In one of my posts yesterday about Reed Smith’s termination of Denise Howell, I wondered whether the firm anticipated the blogosphere’s reaction. Well, the stats suggest it should have. Kevin O’Keefe at LexBlog reports that Internet discussion about Reed Smith is up 50 percent in the wake of the incident. Meanwhile, Bob Coffield at Health Care Law Blog pulled together stats showing the first wave of bloggers’ interest in the news. They show huge surges in blogger mentions of Reed Smith and Denise Howell on July 17 and 18, just after the news broke.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.