There Goes the Chicago Criminal Law Blogosphere…

It looks like the Chicago criminal law blogging scene is going to be a barren wasteland again. Marcus Schantz is hanging it up. And I’m not just talking about his blog.

I first noticed Marcus Schantz’s Chicago Criminal Defense blog two years ago. At the time, I praised his story-telling abilities:

Then he starts telling stories. He’s the kind of lawyer who’s willing to tell stories about his cases, although he seems pretty careful not to discuss things that wouldn’t already be known to the other side, and he doesn’t name names. Most of it is probably pretty routine, the day-to-day work of criminal defense…but to a fan of courtroom stories like me, it was fun to read. He’s obviously a bit new to the profession, and still finds it exciting.

I was speaking at the time about his early posts, but I also read a few of his later posts and had this to say:

You know how every American President seems to visibly age in office? Even if it’s only a four-year term? Skipping to the end of Schantz’s blog was the same way. He’s still enthusiastic about his career, but two years down the road and two major losses in felony trials, and the blog is now being written by an older man, or at least one who’s taken a bit of a beating.

I later nominated Schantz’s post about his defense of Kenneth Green for Scott Greenfield’s Best Criminal Law Blog Post, 2011. It didn’t win, but Scott had this to say about it:

One of the more obscure posts that was nominated was the exceptional and honest recap of young lawyer Marcus Schantz, detailing the travails of his defense of a cop shooting, ending in an acquittal.  It’s not merely an incredibly moving account of his experience, but one in which no criminal defense lawyer can’t share the feelings along the way.  This post was clearly a contender by content, but sadly was the last post of his nominal blawg, which has gone silent since September.  Hopefully, 2012 will see Marcus take up keyboard and resurrect his blawg.

Marcus did manage three more posts in 2012, but now it looks like the combination of a stressful occupation and great writing skills are conspiring to take him off the board.

In the summer of 2012, I decided I needed a change of scenery and no longer wished to practice law. I can’t fully explain it, but I began to feel unhealthy, though physical fitness is a cornerstone in my life. It was my mental health about which I worried. I was on medication for anxiety, depression and had to take pills to sleep. Chicago, and this job, began to make me feel sick inside.

He was also facing a slump in business. All of this pushed him in a new direction:

Moving forward, in the fall of 2012, I began freelance writing articles and ghost blogging on a variety of topics. The work doesn’t pay well, but it does pay. In February and March of 2013, I wrote a novel titled, .40 Cal Sayulita and in May I wrote a second novel, Concealed Carry. I have a literary agent whose job it is to sell my books to a publisher; however, the book business moves at a turtle’s pace.

I plan to leave Chicago in September for a far southern destination where I can enjoy wide open space, quietness, a slower pace and a greater sense of personal freedom. I believe I have what it takes to make a living as a novelist and found that I love writing fiction. Thus, herein lies my current focus.

Well crap.

There goes Chicago’s best — and pretty much only — criminal law blogger. Before Schantz showed up, I had declared myself the Greatest Criminal Defense Blogger in Chicago (even though I’m not a lawyer) just to poke a stick at all those Chicago criminal defense lawyers who could be blogging but aren’t. It looks like I may have to take up the mantle again.

On the other hand, I was just complaining about the difficulty in finding good legal thrillers, and I even wrote:

Or would any of the lawyers reading this like to try writing one? Go ahead. You know you’re a storyteller at heart. I’ll bet you’d do great.

Sadly, the timing is all wrong for me to claim to have “encouraged” or even “discovered” Marcus Schantz. Pity.

Oh well.

Marcus, I’m sorry to hear about the ills that befell you while practicing law the Chicago way. I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavor. And if you’re ever looking for readers for your in-progress novels, you know where to find me.