At least one bar association offers a shield for a logo.
This week, my family and I have the great good pleasure of being in Boston, Mass., as we deliver a child to college life.
Amidst the inevitable lobster dinner and a stroll on the Freedom Trail, I decided to look into a legal aspect to Beantown.
That’s a tradition I started years ago, always intrigued by the way other legal communities and associations do things. And that’s what takes me to the website of the Boston Bar Association.
The “look” of the BBA has always been one of my favorites, for a few reasons, I guess. (And no, not just because I will visit with friend and now-retired BBA communications exec Bonnie Sashin while I’m there!)
First, it’s one of the rare bar sites to go for a dark look. Perhaps seeking to avoid the shady reputation that attorneys may have, most legal organizations connote sweetness and bright-white light. The BBA site is steadfastly dark and yet still inviting—not unlike that stereotypical lawyer’s study we never see anymore.
Second, it has a shield. I know, all bars have a logo. But the Boston bar dispenses with a round image and opts for something that reminds us of, I don’t know, the Battle of Hastings. Very regal and heraldic.
Content is king, though, and that’s where I admit they have it. I’ll point just to one element I found worthy of emulation: their stable of in-house blogs.
Yes, here in Arizona, we have a Blog Network that features the work of scores of lawyers. But the only blog I know of emanating from within the Bar’s walls itself is mine—this one.
Beautiful façade of the Boston Bar Association: Pass the chowder.
Emerging from the Revolutionary-era brick building of the BBA, though, are a veritable army of well-done blogs. You can see the entire list here.
I’ll call you attention to one in particular today. The “Issue Spot” blog (their public policy blog) asks and examines a compelling question: Are prosecutors and public defenders paid enough?
As I adjust my lobster bib, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for other praiseworthy Boston legal connections. Can you recommend one? Write to me at arizona.attorney@azbar.org.
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AZ Attorney 
August 28, 2014 at 12:51 pm
Hey â When you come to Boston, you are close enough to warn me of your presence! I hope your child going to school here gives you excuses to come to Boston again. Would love to see you and show you the Land of Live Free and Die!
Dan Wise dwise@nhbar.org
Communications Director & Bar News Editor
New Hampshire Bar Association
2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300
Concord, NH 03301
603 715-3264 direct
603 224-6942 office
603 224 2910 fax
Supporting members of the legal profession & their service to the public and the justice system.
August 29, 2014 at 7:08 am
Absolutely, Dan. This week has been all college-move-in craziness (plus my mom, siblings, their kids arrived and made this an impromptu family gathering!). But next time, I’ll alert you!