Each one of the BLS committees has opportunities in itself for members to publish articles and to participate in programs that get distributed to all members of the particular committee. Sometimes publication opportunities go beyond the committee and can get noticed to all members of the BLS (which is currently estimated at 5,693 members. Sometimes, members have opportunities for their publications to go out to the entire membership of the CLA – which is approximately 48,015 thousand members. An example of this is the annual BLS Update, which is published in the spring every year in hard copy and digitally, and which gets distributed to the entire CLA membership. This edition frequently contains articles highlighting decisions of interest for the prior year for each individual committee; all committees are invited to submit articles for this publication.

 And, when a publication is sent by electronic means (say, for example, an eBulletin), records are kept regarding how often these publications are opened and read by other members who received them. And many member who regularly have their articles posted and published will tell you that they are frequently a source of referrals from other counsel looking for an attorney or professional with such knowledge and expertise. (I myself was actually contacted several years ago by a pro per debtor – who also happened to be an attorney – wanting to hire me as his counsel because the subject matter of the case he read was eerily similar to his case. For reasons I won’t go into, I did not take that engagement.)

In short, if you like to write, the BLS has plenty of opportunities for you to write on a topic or case and get it published, and into the hands of many people, including people who might be in a position to hire you or refer clients and cases to you. And most of all – its free. It costs you nothing but the time it takes to write an article; there is no cost associated with its publication. What better form of advertising is there out there today?!

For more information, please contact Kathleen Cashman-Kramer.