Beyond LinkedIn: Advanced Social Media for Lawyers

Martha Sperry Doug Cornelius

February 2, 2010

What Is Social Media?

Image Care of PixelPipe October 28, 2009

Audience Poll

What's Different?
Easy Interactive Pro-active
No html or code

Web pages are no longer read only Web pages will notify you when there is new information

Types of Web Outposts

Communication Social Networking Collaboration User-Generated

Why Social Media?

1. Build a Web Presence

2.
3. 4.

Monitor and Guard your Brand /

Connect with Peers and Clients Gain Knowledge

Reputation

1,335 Million

1,176 Million

350 Million active users

307 Million

41% of AmLaw 200 law firms have blogs.

http://kevin.lexblog.com/2009/06/articles/large-law/state-of-the-amlaw-200-blogosphere-june-2009/

Why Not Social Media?

"I dont know what social media is. Its kind of scary."

Educate yourself

"There is too much information out there to wrap my head around."

Discover Efficiency Tools

"There is so much drivel on line. I have real work to do."

Filter Out The Noise

"I dont have time to contribute."

Automate

"My clients arent using the stuff so why should I?"

Take a look at some facts ...

1/4 of adults publish a blog, upload video or audio. 60% have profiles on a social networking site. 70% read blogs, tweets & watch online video.

In 12/09, unique Facebook visitors doubled from 54.4M to 112M

53% of Employers Use Social Networks to Screen Employees

Small Biz favors social search, webinars, & posing questions on forums to get information

In 10/09, LinkedIn reached 50M users

Nearly 2/3 of CMO's will increase spending on social media in 2010 with a 407% Twitter use increase

In 12/09, Twitter increased unique visitors from 2.7M in the prior year to 18.1M

"If I stay away, I won't risk brand damage."

Can you risk anonymity?

"Traditional media has a bigger audience. I should spend resources there."

Traditional media is moving on-line.

"Management isn't interested."

Firm-Controlled, Low-Cost, Self-Directed.

"Do these sites have staying power?"

Connections transcend platform

"It's all so confusing. Maybe I should just avoid it."

Learn. Plan. Do.

"Flashy Web strategies are for Coca Cola & Best Buy."

The Web is the (Near) Future For All Goods & Services

41% of AmLaw 200 law firms have blogs.

http://kevin.lexblog.com/2009/06/articles/large-law/state-of-the-amlaw-200-blogosphere-june-2009/

Bar Rules
Lawyers are a regulated industry and need to comply with those restrictions.

RULE 7.1 Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services

A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading.

RULE 7.2 Advertising

(a) Subject to the requirements of Rule 7.1, a lawyer may advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory including an electronic or computeraccessed directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor advertising, radio or television, or through written communication not involving solicitation prohibited in Rule 7.3. (b) A copy or recording of an advertisement or written communication shall be kept for two years after its last dissemination along with a record of when and where it was used. (c) A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services, except that a lawyer may: ....

RULE 7.3 Solicitation

(f) A lawyer shall not give anything of value to any person or organization to solicit professional employment for the lawyer from a prospective client.

RULE 7.4 Fields of Practice

(a) Lawyers may hold themselves out publicly as specialists in particular services, fields, and areas of law if the holding out does not include a false or misleading communication.... (b) Lawyers who hold themselves out as "certified" in a particular service, field, or area of law must name the certifying organization... (c) Except as provided in this paragraph, lawyers who associate their names with a particular service, field, or area of law imply an expertise and shall be held to the standard of performance of specialists in that particular service, field, or area.....

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