Law Firm's Libel Lawsuit Shows Peril of Legal Blogging
An excerpt of a piece I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune:
A libel lawsuit being prosecuted by a Connecticut law firm against a California-based legal practice is showing some of the perils of using legal blogs.
Karl D. Shehu, whose Shehu LLC law firm is based in Waterbury, filed a lawsuit alleging defamation by San Diego-based attorney William Adams, of Norton Moore & Adams.
One key ruling so far in the case has been that the Connecticut attorney having a blog and the California lawyer having a blog is not enough to maintain a cause of action under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA). Another key ruling is that it is insufficient to maintain a CUTPA cause of action if the attorneys are in competition to have their websites appear at the top of search engine results.
According to court papers, Adams sent two emails to Shehu LLC and two officials at the Connecticut Bar Association, Alice Bruno and Bill Chapman, alleging that Shehu spammed his blog, commented on an article with mass-produced, irrelevant remarks, and otherwise "'used a dishonest ruse.'" The subject line allegedly read: "'Your Spam is a professional ethics violation.'" Adams further alleged, according to court papers, that the conduct was unethical and violated American Bar Association professional responsibility rules.
In Shehu's lawsuit, the Connecticut attorney alleges Adams made the comments knowing they were false and with the intention of causing harm to Shehu's reputation and career as an attorney.
In a third email, Adams allegedly contacted the bar association officials again and stated he had no evidence that anyone at the Shehu law firm had personal knowledge of the comments, and he concluded that the comments were "'part of an internet marketing campaign by Shehu LLC.'"
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
