Lawyers Go Head-to-Head on Legal Blogging and Social Media
Slow, but Growing Adoption
It’s no big secret that law firms are, as businesses go, among the most conservative service business – especially when it comes to adopting new technologies. And that includes internet marketing. So even though there is increasing participation among lawyers in social media and search marketing, participants still represent a small minority of the legal community. And it’s true that many of those who are participating are still learning the ropes. But the industry is starting to see a real shift toward greater adoption as lawyers share their experiences with each other…where else? Online.
Over Regulation?
One reason for the legal profession’s slow adoption of technology is the generally conservative nature of lawyers themselves. Their actions are strictly regulated by their bar associations, and many lawyers believe that these regulations include limits on their use of blogging and social media. I’m no lawyer, but it’s my understanding that, to the contrary, bar associations have been largely silent on the subject of lawyers using online media.
Public Debates
This has spurred lawyers to take up the debate among themselves – online and off. One of the most active online groups I have seen is a LinkedIn group dedicated to the subject of lawyer blogging. As of this week the group has over 4,300 members (some lawyers, some marketers (like myself), and others). The topics of discussion in the group are varied, but many of them are insightful – in one way or another. Some of the posts remind me that there are attorneys out there who are still unfamiliar with the basic concept of blogging and social media (some seem to think any use of social media has to be an overt, cheesy marketing pitch; others believe that a blog has to be operated separately from their website). But mostly I’m impressed with the lawyers who have adopted blogging, and who share their experiences and opinions with their constituents in this group. I can chime in all day with comments on the site, but my opinion will never pull as much weight with the lawyer who asked the question as the responses from his fellow attorneys.
The social media debate among lawyers is not a new one. This lawyers roundtable from 2005 touches on many of the same topics being discussed in this legal blogging group today. But one down side of attorney-only forums like the one from 2005 is that, since the participants are all lawyers and not internet marketers, they tend to perpetuate outdated e-marketing concepts among themselves. Contrast that to the LinkedIn legal marketing group: since there are other professionals chiming in there as well, the perspectives tend to be varied (this is a good thing). The marketers in the group aren’t all necessarily ‘experts’ – they, too, make misinformed comments – but overall the discussions are at least thought provoking. And I believe the group is doing its part to spur greater adoption of social media in the legal community.
Here are a few excerpts that were sent out recently by the group’s organizer:
The discussion “Does geographic location matter anymore? Can a law firm from Kentucky beat out a New York firm?” ( http://linkd.in/duGGNN ) expands upon a post written by Robert Algeri’s legal marketing firm, Great Jakes. The author claims that the website has replaced the office as a line of first contact with a firm; physical location is no longer relevant.
The post was well-received within the group. In the words of Keith Lee,
“Websites and blogs are the easiest and most convenient way to gather background information on a firm – which is why it’s difficult to understand why more firms don’t take the care to make sure their website is more than a glorified business card.”
Grammar isn’t everyone’s forte, but it’s an integral part of blogging. Kendall Gray shares his “On Brevity– Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the lite connector” ( http://linkd.in/azvkxF ). He divulges a simple tip: it’s sometimes acceptable to use sentence fragments to lighten your writing and add a conversational tone. But make sure to use these fragments wisely.
Gyi Tsakalkis emphasizes the value of taking online networking offline in “From The Web To The Flesh” ( http://linkd.in/bWITqE ). Essentially,
“While the Internet provides an extraordinary vehicle for the “virtual you” to get out of the office, your strongest relationships are still those that are nurtured through real-life interaction.”
Finally, an Associate’s Mind helps the group understand their rights as bloggers in the post “Blogger’s Legal Rights and more – Resources at the Electronic Frontier Foundation” ( http://linkd.in/bJRUYZ ). The EFF is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting people’s rights online, and a trove of information for bloggers; their site ( http://www.eff.org ) is certainly worth a visit.
