This article was first published by West, a division of Thomson Reuters, in the July 2009 edition of Practice Innovations, Volume 10, Number 3.

Social networking can boost business development efforts. But first you must educate the members of your organization about appropriate usage, professional conduct and ethics, and avoiding legal liability.

Where are we today?

A lot of lawyers are still on the ledge about the “safety” of social networking. For lawyers on the ledge, industry specific, peer-to-peer, membership-only sites such as Martindale Hubbell’s Connected, Legal OnRamp, ABA’s LegallyMinded, or JDSUPRA provide a safe entry point. Networks comprised of attorneys reduce concerns about commercial speech, disclaimers, and unjustified expectations –though other liabilities exist such as copyright, confidentiality, and Reg FD.

Peer-to-peer networking, a virtual bar association meeting, gives those who originate work from lawyer referrals more value than directory listings. Good ones facilitate substantive thought leadership and provide a presence beyond the bio listing.

Not much different from offline networking, online’s distinctive difference is the ability to reach many people with one post. Having no geographic limitations, lawyers online can be in more than one place at a time. Free tools allow users to update status, share links, and other networking goodies across platforms.

Online or offline, networks are only as good as the people who show up. A social network host can provide a class-A tool or venue, but if it isn’t easy to use, if it doesn’t catch on, if the audience is full spectators instead of contributors, it will be just another online directory or dead social network.

Social networks are not about making deep relationships. They do, however, help like-minded people find each other. And, where the potential to do business together exists, relationships typically move off-line and go deeper.

The Five Ps of Social Networking.

If you or a member of your firm is considering a social network, whether industry specific or general interest, there are five P’s to follow:

Policy

At one firm a number of new first-year partners were using facebook as a tool to stay connected.  The firm, led by a senior management team who was unfamiliar with the value of these tools, decided to turn off access to facebook at the firm.  There was an immediate uproar from the 30-something partner crowd.  One tax lawyer in particular, was able to point to three new clients he gained by staying connected to his network on facebook.  The firm determined it needed a policy.

Email and Internet usage policies are not enough. Social networking requires a new set of rules.  A good policy will include guidelines for appropriate business netiquette, professional conduct and ethics, best practices, and avoiding legal liabilities.

Placement

At another firm, a mid-level partner questioned the value of LinkedIn and facebook.  She was urged to sign up and create her own page.  A former in house counsel, she was surprised to see that on LinkedIn, she had a whole network from her law school classmates (many of whom are now in house) who were happy to reconnect with her.  Additionally, she found a group of ex-in house counsel from her former public company currently in new in house positions.  Again, she was able to reconnect quickly with some forgotten contacts and everyone was up to speed on the relationships immediately.

Online networks have offline cousins. LinkedIn is the chamber of commerce or industry group; it’s all business and button down. Facebook is the country club where things get a bit personal –you can share photos of the kids or pets, talk about boats, golf, movies, books, travel, and almost anything. Peer-to-peer networks are the virtual Bar association meeting. Beyond that, there are interest specific discussion boards, forums, Wikis, blogs, and review sites on politics, hobbies, cultural, and community causes.

There is a sense of success in simply connecting with others. However, consistent participation is the key; don’t over extend your self. It’s not smart (or possible) to join every organization in your city. Be selective. Either mirror what’s working off line, or use online for something different.

Persona

Sameness is ineffective. Your profile is a billboard. DON’T regurgitate the formal bio. Avoid marketing gibberish or clichés. This is the time to GET REAL.

For example, a “title” on your LinkedIn page should reveal that you are more than an attorney at XYZ law firm. Why? When posting questions or answers, your name and title feature prominently. Make it count –Jane Doe, Employment Law Attorney, Workplace Counselor and partner at XYZ.

Privacy

Locate the social network’s documentation on security and terms of service. Default settings are generally public. So, upon joining a network, change all settings to PRIVATE and then make them public one at a time. You can always go back and change them. Some networks have layers of settings, so be thorough.

Be cautious with 3rd party applications offered on networks, but not paranoid. Ask others if you are uncertain.

Posting

Once you join a community, surf around and get a feel for the tone, communication styles and content. In order to stand out, stay top of mind, and make posting manageable join discussion groups within a network.

The Q&A format is common on professional sites and helps you establish your knowledge base and expertise. However, you must bring value to the discussion. It’s not a transaction; it’s a conversation. Either start the conversation or move it along.

General interest sites like facebook are more casual. Many posts involve photos, links to books, articles, You Tube videos, and other entertainments. Facebook is trying to shift over to a business format to generate revenues, but the jury is still out.

All networking sites have FAQ’s and/or official blogs; e.g. http://blog.linkedin.com. Visit them for ideas.

Three immediate steps to take today.

First, schedule in house training workshops so members of the firm become informed about the tools and their potential value.  Work with the marketing and business development teams to present the programming and hold it on a regular basis so if people miss one session, they are able to attend another.  Be a resource to help drive revenue.

Second, create a firm policy on the use of these tools.  Be clear about how they are used for business purposes and what should and should not be on lawyers’ profile pages.  Keep it professional is a message that will need to come across loud and clear.

Third, don’t forget about staff training. The firm brand and reputation is in the hands of everyone. Don’t overlook the fact that employees list employers in social profiles. Innocent mistakes can be made but are difficult to correct after the fact.

By implementing these ideas and providing these valuable resources at the firm, the Information Resources team will be providing value added to the firm’s business development efforts.

Jayne Navarre is Managing Director of LawGravity, specializing in advanced social media strategy, blogs and Web sites.  She blogs about these topics at virtualmarketingofficer.com.  Join her network @ www.linkedin.com/in/jaynenavarre, Follow her at www.twitter.com/jaynenavarre or contact her at jln@lawgravity.com.

Christy Burke* recently wrote an article on advanced online marketing for the Marketing The Law Firm newsletter. In the article she interviewed myself,  David Snead, Ronald Coleman, a trademark and copyright attorney who publishes a blog – Likelihood of Confusion, and Nicole Black, an attorney who maintains five blogs!

Download the PDF -advanced-online-marketing-strategies-for-lawyers-pdf

*Christy Burke is a President of Burke & Company LLC, a New York based public relations and marketing firm. She is a member of the Board of Editors for Marketing The Law Firm newsletter.

What is an Elevator Speech?

An elevator speech is a short introduction. It is the first step in starting a conversation in a business networking setting.

The key is to deliver it like casual small talk in an elevator – although that is not the place you are likely to use it. It is a concise description of who you are, what you do, and what your skill or service does for others. It does not include details, numbers or accomplishments (may include alma mater if relevant to the situation). Your elevator speech is an introduction that demonstrates your professionalism and a bit of personality.

Why have an Elevator Speech?

To:

1. Introduce yourself in memorable way

2. Emphasize the benefits you provide or solutions you offer

3. Get others to ask you questions and engage in two way conversations

4. Set yourself apart from the crowd. Be memorable.

When do you use an Elevator Speech?

It usually comes in handy when you attend an event, a conference, a convention, or some other type of meeting with networking opportunities. It also works at the kids’ school, soccer match or even on an airplane.

One of the first questions people ask is, “And, what do you do?” And you could say, “Oh, I’m a lawyer … or an accountant … or a consultant …” It doesn’t matter because they will often say, “Oh, that’s nice,” and immediately label you in their mind with all of the stereotypes they perceive those occupations to carry with them.

Or, if you are prepared, when people ask you what you do you can simply tell them more yet without too many more words. Elevator speeches should be constructed so that listeners immediately understand how or if you can help them. The best elevator speeches intrigue the listener enough to ask more questions.

On-Going Development

The most important part of your elevator speech is the response you get. Listen to what your listener says and observe how they react. Are they confused or do they smile and engage you in conversation based on it?

Practice makes perfect…or at least easier. Make it such a part of you that if someone woke you up in the middle of the night and asked you what you do, you would smoothly and without hesitation tell them your “elevator speech.” At first, your elevator speech may not seem smooth and natural, but the more you give it, the better it will become.

Audience selection.

You will need to have several versions of your elevator speech. You have probably been at a family cookout and tried to explain that while yes, you are a lawyer, you are not like Jack McCoy from Law and Order. The version can be less detailed or more detailed depending on the audience. For example if you are talking to a group of lawyers it isn’t necessary to define litigation. However, if you are talking to a group of engineers they may not know exactly what it means to be a “litigator.”

Building it.

The elevator speech has a few necessary components:

1. What you do . . . “lawyer” – although it may not be necessary to say the word “lawyer”
2. Firm name…”your firm”
3. For… “type of client”
4. How you help them…”type of law”

Some examples.

So, Joe, what do you do?

“You might say I’m in the dispute business. I’m lawyer in the litigation group at Jones, Jones & Jones. I help business owners, like yourself, work through contract disputes with suppliers and such. While I always try to solve the dispute early on, sometimes a case goes to trial. It’s stressful work, but I love what I do.”

“I’m with Jones, Jones & Jones’ Intellectual Property practice – I spend most of my time working with engineering companies helping them protect their ideas.”

“I’m with Jones, Jones & Jones’ intellectual property practice – I work with manufacturers and distributors helping them protect their trademarks. I also work with legal and business issues involving international franchises.”

“I’m a corporate attorney over at Jones, Jones & Jones; I help businesses – mostly family owned – on the legal aspects of real estate purchases, contracts, and operational structures.”

“Have you been following the headlines in the Herald News? Insurance companies are over their head in fraudulent claims related to the real estate downturn. Developers are hanging on by their knuckles and I’m the safety net. I’m a litigation partner in the Jones law firm.”

“I’m over at Jones, Jones & Jones, downtown near the new arena. I focus on estate planning – several of my clients also own a business so I have a lot of experience in designing succession plans to transition the business from one generation to the next.”

The Firm’s Elevator Speech

In conversation…

Jones, Jones & Jones is best known for representing public and private companies in bet-the-company deals or disputes. Our Florida practice includes corporate, real property, litigation, labor, and government law. We also have lawyers experienced in specialty areas such as intellectual property, environmental issues, and family law in our offices in NY and Los Angeles.

Jones, Jones & Jones is a business law firm in Florida best known for representing some of the state’s largest companies. Primarily we practice in the areas of corporate contracts, real property, employment, and government law.

In a formal document leading with business services…

Jones, Jones & Jones advises enterprises of all sizes, both for-profit and non-profit, in working through complex issues and obstacles related to corporate governance and compliance, protection of intellectual property, insurance, contract negotiation and drafting, litigation and more. We assist corporate boards and other governing groups in the satisfaction and documentation of their ethical, fiduciary, and oversight obligations including best practices under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

We advise on structural matters, reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and dissolutions, primarily in the State of Florida, for local and multi-jurisdictional entities. Our general corporate experience focuses on the laws and regulations specific to the State of Florida governing non-profit and for profit corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities, but also encompasses the corporate and business laws of Delaware and other jurisdictions including off-shore and international.

We approach issues comprehensively and we are fully equipped to address related areas such as real estate, tax, employee benefits, intellectual property, labor, and government services.

My elevator speech:

I love what I do. I’m a natural born entrepreneur. I love bringing those sensibilities to the business of law. The conversational Web is the new opportunity and it’s my job to help my clients get there. I’m a digital media strategist and a legal marketing specialist. My company is LawGravity.com.

Write your elevator speech here.

Jayne Navarre jln@lawgravity.com 786-208-9108

Generational Development

A law firm that doesn’t realize how highly connected the millennial Generation Y is, thanks to their online networking, is missing a very important asset of the young attorneys who join the firm. In any business or profession, such as law, that depends on networks, referrals, conversations, and relationships to generate revenue, it isn’t a stretch to say that when you hire someone, you hire his or her network. In today’s social online-networking economy this can be a very necessary consideration -for better or worse.

However, it is not enough to judge the worth of one’s network by its size. For any number of reasons, some people are not as public with their networks as others -befriending only people they know well. Yet even without 500+ connections they can have access to a much larger network of friends-of-friends. These are acquaintances all within one or two clicks. It’s also wise to consider quality and depth. Someone can have a large broad network but not know many members very well nor be able to claim close, trusted relationships. It is incumbent on the young attorney to learn how to choose and nurture connections that have the most potential to develop into trusted relationships.

In this reality there is both opportunity and risk. For example; even if the summer associate is not yet an official representative of the firm, they are likely to indicate that they are related to the firm on their Facebook, LinkedIn profile or blog. Official or not – as soon as they self-identify their employer they become a representative. Law firms can choose to train, trust and empower employees to behave online just as they would in the workplace. Or, they can do nothing and trust that the employees will separate what they do online from their law firm, and that they will always behave in a positive manner. There are a number of sample guidelines and policies on social media, social networking and social computing available on the Web that you can access via a search to help you organize your thoughts and intentions. Alternately, a training session on reputation management can be very effective.

LawGravity offers a Social Media Audit Program that helps law firms put permission based policy in place and trains associates in the 5 P’s of social networking –placement, persona, privacy, posting, and professional ethics.

Contact Jayne Navarre at jln@lawgravity.com for more information.