Canada, Social Media, Twittering

The View From Up North: Need Good Legal Advice? Call Bad Legal LLP

Who might be behind this popular and anonymous Twitter feed?

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Taking a page from our esteemed managing editor, David Lat, some lawyer in Canada is tweeting anonymously under the name Bad Legal LLP (@BadLegalLLP). As you’ll recall, David once blogged anonymously at Underneath the Robes, spreading juicy judicial gossip at night while working as an assistant U.S. attorney by day. His boss at the time was Christopher J. Christie, then United States Attorney, now one of the many Republican Presidential hopefuls getting his political dreams inexplicably quashed by Don (aka Donald J. Trump).

After outing himself as the man behind UTR, David had a tense meeting with Chris Christie. Christie let David keep his job, but David left the U.S. Attorney’s Office a few months later of his own accord — and the rest, as Above the Law proves, is history.

In keeping with the times, most blogs are passé (not this one, of course). Blogs take too much work. Twitter is the new black. Bad Legal LLP dispenses fun and gossip 140 characters at a time. The firm bills itself on Twitter, thusly: “We are a full-service law firm in downtown Toronto. Tweets represent highly reputable and completely free legal advice.”

I checked and, as far as I can tell, Bad Legal does not have a physical presence on Bay Street—or any street. What it does have is 3,602 Twitter followers. Here are the Twitter followers for the Seven Sisters:

Osler: 5,179

McCarthys: 4,271

Stikeman Elliott: 4,223

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Torys: 4,076

Blakes: 4,003

Goodmans: 2,754

Davies: 1,892

Thus, a fake law firm with no lawyers and no clients is tucked nicely into the middle of Canada’s most prestigious firms in terms of Twitter followers. That’s either an indictment of the marketing skill of our Seven Sisters, or it’s a credit to the marketing genius of Bad Legal LLP. Let’s see if we can figure out which it is.

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Here’s a recent Tweet from McCarthys: “Discover our innovative client solutions program to help further your business goals and proactively manage risk.”

Wow, compelling. I almost “followed” McCarthys on that Tweet alone.

Here’s one from Osler: “Ontario Court of Appeal Releases Significant Decision for #Environmental Civil Litigation.”

Notice most of the words are capitalized. That makes this Tweet so much more interesting and sexy, beyond the gripping subject matter.

Now, here’s a recent Tweet from Bad Legal LLP:

Our xmas part is this Friday. Joining the orgy is optional but highly encouraged. Bring your own needles if you don’t want to share

That’s one Christmas party to which you should definitely bring your camera phone! How about this one?

The throne speech is when I dictate a letter to my secretary from the bathroom #ThroneSpeech

I’ve thought of that joke before, but never had the b*lls to Tweet it. Good on you, Bad Legal.

Now, lest you think this Twitter-firm is only about orgies, drugs and bad jokes, it has a nobler purpose. It also provides sound legal tips such as:

The best way to win a trial is by introducing shocking, undisclosed evidence that the other side isn’t ready for #legaltipoftheday

I’m not a litigator, but that seems very useful. Take heed, young lawyers. How about this one, which is particularly important to Above the Law columnists:

Defamation law doesn’t apply if you’re in a rush and the story is really juicy.

That one gives me great comfort. All in all, it’s good to know there’s a reputable source for quick and useful legal tips on Twitter. Good on Bad Legal LLP for filling a much-needed niche.

Is there a lesson in all this? I think so. If Bad Legal can pick up 3,600 Twitter followers sharing gossip and bad jokes, imagine what the Seven Sisters could do if they stopped boring the crap out of us with yawn-inducing marketing Tweets? Spice it up, Sisters. Take a lesson from Bad Legal LLP and show us a little garter once in a while.

Here’s the question I’m sure you’re all asking (and me too). Who’s the person (or people, perhaps) behind Bad Legal LLP? There has been much speculation in the media lately, but no confirmation. From reading the Tweets, I’m pretty sure it’s a seasoned lawyer. Is it a he or she? Bay Street or small firm or no firm? I can’t tell. I think from the “throne speech” joke he’s a guy, but I could be totally wrong.

I suspect that he or she, like Mr. Lat, is someone who has a significant job, and feels the need to hide behind anonymity to share his or her fun, irreverent take on the legal profession. Someone the legal establishment would scorn if he or she ever revealed his/her identity.

I can tell you one thing, it’s not me—although I wish it was. How brilliant would that be to create Bad Legal LLP, then promote myself in my Above the Law column, all the while disclaiming that it’s actually me?

But, seriously, it’s not me. Seriously.

If you’re out there Bad Legal and you’re reading this, I would love for you to contact me. You can do it anonymously. Maybe I can write column about you (anonymously, of course) and share some of your aspirations for what is quickly becoming one of the most popular Twitter feeds in the Canadian legal profession.

I’m holding my thumb to my ear and my pinky to my mouth. That’s the universal sign for “call me” (or email me, but I don’t know the sign for that).

That’s the View From Up North. Have a great week.

Steve Dykstra is a Canadian-trained lawyer and legal recruiter. He is the President of Steven Dykstra Law Professional Corporation, a boutique corporate/commercial law firm located in the greater Toronto area. You can contact Steve at [email protected]. You can also read his blog at stevendykstra.wordpress.com, follow him on Twitter (@Law_Think), or connect on LinkedIn (ca.linkedin.com/in/stevedykstra/).

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