Many of you don’t know Dan Schwartz, a Connecticut lawyer and publisher of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.

I know Dan as a friend, having first met him in Montreal thirteen years ago. I’ve gotten to know his caring family, and him, mine, through Facebook.

So it gave me goosebumps (I get emotional, easily) when I read what Dan shared on LinkedIn this morning.

Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint when certain life events have a big impact on your career.

For me, one of the biggest of them is actually easy to spot.

It was 13 years ago this week that I started a blog on employment law. A few months prior, I had met Kevin O’Keefe at a young lawyers conference for the ABA in, of all places, Montreal.

I worked with his then-skeleton crew at LexBlog, Inc. and it’s all history from there.

So why has something as small as a blog had such an impact?

Lots of reasons: The doors it has opened to meeting others. The continual focus on staying relevant. The impact it has had on my writing.

And so much more. So, here’s to 13 years!”

I continue to ask lawyers to get out the magic wand out when thinking of blogging. Why? Blogging can be a life changing event.

You can represent the clients you’d like to represent on the type of matters you’d like to work on. You can pay your children’s college tuition at the school of their choice. You’ll be invited to travel to nice places with your spouse to speak – and it’ll be all paid for.

And like Dan says it’s just nice to have the opportunity to meet others, to stay relevant in your field and to improve your skills.

Blogging. Kind of amazing the impact it can have on a lawyer’s career.

My team and are honored to play a small role in helping these lawyers.