I’ve been around the block WAY too many times. I’ve dealt with MANY clients who go (or want US to go) WAY over the head of their actual clients with our posts/content for them. The mistake? They write for themselves and NOT their actual visitors – or the visitors that they THINK they should have. And then wonder WHY those visitors are just not coming TO their site.
Look, I get it. You went to law school. You’re smart. You’ve read more case law than most people read cereal boxes. You know what Corpus Delicti means and you’re not afraid to use it.
But here’s the deal:
The guy reading your DWI blog post at 8:07 a.m. is probably still hungover, missing one shoe, and incredibly thankful his wife (or mom) saw it in their heart to bail him out (again).
And what he doesn’t need?
A 1,500-word legal treatise on NC General statute §20-138.1 with more footnotes than a doctoral thesis. I went ahead and added that statue link – just for clarity…
Stop Writing for Judges. Start Writing for Humans.
If your content sounds like you’re prepping for oral arguments in front of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, you’re doing it wrong. You’re not trying to impress fellow attorneys—you’re trying to connect with a scared, stressed-out human being who just Googled “What happens if I blew a .10 in NC?”
This person doesn’t care about precedent. They care about “Am I going to jail?”
They want reassurance. Clarity. Maybe even a little hope. What they don’t want is a vocabulary test.
Let’s Talk About Your Audience
Here’s who your blog is actually for:
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Someone who just got out of jail and is using their cousin’s phone because their own is in a Ziploc bag at the impound lot.
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Someone panicking because they drive for work and they’re one suspension away from unemployment.
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Someone googling “first offense DWI NC” between vomiting and texting their ex.
Do these people want to read:
“The court in State v. Harrington emphasized the importance of NHTSA guidelines in assessing standardized field sobriety test procedures…”
Or would they rather read:
“Got pulled over last night? Blew over the limit? Here’s what to expect and how to protect yourself.”
Guess which one makes them call you?
Clarity > Cleverness
Legal writing is a fine skill—just not for your blog. Website content should be clear, conversational, and comforting. You’re the expert. Great. Now be the expert who talks like a human being.
Write like you’re explaining things to your neighbor, not defending your dissertation.
Yes, accuracy matters. No, you don’t need to include every statute, subsection, and caveat known to man.
If they want the fine print? You can tell them in person—after they’ve booked the consult from your awesome, human-centered website.
This Is About Trust, Not Trivia
You don’t build trust by showing how much law you know. You build trust by showing you understand what your potential client is going through.
The goal is to make the reader feel like:
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You get it.
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You’ve handled this before.
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You can help them fix the mess they’re in.
The second your tone gets too cold, too technical, or too high-level, you’ve lost them.
They’ll back out, hit the next link, and end up hiring some other attorney who wrote:
“DWI Arrest? Here’s What to Do Within 24 Hours.”
Short. Helpful. Human.
SEO Bonus: Google Likes Human Writing, Too
Oh yeah—and one more thing?
Google is smart enough now to know when your content sucks.
Keyword stuffing, clunky paragraphs, and law-school jargon won’t win you rankings anymore. Google ranks content that answers actual user questions in a clear, natural way.
So if your client is also complaining that his “brilliant legal articles” aren’t showing up in search?
Yeah. That’s why.
TL;DR (Too long;Didn’t read) for the Lawyers in the Room
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Your clients aren’t judges. Stop writing like you’re in court.
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Use plain language, short sentences, and answer real questions.
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Make your blog content sound like a helpful human—not a statue in a courthouse.
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Keep it scannable, clear, and full of calls to action.
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And yes, you can still be professional AND approachable. It’s not mutually exclusive.
If you’re a lawyer reading this and feel personally attacked—good. That means this was for you.
Now go fix your content.
Or call someone who will. And yet again, I know a guy who has a company…
