Integrating Social MediaInto Your Law Practice

Sara Foskitt (@foskitt)D. Todd Smith (@dtoddsmith)

Michelle Cheng (@foodiethenew40)

Major Social Media Platforms for Lawyers

• Blogs• Twitter• Facebook• Google Plus• LinkedIn• YouTube• Avvo• JD Supra

• Texas Bar Circle• Lawyers.com• Legal OnRamp• Martindale-Hubbell• LawLink• Justia• Yelp

Examples…

TWITTER

Why Use Social Media toPromote Your Practice?

• Establish firm brand and market reach• Share expertise and news• Increase firm visibility and traffic• Inform clients about upcoming seminars and

events• Create goodwill by pointing to helpful

resources• Explain laws relevant to practice area

The Power of Social Media

• More than 800 million active Facebook users – over half log on to FB on any given day.

• 20% of all internet users use Twitter or another service to share or view updates

• Business use: Twitter up 250%, Facebook up 192% since Spring 2009

• No fad—a fundamental shift in communication

Social Media Etiquette

• Don’t sell• Don’t over-post• The more positive you are, the more people

will want to do business with you• Be careful who you add as your friend• Know what you want to be known for and

focus on that area• Use common sense

What Not to Post on Social Media

Ethical Considerations

• DR 7.07(a): Must file advertisements before or concurrently with first dissemination

• In 2005, SCOTX expressly applied the Advertising Rules to electronic or digital communications

• Blogging took root shortly thereafter, followed by Facebook, Twitter, and others

• No one knew for sure how the ARs would apply to new media

• Issue has reached new importance, since new statute treats violation of ARs as barratry

The Bar’s Take: Comment 17

• In 2010, the Advertising Review Committee released Interpretive Comment 17

• Purpose was to address issues with different kinds of Internet-based advertisements, including blogs, social media, and web-based display ads

• Focus is whether they are advertisements subject to filing requirements, but helps guide behavior on social media for all purposes

IC 17 on Blogs and Status Updates

“Blogs or status updates considered to be educational or informational in nature are not required to be filed with the Advertising Review Department. However, attorneys should be careful to ensure that such postings do not meet the definition of an advertisement subject to the filing requirements.”

IC 17 on Landing Pages

“Landing pages such as those on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. where the landing page is generally available to the public are advertisements. Where access is limited to existing clients and personal friends, filing with the Advertising Review Department is not required.”

What Does This Mean?

• Electronic communications like social media posts are advertisements in the public media subject to the filing requirements of DR 7.07 unless exempt

• DRs protect the public from false or misleading information

• Violate the filing requirements without meeting an exemption or making false or misleading statements = exposing oneself to barratry under new statute

Where Is the Line?

• Exercise caution about providing information beyond what is exempt under DR 7.07(e)

• But the ARC says filing is not required for blogs or status updates that are merely educational or informative in nature

• The most common types of legal-related blog and social-media posts do not trigger filing requirements or related rules, as long as the content would not otherwise be considered an advertisement and is not false or misleading

• Not a safe harbor per se, but a good rule of thumb

LinkedIn Example of Issues

Caution: 7.02(4) prohibits comparisons to other lawyer’s services, unless substantiated by verifiable objective data. This is probably ok.

• DR 7.03(a)violations?

Not unethical. Good marketing, until she says “hire me.”

Could be breaching confidentiality?