Law Firm Social Media Coming Of Age

In the early days of social media, most large law firms had rather bland practice area blogs

. Law firm social media typically focused on promoting firm achievements rather than to provide valuable content and client engagement. Most law firms - large and small - have been reluctant to enter the social media sphere due to concerns about ethical and legal issues and a perceived lack of value. Also of concern is the fact that a position advocated through an attorneys law firm social media use may run counter to one held by a client.

Thats beginning to change as lawyers are beginning to see the value of law firm social media programs.

Does law firm social media make sense? Attorneys at advised to at least be aware of law firm social media -- if for no other reason than to be able to employ effective damage control in the event the firm is the target of an embarrassing blog post on a legal site. In addition, lawyers are advised to have policies governing their law firm social media activities. Further, even if you are not contemplating a law firm social media program, it is advisable to stake out the firms name on various vehicles such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to prevent others from hijacking the firms name and causing problems down the road.

Lawyers can and should do more with law firm social media. A simple way to embark upon a law firm social media program is by simply creating consistent and educational company profiles on the social media platforms that receive the largest amounts of Internet traffic. The first step in deploying a law firm social media program is by creating an effective presence on Facebook, a LinkedIn Company Profile page and a number of Twitter accounts, including a main firm account and an account for each major practice area. Twitter accounts can be an effective law firm social media vehicle and be used to share news and information relevant to the firm and its various practice areas. The firms main Twitter account should share news about the firm and should re-post tweets from the firms practice area Twitter accounts.

Once the firm makes the decision to commit to a law firm social media program, the next step is to enact a sensible firm- wide social media policy. The policy should set the parameters for the firms employees social media interactions in a way that mitigates the risks and maximizes the benefits of their participation.

The firms practice area Twitter accounts should focus on sharing news stories and links to outside resources that relate to the practice area. Links to recent blog posts from the firms blog devoted to that practice area also should be shared. The account can be used to share news regarding individual lawyers victories or other achievements from within the practice area. In order to avoid the appearance of excessive self-promotion, however, the Twitter account should share links that consist of substantially more informational content than promotional content.

The LinkedIn profile should be used for brand identification and recruitment purposes. Job openings can be posted on the LinkedIn Page, along with information about current employees and new hires. Amazons LinkedIn profile is a good example of an active company profile - www.linkedin.com/companies/amazon.com?trk=copro_tab.

The firms Facebook page can be used for brand identification and recruitment purposes, but likewise should be used to disseminate content and news about the firm. Content from the firms main Twitter account can be disseminated via the Facebook page, as can separate links to blog posts from the firms various blogs. The Facebook page also can feature occasional links to articles written by its attorneys that appear on the firms static website.

There is no doubt engagement in social media can be a dicey proposition for large law firms and their reluctance to begin the process of online interaction is understandable. Big Law can and should take the leap, however. Doing so ensures the firm has a consistent, useful, approachable online presence that can be located easily on the three main social media platforms.

Of course, how to go about accomplishing that delicate balance is fodder for a future column.

by: Kevin Waddel

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