Randazza
I meant to post a congratulatory note to Marc Randazza about four or five (or six) months ago on the Righthaven smackdown but never did. This post from Scott Greenfield reminded me that I never got around to doing it.
For the few who may not be familiar with him, Randazza is an awesome kick ass lawyer and uber blogger. He was and is one of the provocative voices in the blawgosphere who to me exemplifies what law blogging (and blogging in general) is all about. At the Legal Satyricon, he and his band of Satyriconistas post on a wide range of topics from online liability and the First Amendment to politics and the ethics of eating meat (see "Ethics challenge - come up with a good reason for being a carnivore"). In an era where lawyers and others are increasingly concerned with "brand perception" and "personal branding," it's refreshing to say the least to see someone who is not weighed down by these things. I haven't talked to him about it but I would guess that he scoffs at the idea of a personal branding consultant. I'm guessing he's not following Klout with keen interest either.
I sometimes get mildly depressed when I think about the era of the "social media lawyer" and lawyers doling out advice in 140 characters. It can be dispiriting to say the least to see the direction social media has taken much of the legal profession. It's nice to see people like Randazza out there in these times.
Anyway, Randazza (and others at the Randazza Legal Group) deserve serious kudos for taking down Righthaven, taking away their domain name, and their intellectual property. The domain name was bought at auction and now offers "hosting service with a spine." As Eric Goldman said, it's a pleasure to watch Randazza litigate. More important than his blogging exploits are his accomplishments as a lawyer. And Righthaven is just one of the many cases where he's achieved a big win. The Glenn Beck domain name smackdown is one that sticks out in my mind. (See "Glenn Beck's Attempt to Rape and Murder Free Speech in 2009 - Thwarted.") Here's a list of some of his successes, many of which vindicate First Amendment/free speech rights or involve pushing back aggressively against people who try to bully bloggers and others: "Marc Randazza: First Amendment Badass."
[That's not to say I don't disagree with some of the positions Randazza takes. I have some some core philosophical differences with the position he takes in this post, for example.]
Comments