How Lawyers May Use Social Media in the Future
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There has been a tenuous union between lawyers and social media. The fact that so much information and conversation is made public can deter firms from jumping on board. That same hesitancy, however, gives some clues as to how social media may be used by lawyers in the future.
Social media is a big deal. Everyone from your mom to your nephew is probably online in some way. But you might not think to look up your lawyer’s Twitter handle or read up on his or her firm’s blog.
More and more firms and individuals are coming online. To try and get a grasp on where social media is heading, we spoke with three social media savvy attorneys to help us read the tea leaves.
How Does Social Media Fit Into Law?
New technologies usually present problems for lawyers, not for their technical complexities, but because it’s tricky to figure out how to deal with them legally. “The online world is like the Wild West because nobody knows for sure how the laws apply,” said Adrian Dayton, an attorney and social media consultant for law firms. While most online behavior can be governed by common sense, there are technical issues. “How do you put a disclosure in a 140-character tweet?” Dayton added.
Because social media exists online, it is subject to individual Internet laws across each state or country where information can be accessed. This principle of universal access is partly why social media and the Internet have been so difficult to fit neatly into one field of law.
It’s likely that this confusion will be resolved by precedent. Barring any radical rethinking of Internet law, it looks like social media issues will be better understood as individual cases map out an appropriate course of action.
Social Media as Evidence
We’re starting to see social media being used as evidence or background information in cases.
It all starts with the jury. Jury selection, the process of weeding out jury candidates who may have biases, has traditionally been limited to interviews, background checks, job histories and the like, but Dayton said, “Social media is already being used to test juries.” Lawyers are pulling information from social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn to see what companies, brands, or affiliations jury members might have. It’s becoming a first step for some socially savvy legal systems.
In terms of legal evidence, social media is a lot like e-mail made public. Nearly all social media is public in some way, making it an even easier way of collecting information on plaintiffs or defendants. “It just makes sense. If you can use e-mail as evidence, why not use a Facebook post?” said Robert Algeri, a partner at Great Jakes, a marketing company aimed at bringing law firms online and into social media.
Photos and updates posted to Facebook have already been used to nab people who lied about sick days or disability work, said Walker Lawrence, an associate at Maduff & Maduff, LLC. For example, lawyers could use it against someone who falsely calls in sick and then posts photos of himself or herself partying with friends from the same day.
Activity on social media sites can also be used as an alibi, as in the case of Rodney Bradford, the Brooklyn teenager whose post to Facebook about late-night IHOP pancake cravings saved him from being charged for robbery.
“With cases we’re pursuing or defending, we are always considering the potential impact on a client of what they’re doing on Facebook,” Lawrence said. “I want to see their Twitter, what’s on their LinkedIn. That should become the norm.”
Developing Offline Relationships
There is a strangely analog solution to all this social media. The lawyers/experts we spoke with said that social media was most effective at creating offline relationships — meaning, the Internet helped them meet real people they might not have met or partnered with otherwise.
“We use it as a distribution tool,” Algeri said. “It’s a means of connecting with people we never would have met before.”
That mentality has clearly worked for Lawrence as well. After our interview, Lawrence was meeting with an attorney who he found through Twitter about a possible collaboration. “As attorneys, we’re selling ourselves and our time and our degree,” Lawrence said. “Twitter is one avenue where you can establish that relationship.”
Thought Leadership & Client Leads
Of course, social media will do all the things we already know and love. Social media can (and will) help lawyers establish a brand and identity. Those we spoke to all recommended that lawyers start blogs or create content showcasing their specialties and expertise.
Algeri has taken it one step further with a total redesign of his firm’s website. They’ve integrated social media into every bio page, essentially aggregating the social media presence of all their employees into their homepage. Algeri sees this as the next logical step for firms, where social media isn’t an outside entity but a critical part of the firm’s identity. “We see ourselves as ahead of the curve,” Algeri added. “It’s definitely where law firms will be going with their websites. It’s an absolute.”
Social media will also help find clients and create conversation. An active, genuine presence on networks like Twitter can help reach out to new clients and even new partners to collaborate in the future. The same rules will apply: Be honest, foster real conversation and create real connections. Social media sites are not sales platforms, even though they can often help your business.
Some Bright Ideas
It seems like the biggest prediction for the future of how lawyers will be using social media will be normalcy. Rather than a technology breakthrough, our gurus predicted that the things now seen as cutting edge (connecting with clients online, firm blogs, using social media in cases) will become commonplace.
This is not surprising. Most good ideas start off as cutting edge and then become commonplace as more people realize they are good ideas. It does imply, however, that lawyers already tuned into social media are not only on the right track, but will have a head start on the competition.
How have you see the legal industry utilizing social media in creative ways? Let us know in the comments below.
Series supported by Gist
The Future of Social Media Series is supported by Gist. Gist keeps you better informed with less effort by giving you a full view of your professional network in one place bringing together information from across the web for all your contacts giving you the right information at the right moment to get a meeting, deliver an amazing pitch, or just find a better way to make a connection.
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Image courtesy of iStockphoto, zimmytws
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