3. Social Media for Lawyers: The Next
Frontier
Presented by Nicole Black
4. For companies, resistance to
social media is futile. Millions
of people are creating content
for the social Web. Your
competitors are already there.
Your customers have been
there for a long time. If your
business isn't putting itself out
there, it ought to be.
Business Week, February 19,
2009
17. Social Media Factoid #3:
Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres
(combined) have more Twitter followers
than the population of Ireland Norway, or
Ireland,
Panama.
23. A fundamentalist is a person
who considers whether a fact is
acceptable to their faith before
they explore it. As opposed to
a curious person who explores
first and then considers
whether or not they want to
accept the ramifications.
--Seth Godin
27. Common Lawyer Goals
•Networking & Building
Relationships
•Finding Clients
•Locating Information to Support
Your Practice
•Competitive Intelligence &
Customer Feedback
•Showcasing expertise
•Speaking engagements & Media
•Search Engine Optimization
•Branding
64. Lawyer Advertising: Is it or isn’t it?
Is it advertising? If so, a disclaimer may be required.
65. • Inadvertently creating an attorney-client
relationship (ABA Model Rules 1.2, 1.4,
1.16, 4.4)
66. DONʼT
Unintentionally create an
attorney-client relationship
(ABA Model Rules 1.2, 1.4, 1.16, 4.4)
Best practices:
Keep responses general
Provide information rather than advice
Use disclaimers
67. • Disclosing confidential information
(ABA Model Rules 1.6, 8.3)
69. • Improper contact with parties (ABA
Model Rule 3.5 (b) & (c))
70. NO Improper contact with
parties
No deceptive Facebook friending
Philadelphia Bar Association
Ethics Committee Opinion
2009-02 (March 2009); New
York Bar Association Op. No.
843 (September 2010
• New York Bar Formal Opinion 2010-2
71. • Improper client solicitation (ABA
Model Rule 7.3)
75. • Ex parte communications (ABA Model
Rule 3.5(b))
76. NO
Ex parte communications
(ABA Model Rule 3.5(b))
Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 2009-20 (November 2009);
“The issue, however is not whether the lawyer actually is in a position to
influence the judge, but instead whether the proposed contact…[conveys
that impression.]”
77. How can you squander even
one more day not taking
advantage of one of the
greatest shifts of our
generation? How dare you
settle for less when the world
has made it so easy for you to
be remarkable?
--Seth Godin
78.
79. You can learn more from our book:
Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier
Thanks for listening!
Nicole Black
lawtechTalk
www.lawtechtalk.com
@nikiblack on Twitter
Notas del editor
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Attorneys who leverage social media have distinct advantage over those who don’t\n
“[S]ocial media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to      many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM).”\n            — WIKIPEDIA ENTRY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA \n\n
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Explore the benefits. Balance the risks. Be curious.\n
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Determine what your goals are before jumping in. Goals: 1) appear higher in search engine results 2) showcase areas of expertise 3) interact w/ other lawyers to gain info./referrals 4) get clients--local or national clientele? \n
Determine what your goals are before jumping in. Goals: 1) appear higher in search engine results 2) showcase areas of expertise 3) interact w/ other lawyers to gain info./referrals 4) get clients--local or national clientele? \n
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Piggyback on the SEO of established websites. (My name/porn star). Ensure that all lawyers in your firm have profiles on LinkedIn, Justia and Avvo. Facebook is a must as well--allows you to re-connect with lost contacts. Ensure that your presence is consistent across platforms.\n
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If you enjoy writing and have a passion for a particular area of the law, blogging is perfect way to showcase expertise and writing skills. Allows you to increase SEO & humanizes attorneys.\n
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LinkedIn--professional directory-fairly formal. Fairly safe. (But see ethics/specialization)\n
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•While it is important to have a static website or blog for your business, it is equally important for lawyers to cultivate a uniquely individual online presence as well.\n
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•The best way to do this it to take off your “lawyer hat”. Talk to people, not at them. Interact, don’t advertise. And, most importantly, share a little bit about yourself and your interests.\n•People are more than their careers. Lawyers are more than their law firms.\n\n\n
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In many ways social media is a replacement for traditional PR. Magnifies your reach on a budget. Can allow you to decrease or even eliminate marketing expenses.\n
Ideal platform to get your message across.\n
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Ethical issues can seem like a maze.\n
You’ll hear a lot of conflicting things about social media\n
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Common sense--be truthful in your accomplishments, etc.\n
[PICTURE OF SNAKEOIL AD] (White Slide, black letters)\n
Applies to any type of lawyer communication. Is it advertising and is disclaimer required? Varies by jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions, analysis revolves around whether info is informational v. simply promotional.\n
Applies to any type of lawyer communication. Is it advertising and is disclaimer required? Varies by jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions, analysis revolves around whether info is informational v. simply promotional.\n
Disclaimers on blogs are important. Also important--provide links to info., rather than advice. Avoid advice, especially in written form. (Lawsuits re: verbal advice at cocktails parties--written more permanent evidence).\n
Disclaimers on blogs are important. Also important--provide links to info., rather than advice. Avoid advice, especially in written form. (Lawsuits re: verbal advice at cocktails parties--written more permanent evidence). [HANDSHAKE PHOTO]\n
Most easily triggered on less formal sites--ie. informality may lead attys to be overshare.\n
PICTURE OF TWEET\n
Philadelphia Bar Association Ethics Committee Opinion 2009-02 (March 2009): paralegal who “Facebook friended” adversary witness at lawyer’s request was acting for the lawyer, who was using subterfuge and misrepresentation to gain the witness’s consent to explore her private (or semi-private) Facebook information.\n
Add to Text:Philadelphia Bar Association Ethics Committee Opinion 2009-02 (March 2009): paralegal who “Facebook friended” adversary witness at lawyer’s request was acting for the lawyer, who was using subterfuge and misrepresentation to gain the witness’s consent to explore her private (or semi-private) Facebook information. [FACEBOOK ICON]\n
ie.-you can’t search social networking sites for ppl complaining of legal problem then approach them & offer your services. (ie. NY DR 7.3a).\n
ie.-you can’t search social networking sites for ppl complaining of legal problem then approach them & offer your services. (ie. NY DR 7.3a). [SOLICITATION]\n
Many jurisdictions forbid this practice. Beware LinkedIn box for “specialty” and other directory sites built in tools for building profile.\n
Many jurisdictions forbid this practice. Beware LinkedIn box for “specialty” and other directory sites built in tools for building profile. [INCLUDE LINKEDIN ICON AND SCREEN SHOT WITH SPECIALTIES; CIRCLE SPECIALTY IN RED]\n
Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 2009-20 (Nov. 2009): “The issue, however, is not whether the lawyer actually is in a position to influence the judge, but instead whether the proposed conduct, the identification of the lawyer as a “friend” on the social networking site, conveys the impression that the lawyer is in a position to influence the judge.  The Committee concludes that such identification in a public forum of a lawyer who may appear before the judge does convey this impression and therefore is not permitted.”\n
Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 2009-20 (Nov. 2009): “The issue, however, is not whether the lawyer actually is in a position to influence the judge, but instead whether the proposed conduct, the identification of the lawyer as a “friend” on the social networking site, conveys the impression that the lawyer is in a position to influence the judge.  The Committee concludes that such identification in a public forum of a lawyer who may appear before the judge does convey this impression and therefore is not permitted.” [WHISPERING PHOTO]\n