11 09, 2013

Finding Work: 8 Reasons for and 4 Warnings about using LinkedIn

2019-03-20T21:40:19+00:00By |Comments Off on Finding Work: 8 Reasons for and 4 Warnings about using LinkedIn

LinkedIn logo“Why would I want a LinkedIn profile? I keep up with my friends and connections on Facebook.” That’s what young lawyers looking for work often say when I ask them about networking and how they use LinkedIn. Older lawyers often view any kind of social media as a waste of time. Whether “looking for work” means job-hunting or client development, LinkedIn can be a useful tool. Here are 8 reasons why.

1. Professional Focus

LinkedIn focuses primarily on business connections by highlighting companies and their employees and former employees. Although LinkedIn has a collaborative culture like most other social media, it provides a forum to strut your stuff tastefully, because participants tacitly acknowledge its self-promotional and business networking purpose. Clients, recruiters, and employers come to LinkedIn looking for what you have to offer. Journalists also peruse LinkedIn for knowledgeable people to interview about newsworthy topics. Read more

28 03, 2013

A Chance to Grab a Better Law Firm Website Name

2019-03-11T21:17:38+00:00By |Comments Off on A Chance to Grab a Better Law Firm Website Name

Website and Domaine Blog 3-28-13There’s a big shake up going on in the world of internet domain names. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is accepting applications for new generic Top Level Domains (TLDs). Top Level Domains are the second half of your website name – the part that follows the “dot,” such as .com, .net and .info. Historically, ICANN authorized only 22 generic TLDs and 248 country code TLDs, like .ca or .fr. Recently, however, ICANN began accepting applications for the issuance of new descriptive TLDs, such as .book or .auto.

So why should you care about all this mumbo jumbo? Read more

31 08, 2011

How Lawyers Can Handle Bad Reviews and Complaints on Social Media

2019-03-21T19:12:02+00:00By |7 Comments

When I spoke recently at the State Bar of Texas annual meeting about social media success stories for lawyers, I got a familiar question: “What should I do if someone trashes me online in social media?”

Almost every lawyer has experienced a client with unreasonable expectations, or one who got bad results because of their own bad behavior or bad facts. I can’t even count how many different people over the years that I have heard claim that they got cheated in their divorce settlement because their lawyer was in cahoots with the other side. (None of them told a credible story.) The difference today is that they can widely publicize their opinions and dissatisfaction online. I have been taken aback by the vituperative language used in anonymous comments to blogs and news posts. Given these common occurrences today, there is a definite risk that someday you will face an unfavorable rating or an untrue statement about your services online.

Some attorneys cite fear of negative comments as a reason for eschewing social media altogether. They are uniformed, however. Ratings and comments can be posted about your legal services on many sites whether you engage social media or not. If you don’t play, you won’t know what they say. Read more

21 09, 2010

How Lawyers Can Capitalize on Foursquare and Geotagging

2019-04-01T21:31:01+00:00By |Comments Off on How Lawyers Can Capitalize on Foursquare and Geotagging

Jim Calloway posted about The Dangers of Photo Geotagging. He referenced a New York Times story describing how a television personality accidentally revealed the location of his home when he posted a photo on Twitter, because of the geotagging embedded in the photo. Geotagging adds geographical metadata to some media such as photos, videos, websites, and social media postings.

Calloway posited a few circumstances in which photo geotagging might be relevant to a lawyer’s case, such as evidence of “harboring a fugitive” based on a photo geotag. Posting a geotagged photo on Facebook could result in the arrest of someone with an outstanding warrant. Remember, other people can post photos on Facebook and tag them with someone else’s name, unless they have blocked that feature. And, if you think fugitives would not be foolish enough to post their own photos on Facebook, check out this Huffington Post story. Read more

7 09, 2010

Why Lawyers MUST Get Their Heads Out of the Sand about Social Media

2019-02-10T23:15:58+00:00By |6 Comments

The mushrooming popularity of social media creates novel legal issues to be resolved, as well as a lot of opportunities for mistakes by lawyers and their clients. Wake up! How can you answer your client’s questions or warn them about potential legal infractions, if you aren’t familiar with the medium? Could you be completely missing a good business development opportunity?

Many lawyers tell me their clients don’t use social media, but have they really checked? Or is that just an assumption? How do you check, if you don’t engage in social media yourself? Not long ago I spoke to about 50 lawyers, most of whom knew very little about social media. The room got very quiet when I started putting up on the screen the logos of their clients who had Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. If you asked your clients last year whether they used social media, they may have a different answer now. Could your competitors be enhancing their relationships with your clients via social media, while you remain oblivious?

Even if your clients don’t officially have a social media presence, their employees, customers, or competitors may be posting things that affect your clients. When they ask you what to do about it, how will you be able to advise them if you don’t understand what they are talking about?

Here are some examples of how you might be called on in your law practice to address social media issues.

Read more

2 03, 2010

Social Media Articles in Texas Bar Journal

2010-03-02T13:23:39+00:00By |Comments Off on Social Media Articles in Texas Bar Journal

The March 2010 issue of the Texas Bar Journal is out, and it contains a number of excellent articles on “The Attorney and Social Media”. I have two articles in it. Social Media 101 for Lawyers and Ethically Navigating the Social Media Landscape. I had more to say than got pubished, but editors will edit, when space is limited. 😉

My Twitter friend, Adrian Dayton (@AdrianDayton) has an excellent article about 10 Steps to Becoming a Rainmaker through Social Media. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

John Browning explains how lawyers use social media to serve process in lawsuits. He also describes numerous cases of juror misconduct with social media in another article.

The entire issue is worth reading, even the review by Gerry Morris on the off-topic subject of online accounting in a law practice.

Way to go Texas Bar Journal!

15 02, 2010

Social Media Primer for Lawyers (Part 1)

2019-06-25T16:26:43+00:00By |Comments Off on Social Media Primer for Lawyers (Part 1)

Unless you live in a cave, you have probably been hearing about social media lately. Many lawyers dismiss social media as just something that kids do. Others recognize that many adults use social media, but claim that it’s a waste of time for lawyers. Some lawyers even concede that using some social media might benefit their practice, but assert that there are too many risks associated with it.

Lawyers made similar claims about the internet and email in the 1990’s. Today many attorneys can’t even practice, if their access to internet and email goes down. To help reduce the concern and confusion of newcomers to social media, this article provides an overview of the types of social media lawyers are most likely to use. Read more

 

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