By Erin Geiger Smith

Dec 11 (Reuters) - The lawyer for an anonymous blogger who criticized a Michigan law school plans to argue on Wednesday that the blogger's identity should be kept secret.

Paul Levy, a lawyer with Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, is scheduled to appear in the Michigan Court of Appeals in Lansing on behalf of the blogger, a former student of Thomas M. Cooley School of Law who criticized the school in an online blog he authored.

The case has drawn widespread attention from civil rights groups and the media. Levy is expected to try to convince the court that the law school, which wants to publicly identify the blogger, must show it has a legitimate reason to do so, and not just a desire for revenge.

James Thelan, the school's associate dean for legal affairs, said Cooley "would like to proceed publicly because we don't think anyone should be able to hide behind defamatory words."

The dispute started in July 2011 when the blogger and several commenters on his site q uestioned the accuracy of employment data released by the school and its representatives, referring to the statements as "criminal" and "fraud."

Cooley sued, claiming the statements had defamed the school, and subpoenaed the blogger's California-based Internet-hosting company, Weebly, demanding it identify the blogger.

The blogger filed a motion asking the trial court in Michigan to invalidate the subpoena, but by then Weebly already had turned over the information sought by Cooley, which disclosed the blogger's name in a court filing.

Eventually the court found that by using words as strong as "criminal" and "fraud," the blogger was not entitled to First Amendment protection and that Cooley would not have to show actual malice to prove it had been defamed.

The trial judge put all issues relating to the case on hold until the blogger's appeal was heard, noting that Michigan had not yet decided on the appropriate standard for identifying an anonymous speaker.

In Wednesday's hearing, the blogger will urge the appeals court to adopt a standard that requires anonymous defendants be notified that their right to speak anonymously is being challenged. It will also ask that Cooley must show it is likely to win the case before the court should allow the blogger to be identified.

In his brief, the blogger argued that the court should balance the rights to anonymous speech against the right of an allegedly slandered party to defend itself.

"The challenge ... is to develop a test for the identification of anonymous speakers that makes it neither too easy for deliberate defamers to hide behind pseudonyms, nor too easy for a big company or a public figure to unmask critics simply by filing a complaint that purports to state an untested claim for relief," the brief said.

In its brief, Cooley argued that Weebly, the Internet company, was authorized to release the name under its terms of service. The school also argued that Michigan law does not, and should not, require a plaintiff to prove the strength of its claims before it conducts discovery.

The school repeatedly has said it stands by its employment data.

The case is Thomas Cooley Law School v. John Doe, State of Michigan Court of Appeals, Fourth District, No. 307426.

For the law school: Michael Coakley of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone.

For John Doe: Paul Levy of Public Citizen Law Group.

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