CLE – Just Ethics: “Leveraging Social Media in a Law Practice… and Ethical Obstacles to Avoid”
January 13, 2012
South Texas College of Law
Emilie Slohm Room
12:00pm – 1:00 pm
Leveraging Social Media in a Law Practice… and Ethical Obstacles to Avoid
Presented by Debra Bruce
Attorneys use social media for many purposes. Some uses, such as improving jury selection, investigating cases, and impeaching witnesses are designed to help the attorney with his/her litigation practice. Other uses, such as building client relationships, finding a job, and informing the public about issues result in more practice-related benefits. Finally, attorneys use social media to better serve their clients and simply to keep in touch with friends. In this interactive session of Just Ethics, Debra Bruce will alert attendees to what (and where) the ethical boundaries are before they overstep them.
Accredited for 1.0 hour of participatory credit, including 1.0 hour of legal ethics.
Post Date: January 12, 2012
Debra’s Speaking at the HBA Labor & Employment Law Section
Debra will be speaking at the HBA Labor & Employment Law Section on Monday December 12th from 11:30am – 1:00pm on “Social Media Issues in Employment Law” (includes .25 hours ethics credit) at the Magnolia Hotel: 1100 Texas Ave., Houston, Texas 77002
Cost: $30 for section members and law students, $35 for non-members or persons without an advance reservation. See more info here.
RSVP by 11:00 a.m. on December 7 to Anel Valdez at anel.valdez@jacksonlewis.com. No phone calls please.
Seating is limited and valet parking is available for $7.00; first 30 participants will receive free valet when requested. If you make a reservation and do not attend, you are expected to pay the cost of the lunch unless you cancel by 11:00 a.m. on December 7.
Post Date: December 8, 2011
How Lawyers Can Handle Bad Reviews and Complaints on Social Media
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
Post Date: August 31, 2011
Real Live Lawyer Success Stories: Ethically Using Social Media
Debra will be speaking at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in San Antonio (June 23 – 24, 2011), on Thursday, June 23, 2011, from 2:15pm – 3:15pm.
“Think social media is hogwash? Hear how a former in-house lawyer used social media to build a solo practice, how a seasoned family lawyer ramped up his practice, and how experienced lawyers are bouncing back from a declining business environment. Learn how these lawyers are finding success with social media while staying within the ethics rules.”
For more information see: http://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Annual_Meeting&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=12733
Post Date: June 9, 2011