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.
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.
18.
19. Top social mediums for law firms and
lawyers (in order of importance):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
LinkedIn
Blogs
Twitter
YouTube
Facebook
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
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.
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.”
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]
