L E A D E R NETWORKS
A Practical Guide to
Social Media for
Corporate Counsel
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
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L E A D E R NETWORKS
Session Goals
• Examination of social media and how it
applies to legal professionals
• Evolving ethical and legal considerations
• Case study application of social media to key
drivers in the business and practice of law
• Best practice knowledge and planning guide
for using social media in the legal profession
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L E A D E R NETWORKS
Professional networking &
social media
It’s all about connecting
online
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Social Connecting & Online Professional Networking Differences
Social connecting focuses on fun, friends and family sharing online
Online professional networking helps business professionals find each other,
interact, collaborate, and share information essential
to achieve a business objective
• Virtual networks are today’s digital business cards
• Examples of online professional networks include:
– LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) All types of professionals
– Martindale-Hubbell Connected
(www.martindale.com/connected) Legal professionals
– Sermo (www.sermo.com) Physicians
L E A D E R NETWORKS
Why You Should Care: Social Media’s Footprint
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•
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Social network and blogging sites are
now the fourth most popular activity
on the Internet
‘Member Communities’ now reach over
5 percentage points more of the
Internet population than it did a year
ago – twice the growth rate of other
sectors.
People under 18 years old are making
up less of the social network and
blogging audience, whereas the 50+
age group are accounting for more of
the audience.
Source: Global Faces and Networked Places
A Nielsen report on Social Networking’s
New Global Footprint, March 2009
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Counsels’ Use of Online Social Networks Is
Expanding Rapidly
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Both Corporate and Outside Counsel are significantly more likely to report being a member of an online social
network this year as compared to last year
Approximately three quarters of counsel now report being a member of such a network
Growth in online network use is seen across all age groups
Are You A Member of an Online Social Network?
% Yes
% Yes
2008
2009
Age
Question: Are you a member of an online social network such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, Xing or MySpace?
N
CC: 710
OC: 764
Leader Networks (c) 2009
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Lawyers Are Significantly More Interested in a
Private Legal Network
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•
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24% increase in corporate counsel interest; 18% increase in interest in private practice lawyers
Also growth in “No Interest” suggesting counsel are more educated on these networks and are taking a position
Growing trend in 2009: Counsel are beginning to join legal-only professional networks
There has been an Increase in the percent interested across all age groups
Response by Role
% Yes
2008
2009
Age
N
CC: 710
OC: 764
Question: Would you be interested in joining an online professional network designed specifically for lawyers?
NOTE: Response Options Changed in 2009 from Yes/No/Don’t Know to
Yes/No/Already Belong
Leader Networks (c) 2009
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Corporate Counsel Low Costs And Increased Visibility
Among Peers as Primary Reasons to Network Online
Corporate Counsel
Note: Item names have been
shortened for display purposes
N
CC: 710
OC: 764
Question: What do you think are the top advantages of participating in an online legal professional network? Select up to three.
Leader Networks (c) 2009
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The Social Media Landscape
Source: http://lgnewmedia.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/bubblus-social-media.jpg
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Example of Digital Channels for Lawyers
Blogs and
Online News
Reputation
Aggregators
Professional
Networks
Social Networks
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Primary Professional Networking Activities for Lawyers
2. Collaborating
•Alerts
•Feeds
•Scans
1. Listening
•Join an appropriate community
•Create a basic profile
•Connect with others
•Ratings and rankings
•Blog comments
•Discussions & groups
•Questions & answers
•Enhance your profile
•Blogs
•Podcasts
•Photos & videos
•Social bookmarking
3. Showcasing
Utilizing Online Legal Business Tools
• Preferred provider management
• Integrated search
• Client ratings
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Is Social Networking “Ethical?”
• 3 Primary Categories of activities ethics rules apply to:
– Communication: ABA Model Rules Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1
prohibits false or misleading communication about the lawyer or his
services
• How lawyers present themselves and their capabilities via their profiles &
online interactivity could trigger this rule
– Solicitation: the ABA's model rule 7.3 prohibits, among other things,
real-time electronic contact to solicit professional employment from a
prospective client…
• Does participating in forums, blogs and other communication rise to that
activity when there is no overt solicitation? Or is it just an extension of
traditional networking?
– Advertisement: ABA Model rule 7.2 regulates lawyer advertising.
• Are LinkedIn “testimonials” advertisements under the rule? (ie California
prohibits unless such communication also contains an express disclaimer)
• States are widely varied in their advertising rules
Source: Mind the Ethics of Online Networking, By C.C. Holland, Special to Law.com, November 6, 2007
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Ethics Violation: Pursuing Private Data in
Pursuit of Litigation
• Proceed with caution before attempting to access a social
networking profile or other on-line forum that is password
protected or otherwise restricted
• Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Guidance
Committee found it would be unethical if an attorney who is
not on the user’s “friends list,” were to ask a third party to
send a friend request to the user.
– User was a litigation witness seeking and advisory opinion; “friending”
would have been done to obtain information that the attorney might
use to impeach the witness.
• Ethics violation would be found because of use of
“deception.”
– The attorney was advised that omission would be a “highly material
fact”
– purposeful concealment of a fact from the witness for the purpose of
inducing the witness to allow access
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Can Employers Monitor Employees Social
Networking Activities?
• By using the Internet to research employees, employers can breach
Privacy, Equal Protection, Financial Fair Practice, among other rules
• Employer obligations extend to the realms of social media:
– Blakey v. Continental Airlines, Civ. No. 93-2194(WGB), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
22068 (D.N.J. March 24, 1997), (a female pilot filed hostile work environment
and defamation claims against Continental Airlines based on derogatory
comments posted about her on another pilot's electronic bulletin (operated
by a third-party service provider).
• Airline had a duty to take effective measures to stop co-employee
harassment when it knew, or had reason to know, that such harassment
was occurring in a workplace-related setting
– Simonetti v. Delta Air Lines Inc., No. 5-cv-2321 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 7, 2005), Ellen
Simonetti kept a blog called "Diary of a Flight Attendant," on which she posted
a range of photographs including one showing her uniform partly unbuttoned,
exposing her bra. Upon seeing the picture, Delta fired her.
• Simonetti sued on a theory of sexual discrimination, alleging that Delta Air Lines
did not punish male flight attendants who might have posted similarly
inappropriate material on their own blogs
Source Analysis: Social Networks and Blogs, Managing Chatter, By Gregory I. Rasin and Ariane R. Buglione, New York Law Journal, July 29, 2009
L E A D E R NETWORKS
Is Posted Content Discoverable?
• From employees posting content on sites using company
computers?
– Does your company have a publicized policy that employees have no
privacy interest in any materials created or accessed on company
computers?
• If so, an employer generally can review with impunity an employee's
activities on the company's computer system.
• Law more vague if there’s no employment relationship; courts
will look to reasonable expectation of privacy?
– Users logically lack a legitimate expectation of privacy in the materials
intended for publication or public posting (Steven Guest et al. v. Simon
L. Leis et al., 255 F.3d 325 (6th Cir. 2001).
– Limits of a person's reasonable expectation of privacy at the point
where content on a Web page is shared with other people Beye v.
Horizon,, 06-Civ.-5337 (D. N.J. filed 2006), and Foley v. Horizon, 06-Civ.6219 (D. N.J. filed Dec. 26, 2006)
• Must also look to privacy statements on networking site
Source: Are Social Networking Sites Discoverable?, Ronald J. Levine and Susan L. Swatski-Lebson, Product Liability
Law & Strategy, November 13, 2008
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Social Networking and EU Data Privacy
• On June 12, 2009 the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party adopted an
opinion for social networking sites (SNS) (including operators outside EU)
– to meet the requirements of EU data protection law. See WP 163,
“Opinion 5/2009 on online social networking.”
• Warnings to users about the privacy risks when uploading information
• Requirements about voluntariness of uploading sensitive data (i.e., ethnic
data)
• Limitations on storage of 3rd party data
• Limitations on how, by whom and to whom invitations to Connect are
sent;
• Provisions for retention of data for users banned from the site
• Retention of personal data when account goes inactive or is deleted
• Application of EU Data Protection laws even if SNS is outside the EU
• SNS User falls under EU Data Protection Act when primary puprose of use
is commercial
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/privacy/docs/wpdocs/2009/wp163_en.pdf
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Primary Professional Networking Activities for Lawyers
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Maintaining a Positive Online Reputation
Career Builder did a study (Sept. 2008) on how employers and hiring managers use
social media to vet candidates. Top factors that influenced their hiring decision
included:
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48% - candidate’s background supported their qualifications
43% - candidate had great communication skills
40% - candidate was a good fit for the company’s culture
36% - candidate’s site conveyed a professional image
31% - candidate had great references posted about them by others
30% - candidate showed a wide range of interests
29% - candidate received awards and accolades
24% - candidate’s profile was creative
Keep your digital persona professional and appropriate
Clean up any digital dirt on personal sites
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Listening: Monitoring the Online Channels
This is the New Media – So Get on Board!
Find blogs that you want to read regularly and
follow those blogs
• Visit them regularly (manually) or
• Use a web browser to follow that RSS feed
or
• Subscribe by email
• Follow bloggers & journalists through RSS
• Search SlideShare and YouTube and join
groups of like-minded professionals
Twitter: Listen and when appropriate, connect
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Listening: Reputation Management
• Discover your online identity
– Research yourself, your firm or
company and your area of
practice
– http://www.google.com/alerts
– Fix or edit any incorrect
information about you or your
firm.
• Twitter
• If you find yourself quoted,
mentioned or commented about
on a blog or article, use comments
area to respond – right away
Activity + Credibility = Visibility
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Twitter and it’s Legal Implications
• What is Twitter?
• is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that
enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets.
• Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or,
by default, allow open access.
• Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short
Message Service (SMS) or external applications.
Source: Wikipedia
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Twitter and Its Legal Implications
• Risks of revealing privileged
information
• Messages that appear to contain legal
advice may create an attorney-client
relationship or be interpreted as a
solicitation for services
• Best practices include:
– Establishing protocols: (ie only discuss
issues in broad generalities)
– Restricting group of tweet recipients
– Issue periodic notices of conditions of your
tweets (ie “legal advice not intended.”)
Look Who’s Talking, Legal Implications of Twitter, Social Networking Technology, By Steven C. Bennett, NYSBA Journal, May 2009,
http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Bar_i_Journal_i_&CONTENTID=26780&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm
L E A D E R NETWORKS
The Importance of Listening
• The conversations
are happening
whether you are a
part of them or
not.
• Opportunities
await those who
listen.
• Enormous risks
await those who
don’t.
L E A D E R NETWORKS
Primary Professional Networking Activities for Lawyers
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Factors for Choosing a Professional Network
Brand: Seek sites with a strong industry footprints to ensure longevity
Safety and security:
– Participate in networks that you trust, and which provide sufficient
security and authentication to make professional users feel safe
– This is a key benefit to private, members-only and legal-focused networks
Global membership: One of the great benefits of online networking is its global
reach. Seek out international communities for business
Diversity of features: Your Law 2.0 needs will change over time. Find a network
that offers many different ways to participate
Richness of conversation: As knowledge sharing is key to the success of a
professional network, look for active discussions and comments that offer idea
exchange.
Size: Look for a critical mass of members in your specialty to achieve your
networking goals
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Collaborating: Vetting a Professional Network
Be cautious when:
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The site allows legal advice to be offered
The site’s Terms and Conditions do not
respect your privacy, or will sell or rent your
contact information
Company or entity creating the site is vague
or unidentified
Site allows solicitation and spamming
There is no authentication process following
a registration to ensure member identity
Site allows anonymity
Lacks robust privacy and communications
settings
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Effective Social Media Profiles
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She is reachable and accessible
Effective photo and contact
information
Expertise and area of practice is
clear and well defined
Credible authority established
“She has spoken on 6 continents
about the rule of law, women in
the law, and the future of the law.”
Links to others = well connected
Interests give personal feeling
Activity and frequency of use
establishes commitment
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Example: How a Professional Network Profile Is Used
“We have a new matter in an unfamiliar Jurisdiction. Who do I hire?”
• GC searches Google and surfaces Sam’s LinkedIn profile based on a key
word search. Looks interesting – but want to find trusted referral from a
legal colleague
• GC reviews Sam’s Connected profile and sees Sam has extensive experience
in the legal matter under consideration, has written articles on the subject
• Favorable Martindale Client Reviews submitted on Sam
• GC sees that a colleagues is connected Sam
– GC calls or emails colleague to get inside scoop on Sam
• GC is pleased he has found the right lawyer, and hires Sam to handle the
matter
• Because GC adds Sam to Preferred provider list, alerting other internal team
members of relationship
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Connecting Online
Call it “the Virtual Handshake” – Best practices include:
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Asking permission to connect is encouraged
Individually decide if it is appropriate to initiate a connection
Always write a personal email – do not use an email template
If a person doesn’t respond, generally do not send a reminder
Thank people for connecting to you
If invited to connect, it’s OK to decline or ignore (they’re not notified)
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Using Groups to Segment Your Audience
• Find “Relevant” Colleagues
– Common interests
– Narrow peer groups into
smaller, more focused clusters
– Enables “deep dives” into
subject matter with trusted
colleagues
• Groups are Focused & Intimate
– Introduce yourself to the group
and offer brief background
– Participate frequently and offer
ideas, questions and insights
– Be helpful and pro-active
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Primary Professional Networking Activities for Lawyers
2. Collaborating
•Alerts
•Feeds
•Scans
1. Listening
•Join an appropriate community
•Create a basic profile
•Connect with others
•Ratings and rankings
•Blog comments
•Discussions & groups
•Questions & answers
•Enhance your profile
•Blogs
•Podcasts
•Photos & videos
•Social bookmarking
3. Showcasing
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LinkedIn and Connected
Online Channels to Raise Your Profile
• “What are you working on” feature
(LinkedIn)
– Use to promote or market ideas or
activities
• Drive traffic to your blog and
presentations
– Blog, Slideshare, comments feed
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Articles you’ve written
Important published decisions
Organizations and committees
Pro bono work
Charitable work & community
involvement
Use all aspects of the profile
opportunity to demonstrate
your thought-leadership so
when others look you up,
you stand apart
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Setting Your User Name: Claiming Your Name & Brand
• New setting allows for friendly
URLs to your Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/USERNAME
• Opportunity to showcase your
profile on business cards, CVs etc.
• Claim your company brand or
trademark to prevent
cybersquatting
• Open question remains regarding
how Facebook will resolve
disputes
L E A D E R NETWORKS
Recourse if Someone Steals Your Identity?
•
Someone creates a profile assuming the identity of an
individual or company to draw attention to the profile (ex/
Barack Obama on Linkedin)
No specific action for account jacking exists, but you can
seek redress under the following:
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Terms of Service Violation – most account jacking can be remedied
by contacting the service provider
Defamation – using social network to make damaging false
statements (causation and damages may be hard to prove)
Fraud – must prove with particularity deceit of account jacker for
personal gain or to cause damage to you
False Light – publishing information about someone that a
reasonable person would find highly offensive with knowledge or
reckless disregard that the information is untrue or would create
false perceptions of the victim
Source: BlawgIT, Brett Trout, http://blawgit.com/2008/12/13/social-media-accountjacking/comment-page-1/
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Primary Professional Networking Activities for Lawyers
L E A D E R NETWORKS
Network Updates Reveal Risk & Opportunity
Automated
news feeds on
your
connections
and
communities
can reveal
actionable
information
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Job Search: Connections at Prospective Employers
Leverage
your
connections
to gain an
inside edge
when job
seeking or
hiring
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References & Recommendations
LinkedIn lets
you add
recommendations
from friends &
colleagues to
your profile
L E A D E R NETWORKS
Reference Search Tools
Leverage
your
network
when
reference
checking
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Suggested Connections to Help Expand Your Network
Suggested
connections
help lawyers
find lawyers
with shared
backgrounds.
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The Network Effect: Source Trusted Referrals
Find a
trusted
colleague
who knows
the lawyer
you’re
researching.
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Client Review Ratings
User-generated
Reviews provide
members reliable
lawyer
recommendations
from other
corporate
counsel clients
who have actually
used an
attorney’s
services
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Blending the Boundaries Between People, Content & Relationships
Martindale-Hubbell Connected
Outside
Counsel
Experts
Research,
Opinions,
Regulations
Corporate
Counsel
Experts
Maritime
Contract
Law
Communities
Articles,
Discussion
News,
Forums,
Analysis,
Blogs,
Wikis
Relationship Q&A
Connections
How do I find the precise people, content and
communities relevant to me?
Connected will leverage LexisNexis’
expansive taxonomy to connect lawyers
with each other and content to address the
precise issue requiring resolution
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Preferred Provider & Referral Management Tools
Who uses these providers?
The member can link to
in-house colleagues
using that lawyer,
discussions, Ratings
and more..
Which lawyers from
our preferred list do
my colleagues use?
Connected
generates a
preferred provider
directory,
connecting
departments with
the lawyers they
use
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Ethics, Guidelines & Best Practices
Be transparent and clear in identity and intention
Adhere to ethical rules and guidelines governing counsel
YOYOW - You own your own words
Be responsive & trustworthy
Finish what you start
Value and create thought leadership
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Policy Considerations
• Review existing policies In light of the company’s orientation
towards social media:
– Including privacy, confidentiality, email use, legal holds, and employee
ethics
• Form a Social Media Team to guide executives on social media
policy
• Team should monitor web traffic about the company
– Report adverse communications to someone with authority to act as
soon as possible.
• Training programs to disseminate the policy and to remind
employees of existing policies.
– In-house online self study programs, presentations, or outsourced to
consultants.
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Template Policy
• For consideration in a Social Media Policy
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Company’s social media position
Existing policies
Use of email addresses, logos, trademarks, brands
“Voice” of company contributions
Disclaimers
Stakeholder considerations
Intellectual Property Rights
• Template policy found on Martindale Connected “Social
Media Policy Group” (www.martindale.com/connected)
– Group Created by James Wong, ACC So. Cal Member & General
Counsel of UMA Enterprises
– Share social media best practices with other legal departments
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8 Minute Social Media Game Plan
For an effective Social Media-savvy lawyer...
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Spends 5 minutes a day scanning RSS feeds, blogs and emails
1 second to check reputation alert, topic or company key word alert
– 5 minutes to respond-- if need be -- to a blog post or social media entry
– Send email to author of great article – invites to connect if she responds
Logs into professional network every few days for about 8-10 minutes
– Connects to 1-3 people every few visits
– Writes a personalized email to 1-2 connections
– Scans forums or blogs
• Comments briefly or posts a message
Once or twice a month (at least) – writes or co-writes a blog entry
– Twitters new blog post
– Posts blog on network profile
– RSS sends blog entry automatically to all subscribers
– Responds to comments
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New: Legal Department Networking Initiative
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Professional Networking Consulting Services & Implementation Support
Custom Inhouse Group(s) on Martindale Connected
Team Onboarding: Team Member Access to Broader Legal Online Community
Membership on Martindale Hubbell Connected Advisory Panel
Cost: $1100/day*
* (Services offered at no cost during pilot period. Offer ends 12/31/09.)
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To Learn More:
www.martindale.com/connected