Trust is a classic example of a virtuous aspect of a relationship
which can only be won painstakingly over time, but which
can be destroyed in an instant.  Among the behaviors
which support and build up trust are consistency, clarity,
transparency, and a track record of "no surprises."

For the last week or so (since posting the reader
survey),
I’ve been thinking more than usual about the nature and make-up
of "Adam Smith, Esq."’s readers, and your relationship
to the site and indirectly to me—all very positive
thoughts, I hasten to add!   So when I opened
today’s Sunday New York Times to see an "Editorial
Observer" piece about
ethics in the blogosphere, I was stricken by a pang that
I have not stated to you, dear reader, in a concise and
comprehensive fashion, my own rules of the road here.

Omission hereby remedied:

• Independence:  I have never even
  been approached, much less taken, a nickel, in cash or
  kind, to say anything in particular here or even to cover
  topic X, and I wouldn’t dream of it:  So if
  the thought has crossed your mind, you can just plain forget
  it.  In fact, knowing my contrarian streak, you would
  probably shoot yourself in the foot if you even hinted
  along those lines.
• Advertising:  What I am in the
  habit of referring to as "that honking big ad" top right
  is served up to you and me through the good offices of
  ALM Media’s legal blogging network, as a condition of my
  membership therein.  The beginning, middle, and end
  of my role in creating it was to cut and paste some code
  they emailed me into my master site template.  I have
  zero control over what appears there, what products/services
  are being promoted, if it’s blue or green or purple, click-through
  rates, or anything else.   Since this is my site,
  not theirs, I do receive a small cut of the revenue from
  it, but by far the lion’s share goes to them—in fact,
  that reminds me, I haven’t actually seen a check yet.  Hmmmm….
• Attacks & Opportunities to Respond:  I
  hope, and believe, I have never "attacked" any individual
  or firm, but if I thought I was about to, I would surely
  contact them off-site in advance and give them a chance
  to tell their side of the story.  In the (exceptionally
  rare—as I recall, it has happened exactly once) case
  where a reader requested a "clarification" of a post, I
  immediately replied that I would put up any comment they
  wished to offer, verbatim, unedited, and in full.  They
  took me up on it.
• The In-box is Open:  I welcome
  reader response and indeed consider it one of the highlights
  of "Adam Smith, Esq." from my perspective.  Always
  feel free to contact me at bmacewen at nyc dot rr dot com.

If I’ve forgotten to discuss or disclose anything else,
let me know!