Real Lawyers with Kevin O'Keefe Todd Smith on Restarting a Practice, Owning Your Online Real Estate and Publishing With Purpose
Dec 11, 2025
Todd Smith, a pioneering Texas appellate lawyer and founder of Texas Appellate Council PLLC, shares his journey of launching one of Texas' first appellate blogs in 2006. He discusses how blogging built his credibility and served as a pivotal online presence. The duo explores the evolution of legal content, the importance of owning your platform, and the role of AI in writing. Todd emphasizes the value of publishing authentically, especially for young lawyers, while focusing on niche blogging to establish authority in specific fields.
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Blog Launched To Build Credibility
- Todd Smith started his appellate blog in 2006–2007 to build credibility when launching his own practice.
- He used blogging to explain his expertise and attract clients beyond being a cog in big law.
Early Blogs Benefited Search Visibility
- Early blogging offered novelty and easier discoverability on Google compared with static websites.
- That visibility helped Todd appear high in search results and find clients organically.
Conversation Moved Away From Blogs
- Blogging used to enable immediate, thoughtful back-and-forth via comments and conversation.
- Over time social platforms and spam diminished that direct exchange and raised noise levels.