Social media for law firms and lawyers
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This document outlines the importance of social media for law firms and lawyers. It discusses the goals of understanding why social media is important, the types of social media platforms and their benefits, who is using social media effectively, and important ethical considerations. Some key points include: 59% of lawyers said their firms have a social media presence in 2013, up from 17% in 2010. LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are the top social media platforms for law firms. Firms should have a LinkedIn company page and lawyer profiles at a minimum. Ethical rules on confidentiality and conflicts of interest apply to social media conduct.
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Social media for law firms and lawyers
- 1. Social Media for Law Firms and Lawyers Presented to PSALA Tech Section, January 28, 2014
- 3. Gain understanding of why social media is important
- 4. Understand types of mediums and benefits of each
- 5. Learn what might work for you
- 6. See who is using effectively
- 8. So, WHY is social media important?
- 9. • Showcases Practice Expertise • Client Engagement • Competitive Intelligence • Increases SEO • Cost Effective
- 10. Not Dinosaur
- 11. 2013 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey Report: • 59 percent of lawyers said that their firms have a social network presence, compared with 55 percent in 2012, 42 percent in 2011 and 17 percent in 2010. Source: American Bar Association
- 12. • Among lawyers individually, 81 percent say that they use social networks for professional purposes, up from 78 percent in 2012, 65 percent in 2011 and 56 percent in 2010.
- 14. …..social media has proven it’s no fad, it’s a necessity
- 16. 2013 In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey: • 73% say the use Social Media • They are using Facebook mainly for personal use. • They are using LinkedIn to strengthen professional contacts. Source: http://insidecounselsurvey.com
- 17. • They are reading industry news on blogs. • They are turning to these sources with the same frequency as traditional media outlets. • Older colleagues are using Social Media weekly, and keeping pace with the younger generation.
- 19. Top social mediums for law firms and lawyers (in order of importance): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. LinkedIn Blogs Twitter YouTube Facebook
- 20. Which are right for your firm?
- 21. Social Media as your firm or via lawyers? Or both?
- 23. #1 whether Law Firm or Attorney:
- 24. At very minimum for all law firms and attorneys - LinkedIn: • • • • • • Law Firm Company Page Connected to lawyers and staff Completed Lawyer Profiles Unique URLs Color Headshot Client Connections and follows
- 25. Who’s Doing it Well - LinkedIn: • Perkins Coie: Perkins Coie • Ryan Swanson: Ryan Swanson
- 26. Blogs – First Thing • Niche Niche Niche • Lawyer Commitment
- 27. Who’s Doing it Well - Blogs: • Foster Pepper: Native Legal Update • Davis Wright Tremaine: Startup Law Blog
- 28. Twitter – First Thing • Firm Account or Attorney? • Commitment
- 29. Who’s Doing it Well - Twitter: • Bill Marler, Marler Clark • K&L Gates, Firm Account
- 30. YouTube – First Thing • Attorney Selection • Tight Messaging
- 31. Who’s Doing it Well -YouTube: K&L Gates K&L Gates
- 32. Facebook – First Thing • Last Thing • Reuse other content • Personal look
- 33. Who’s Doing it Well - Facebook: • Stoel Rives: Stoel Rives
- 34. Ethical Considerations The ABA 20/20 Commission considered amendments in 2012 to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to address specific lawyer social networking issues, but ultimately recommended no sweeping rule changes in this area.
- 35. Ethical Considerations Thus, the current rules apply to all lawyer conduct. Read them. Follow them.
- 36. Ethical Considerations Do use the confirmation principle. Confirmation is a “technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.”
- 37. Ethical Considerations Don’t lie. Don’t fudge.
- 38. Ethical Considerations Don’t give legal advice to anyone on a social networking site. Instead, provide only legal information.
- 39. Ethical Considerations Don’t reveal confidential information on social media sites.
- 40. Ethical Considerations Don’t post anything on social media during trial or pending verdict.
- 41. Ethical Considerations Don’t communicate with judges and jurors. Don’t send them invitations to connect.
- 44. Social Media for Law Firms and Lawyers Presented to PSALA Tech Section, January 28, 2014
Editor's Notes
- Tell you a bit about myself… 25+ years in corporate marketing for area companies including Westin Hotels & Resorts, Windermere Real Estate, Evergreen Hospital, and specific to legal: Director of Marketing for Williams Kastner for 3 years and most recently, for Foster Pepper for 7 years. Launched my own marketing and communications consulting practice in 2012 and serve the legal, healthcare and nonprofit sectors. My specialty in social media in the legal environment comes from my time at FP… have always been an avid studier of trends and expert opinions and so was an early adopter of social media for FP. At the time of my departure in April 2012 the firm had nearly 2500 Twitter followers, among the highest of any firm nationwide. The firm’s LinkedIn company page was populated with information of 20+ practices, and we launched 4 successful practice niche blogs. We had also developed a firm Facebook page. I had very specific strategy in mind for these activities, and believe that all firms must have one if they intend to reap any benefit from the time spent. As we move through this presentation I will talk more about that strategy.
- That’s Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka kicking a winning overtime field goal against the Houston Texans in September - Go Hawks! As for our goals today,
- Whether a law firm or individual lawyer, the benefits are significant
- And even as important, in this technology age, being active on social media sends the message, especially for more senior lawyers, that they’re in touch and can adapt. Extremely important as clients get younger
- Your competition is there, and so are your clients.
- While there’s several social mediums to choose from, not all are right for law firms.
- Here’s where the strategy must be developed BEFORE launching
- Vine, Instagram
- Excellent way to show attorney’s expertise and give a better sense of who they are.
- Strategies include liking client Facebook pages, linking to them and others when posting, show firm’s personality
- Before posting anything on asocial media site, confirm that the post is accurate, ethical and professionally appropriate. In otherwords, before hitting “post” or “send,” slow down, proofread, and fact check. While confirmation willslow your workflow, it could save your professional reputation.
- Expertise, degree, education, areas of practice, etc
- Distinguishing between “advice” and “information” is sometimes difficult, but here’s a start: a postcontains “advice” if it applies law to a real issue relevant to an identifiable recipient; in contrast, apost contains “information” if it describes the law in general terms or if it applies the law only tohypothetical issues and persons.
- The scope of what is “confidentialinformation” is significantly broader than most lawyers realize. Indeed, under the Model Rules,information is “confidential” if it in any way “relat[es] to the representation of a client.”[27] Therefore,post information about clients and cases on social media only when there is “no reasonablelikelihood” that a recipient will be able to “ascertain the identity of the client or the situationinvolved.”[28] Better yet, don’t post information about clients and cases on social media.[29]