Having a powerful and influential online presence is more important than ever, but before developing the strategy for success, it’s important to assess your current situation. With the use of a before-and-after comparison of an ABA YLD member, attendees will learn how to assess their current online presence and the necessary steps to increase visibility and credibility within the legal space through social media and blog writing. The presentation will also address the ethical considerations when using social media.

1. American Bar Association
Young Lawyers Division
Growing Your Online Footprint: An Ethical Approach to
Building a Powerful & Influential Online Presence Through
Social Media and Blog Writing
Friday, October 14, 2011
Presented by Lisa DiMonte
and
R. Michael Wells, Jr., Esquire

2. Is it Time for you to Rethink Social Media?
Resistance to social
media is futile. Millions of
people are creating
content for the social
Web. Your competitors
are already there. Your
clients have been there
for a long time. Is it time
for you to rethink
social media?
• Business Week, February 19, 2009

4. Key Takeaways & Stats
80% of companies use social media for recruitment
95% of those companies are using LinkedIn
90% of consumers trust peer recommendations
Only 14% trust advertisements
We will no longer search for products and services;
they will find us via social media
Over 800M active Facebook users
Video is an effective way to get first page Google rankings1
Source:
1
Forester
Research

5. Now
What?
Be thoughtful about what you do and how
you behave

6. Google search of David Postolski - 7/18/11
David Postolski | LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/david-postolski/10/5ab/5b0 - Cached
Greater New York City Area - Intellectual Property Liaison to the Young Lawyers Division at
American Bar Association - Cantor Fitzgerald
David Postolski profiles | LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/David/Postolski - Cached
View the profiles of professionals named David Postolski on LinkedIn. There ..
David Postolski - Greater New York City Area profiles | LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/.../David/Postolski/us-70-Greater-New-York-Cit... - Cached
View the profiles of professionals on LinkedIn named David Postolski located ...
David Postolski | Facebook
www.facebook.com/people/David-Postolski/1181644385
3 people named David Postolski in New Jersey | WhitePages
names.whitepages.com › Name Popularity › David Postolski – Cached
Learning Chemistry Online | Education | Chemical & Engineering News
pubs.acs.org/cen/education/87/8736education3.html
David Postolski - West Orange, NJ |
MyLife™
www.mylife.com/c-2032894928 - Cached
David Postolski - American Bar Association
apps.americanbar.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=cle&fm…
Lawyer David Postolski - New York, NY Attorney - Justia Lawyer ...
lawyers.justia.com › New York › New York County › New York - Cached
New York, NY - David Postolski - - Justia Lawyer Directory.
Lawyer David Postolski - New York Attorney - Avvo.com
www.avvo.com/attorneys/10017-ny-david-postolski-998953.html - Cached

7. Four Ways to Increase Visibility and Credibility
1. High-definition photo
2. Professional summary on LinkedIn which answers
4 questions: What are you known for? What type of
work do you want more of? Who is your target client?
How are you different? Your bio is not an obit.
3. Content
a. Blogs
b. White papers
c. Press Releases
d. Presentations
e. Podcasts
f. Videos
4. Commenting on the content of others

8. Profile Picture
DAVID POSTOLSKI
Before After

9. Before and After Professional Summary
Before
After
Patent
A/orney
David
is
a
dedicated
and
me6culous
patent
a6orney
whose
curious
nature
serves
him
well
in
the
Innova<on
Patent
Division
of
Cantor
Fitzgerald,
LP
where
he
prosecutes,
draDs,
analyzes
both
U.S.
and
foreign
patents,
rela<ng
to
Gaming,
So>ware,
Green
Technology,
Business
Methods,
and
Financial
Services.
As
an
IP
analyst,
David
rou<nely
analyzes
patent
porIolios
for
the
Cantor
Fitzgerald
en<<es,
draDs
technology
licensing,
purchasing
and
services
agreements,
and
also
par<cipates
in
due
diligence
and
asset
purchase
agreements.
ABA
Intellectual
Property
Law
Young
Lawyer
Leader
Over
the
last
three
years,
David
has
devoted
countless
hours
as
a
passionate
and
highly
organized
leader
and
mentor
in
the
ABA
Intellectual
Property
Law
Sec6on
and
the
ABA
Young
Lawyers
Division.
David
has
created
an
ongoing
monthly
CLE
series
specifically
for
young
IP
Lawyers.
In
addi<on,
David
has
developed
lawyer
and
law
student
outreach
and
membership
recruitment
and
reten<on
programs
for
the
benefit
of
the
judiciary,
legal
community
and
public
at
large.

10. Content Establishes
Credibility
Write about your area of focus
or topics you deal with on a
daily basis or areas of interest
The Day the USPTO Stood Still: 8,000,000
1.
Patents!!
2.
Page-Turning Books Every Young Lawyer Should Read
3.
How Do I Get a Business Method Patent Issued with No Issues
4. Torchwood: Miracle FDAy
5. Mark Cuban - Patent Attorney Extraordinaire???
6. Relief for Law Student Loans
7. Career Help for IP Law Students

11. Be Willing to Share
Information
White Papers
Presentations
LinkedIn SlideShare
Press Releases
http://www.bizjournals.com/news/
http://www.clickpress.com
https://www.prcom
https://prlog.org
https://www.prbuz.com
Write articles for newspapers
and associations

12. Podcasts and Videos
Get interviewed
Legal Talk Network
MyLegal.com
Legal Broadcast Network
Local TV Shows

13. Comment on Content of Others
Subscribe to industry or legal blogs, join LinkedIn groups and
comment regularly to increase online visibility
•
http://www.patentlyo.com/
•
http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/lexishub/
•
http://www.patentbaristas.com/
•
http://ipwatchdog.com/
•
http://mnfglobal.com/blog2/
• http://www.younglawyersblog.com/post/No-Scrubs-
Residency-Like-Training-Coming-to-Young-Lawyers.aspx

14. Google search of David Postolski - 10/13/11
·∙David
Postolski
|
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/david-­‐postolski/10/5ab/5b0
Greater
New
York
City
Area
-­‐
Patent
A6orney;
Chair-­‐
ABA
IPL
Young
Lawyers
Ac<on
Group
and
Chair-­‐
ABA
YLD
Science
and
Technology
Law
Commi6ee
View
David
Postolski's
professional
profile
on
LinkedIn.
LinkedIn
is
the
world's
largest
business
network,
helping
professionals
like
David
Postolski
discover
…
David
Postolski
profiles
|
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/David/Postolski
View
the
profiles
of
professionals
named
David
Postolski
on
LinkedIn.
There
…
David
Postolski
-­‐
Greater
New
York
City
Area
profiles
|
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/.../David/Postolski/us-­‐70-­‐Greater-­‐New-­‐York-­‐City-­‐...
View
the
profiles
of
professionals
on
LinkedIn
named
David
Postolski
located
…
Show
more
results
from
linkedin.com
Mark
Cuban
-­‐
Patent
A/orney
Extraordinaire
by
David
Postolski,
Esq.
blog.mylegal.com/.../Mark-­‐Cuban-­‐Patent-­‐AForney-­‐Extraordinaire-­‐by...
2
days
ago
–
Does
Mark
Cuban
think
he's
an
IP
a6orney?
What
would
our
world
look
like
without
business
process
patents?
You
shared
this
Career
Help
for
IP
Law
Students
by
David
Postolski,
Esq.
blog.mylegal.com/.../Career-­‐Help-­‐for-­‐IP-­‐Law-­‐Students-­‐by-­‐David-­‐Pos...
Sep
27,
2011
–
Resume
review
and
career
advice
for
IP
law
students
from
prac<cing
IP
lawyers.
You
shared
this
David
Postolski
|
Facebook
www.facebook.com/people/David-­‐Postolski/1181644385
Join
Facebook
to
connect
with
David
Postolski
and
others
you
may
know.
Facebook
gives
people
the
power
to
share
and
makes
the
world
more
open
and
…
Torchwood:
Miracle
FDAy
and
the
Advancement
of
Innova6on
by
...
blog.mylegal.com/.../Torchwood-­‐Miracle-­‐FDAy-­‐and-­‐the-­‐Advanceme...
Sep
19,
2011
–
Is
the
plan
to
make
the
FDA
the
premiere
na<onal
organiza<on
tasked
with
advancing
innova<on
SciFi
or
reality?
You
shared
this
David
Postolski
-­‐
ABA
Web
Store
-­‐
Author
Bio
apps.americanbar.org/abastore/index.cfm?secVon=cle&fm...
David
Postolski
is
a
registered
patent
a6orney
and
currently
employed
at
Cantor
Fitzgerald's
Innova<on
Division
in
New
York,
whose
patents
include
Gaming,
...
Learning
Chemistry
Online
|
Educa6on
|
Chemical
&
Engineering
...
pubs.acs.org/cen/educaVon/87/8736educaVon3.html
Sep
7,
2009
–
New
York
City-­‐based
intellectual
property
lawyer
David
Postolski
needed
to
obtain
30
credits
of
science
in
order
to
take
the
patent
bar
exam
to
…
Lawyer
David
Postolski
-­‐
New
York
A/orney
-­‐
Avvo.com
www.avvo.com/aForneys/10017-­‐ny-­‐david-­‐postolski-­‐998953.html
David
Postolski
has
been
licensed
to
prac<ce
law
in
NY
since
2007.
Compare
David
Postolski
to
other
a6orneys
in
New
York.
Write
a
review.

15. Highlights
of
Before
and
ADer
Google
Search
BEFORE AFTER
LinkedIn LinkedIn
LinkedIn LinkedIn
LinkedIn LinkedIn
Facebook Mark Cuban-Patent Attorney Extraordinaire?
White Pages Career Help for IP Law Students
Learning Chemistry Facebook
MyLife Torchwood: Miracle FDAy
ABA ABA
Justia Learning Chemistry
Avvo Avvo

16. Increased visibility, credibility
and recognition
Same username, photo, bio and summary on all
social media sites
Check out which sites come up first for you in a
Google search and make sure they’re updated
and accurate
Create Google alerts for your name and firm name
Monitor mentions of your firm on Twitter
Complete your LinkedIn profile in full
Connect with law school friends on LinkedIn and
join groups related to your area of practice and
your target clients

17. Increased visibility,
credibility and recognition
Create friends lists on Facebook and change settings
to control which friends see status updates
Status updates/tweets should include:
a. professional activities such as speaking
engagements and attendance at conferences
and workshops
b. link to interesting blogs, articles, white papers,
videos and other content
Regularly review privacy settings
Avoid making negative comments
Set reasonable and attainable goals: 15 minutes
a day/1 hour a week

18. One-Year Free Premier Membership
Upload blogs, white papers, presentations, press
releases, podcasts, videos
30-minute telephone call with Lisa
Guest on the MyLegal.com radio show

19. Carolyn Elefant, Co-Author of “Social Media
for Lawyers: The Next Frontier”
“Internet and social media change only the media,
they do not change the message. Nor do they
alter our obligations as lawyers to protect
client confidences, avoid deceptive practices.
Lawyers inherently understand what is
permissible based on what they have done in the
past.”

20. ETHICAL
CONSIDERATIONS
FOR
BLOGGERS
§ Create
a
valid
disclaimer
§ Rules
regarding
adver<sing
§ Be
careful
not
to
form
an
a6orney
client
rela<onship
§ Do
not
violate
a6orney
client
privilege
§ Do
not
say
anything
bad
about
judges,
lawyers,
etc.
on
your
blog.

21. Disclaimers
• Make
sure
you
do
not
provide
legal
advice.
Just
provide
“informa<on”
in
your
blog.
• Disclaimers
can
take
a
number
of
forms,
but
all
should
say
1)
the
blog
only
provides
general
informa<on
and
not
legal
or
other
professional
advice;
2)
no
a6orney
client
rela<onship
is
formed
with
the
author
or
any
a6orney
in
the
firm
;
and
3)
all
situa<ons
are
factually
dependent,
and
the
reader
or
viewer
should
contact
an
a6orney
when
ques<ons
arise.
• Check
your
state
and
local
rules.

22. Adver<sing
• Check
your
state
and
local
rules
regarding
adver<sing.
• If
you
send
out
a
newsle6er
for
your
blog
via
mail
or
e-­‐mail,
you
may
want
to
consider
consul<ng
your
state
and
local
rules.
• When
in
doubt
as
to
whether
your
blog
cons<tutes
adver<sing,
check
your
state
and
local
rules.

23. A6orney
client
privilege
• NEVER
disclose
confiden<al
informa<on
about
a
current
client
or
past
client.
• NEVER
discuss
current
clients
or
past
clients.
• Be
careful
not
to
blog
about
topics
that
could
adversely
impact
current
clients
or
past
clients.
• Make
sure
you
do
NOT
form
an
a6orney
client
rela<onship.
• Run
a
conflicts
check
before
blogging
about
a
topic,
and
con<nue
to
periodically
run
conflicts
checks.

24. Watch
What
You
Say!
• Be
careful
what
you
say,
it
may
come
back
to
haunt
you.
• NEVER
say
anything
bad
about
other
lawyers,
judges,
etc.
• You
words
will
reflect
posi<vely
or
nega<vely
on
your
reputa<on.
• What
you
say
can
have
legal
consequences
e.g.
defama<on
of
character.

25. Questions
Lisa DiMonte
@lisadimonte
lisa.dimonte@mylegal.com
blog.mylegal.com
Michael Wells, Jr.
@slnc01
michaelw@wellsjenkins.com
southernlawyernc.blogspot.com