Earlier this year, I got an alert that my name was mentioned on a website and app called Fishbowl, which I hadn’t heard of before. Someone posted that I was the worst writer on Above the Law (with a fifth-grade proficiency), and a bunch of people wrote responses agreeing with the original poster or voicing support for the opinions expressed in my articles. Let me conclude that argument by saying that I am definitely the worst writer at Above the Law (but I think my articles are at least at a sixth-grade level!). However, participating in the exchange, and reading all of the comments people wrote, introduced me to Fishbowl and all of the benefits that app and website can have on the legal profession.
Let me first say that if people want to gripe about happenings at their law firms or other legal workplaces, and the matter is newsworthy, they should email Above the Law at tips@abovethelaw.com. Above the Law has a much wider audience than a discussion board can ever have, and this website with all of its commentary and curation may have a larger impact than an anonymous forum. However, for smaller matters, there is real value to voicing concerns about the happenings of workplaces, asking for advice, and just participating in online discussions about a profession without revealing one’s identity.
I have always been interested in the power of anonymous communications. Shortly after I started college, Honesty Box was a big app on Facebook, which allowed users to submit anonymous comments to people. I used this app all the time providing feedback that I thought would be useful in various contexts. Juicy Campus, an anonymous online forum, was also popular when I was a college student, and I found value in some of the posts on that website (although much of the content was pretty toxic). Later in my career, I used anonymous email applications to provide tips to Above the Law and others in order to inform them of news stories that I thought were important to expose.
Anonymity has a long history in American culture, and Benjamin Franklin, John Marshall, the authors of the Federalist Papers, and other founding fathers used anonymity to have more flexibility when expressing their views. It is generally recognized that people will be more forthcoming when they can present views anonymously since individuals might not receive the same blowback if they say something anonymously than if they use their real identities. This is why anonymous speech receives considerable protection, and some of the most forthcoming columnists on this website were anonymous authors who presumably had more flexibility with what they could publish.
On Fishbowl, anonymity also means that people are more open to sharing gossip and other news about the legal profession than they might in other contexts. In addition, people also feel more emboldened to add to the story on Fishbowl anonymously and increase the amount of information people have about a given situation at a law firm or other legal workplace, which can be extremely helpful to other legal practitioners. People can also ask questions more openly on anonymous forums since they may not want to expose themselves if their identities could be revealed.
Transparency is really important in the legal profession. For far too long, law firms have kept salaries close to the chest so that people might not discover that they are getting underpaid, or that salaries are based on illicit criteria rather than merit. Stories of improper behavior at legal workplaces have also been swept under the rug for years since people could not often convey such stories in public and confirm with other people that there is a common problem at a given shop. Moreover, a desire not to be the subject of gossip on an anonymous forum like Fishbowl might compel people to act better towards their subordinates.
Of course, there are downsides to anonymous forums. Some of the content on Fishbowl can be snarky, and downright mean. I can tell you from firsthand experience, it does not feel great to be the subject of harsh and somewhat cruel criticism on an anonymous forum, although it is awesome to see so many people come to my defense. But the benefits of anonymity far outweigh the costs. Cruelty is just a part of being on the internet, and if anyone wants to see some real anonymous meanness, they can read any of the comments on Above the Law articles before the feature was wisely disabled years ago.
In any event, the legal profession is stronger when there is transparency on the happenings at legal workplaces, and this website is a good outlet for the larger stories. If legal professionals wish to gossip about less newsworthy happenings at law firms and seek candid advice on a given subject within the legal industry or other professions, Fishbowl is a solid outlet for this activity.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothman.law.
