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2008 News Articles › Social Networking for Lawyers: A Primer
Social Networking for Lawyers: A Primer
Article Date: Monday, December 01, 2008
Written By: Russell Rawlings
By Erik Mazzone
For years, social networking has been perceived by lawyers as the domain of angst-ridden teens and Internet-obsessed nuts. That time has passed and social networking has gone mainstream, even for the technologically conservative legal world. Law firms are rushing in where they formerly feared to tread, and attorneys in firms of all sizes are beginning to understand the business development potential of social networking.
Here are three pillars of social networking to keep your eye on, for yourself and your law practice:
Blogging
A blog is a Web site where an author publishes articles that are catalogued in chronological order. There are legal blogs on every conceivable subject, from the admiralty to zoning. Lawyers have flocked to blogs (in huge numbers) as a cost-effective way to demonstrate expertise in their practice areas and build their online reputation.
As of November 2008, 71 of the 200 largest law firms in the United States are blogging, up from 39 a year ago. Several of these law firms publish multiple blogs (relating to their multiple practice areas) so that in total, there are 159 blogs being published by the AmLaw 200. The number of blogs published by lawyers in firms of all sizes is beyond count.
The growing popularity of lawyers blogging as a business development practice is due to three things: first, it’s free, so the return on investment for any business developed is gigantic; second, most lawyers are strong writers who are passionate about their practice areas, so publishing a blog often comes naturally; and third, blogging is fun!
That’s a combination that is hard to beat.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn, a professional networking Web site, is like a Web-based Rolodex, only far more powerful. Users create profiles which contain job descriptions, contact information, or even references from clients or colleagues. They then exchange these profiles with the other members of their professional network (“linking in” to one another) so that when each user logs into the site she can see the profile of everyone in her network.
Setting up a profile and using LinkedIn is free and easy, so lawyers have been joining in multitudes. In April 2008, there were 118,000 lawyers using LinkedIn; two months later there were 216,000. The growth curve is incredibly steep and shows no sign of slowing down.
Facebook
Begun in 2004 as a Web site for Harvard students to connect with one another, Facebook has become the proverbial 900-pound gorilla of social networking. Well over 100 million users and climbing fast (particularly among people in their 30s and 40s), Facebook has become a primary interface for users to connect and interact with the people, businesses, causes, nonprofit organizations, and other entities they care most about.
Facebook allows the creation of individual user accounts, fan pages and groups. Law firms (and forward-thinking bar associations) have begun to curate presences on Facebook as another avenue for employees, clients, and other interested parties to connect and keep up with what’s going on. Creating a Facebook presence is free and requires little technological know-how to build a professional-looking fan page or group.
Conclusion
Individual Web sites and technologies come and go but the trend line on social networking will continue to rise steadily. It’s never going to be easier to get involved than it is today, and will only continue to grow in influence over time. Start dipping your toe in the social networking water now; you might even find it to be a little fun.
Erik Mazzone is the Director of the Center for Practice Management for the North Carolina Bar Association. He publishes a blog at LawPracticeMatters.com and looks forward to seeing you on LinkedIn and Facebook.