This document provides 20 tips for lawyers to effectively use social media. It is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on marketing a legal practice through social media. It recommends getting a professional website, blogging regularly, promoting the blog on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter, and using sites like LinkedIn and Avvo to find potential clients. The second part discusses ethical risks to consider, noting that the same rules of professional conduct apply to social media. It warns against revealing client confidential information or inadvertently forming attorney-client relationships online. The document concludes by encouraging lawyers to engage with social media while using common sense.

1. 20
Tips for Seizing
the Power of
Social Media
Rhode Island Bar
Association
June 15, 2012
Robert J . Ambrogi, Esq.
Rockport, Mass.

2. Part One:
Marketing
your practice.

3. 1.3 million

4. Marketing boils down to:
• Making yourself
stand out as a choice.
• Establishing
confidence in yourself
as the choice.

5. 1. Get your website in order.

6. 2. Don’t let
your
website
become
your cave.

7. 3. Consider starting a
blog.

8. 4. Explore and read other blogs.

10. Robert J. Ambrogi Esq. www.legaline.com

11. 5. Promote your blog.
• List on blog directories.
• Tweet your posts.
• Share on Facebook.
• Share on LinkedIn.

12. 6. Get on LinkedIn.

13. 2012 In-House Counsel Survey

14. 2011 LexisNexis/BTI Survey

15. 7. Don’t underestimate the
power of 140 characters.

16. ‘Tweet 16’
16 ways lawyers can use Twitter
1. Expand your network. 9. Get noticed by news media.
2. Discover new blogs. 10. Keep up with your local
3. Mold your image. court.
4. Distribute your news. 11. Track activity at a
5. Drive traffic. conference.
6. Simulate the water 12. Follow the government.
cooler. 13. Promote an event or
7. Message your seminar.
colleagues. 14. Get more mileage.
8. Monitor the buzz. 15. Find clients.
16. Locate experts.

19. Robert J. Ambrogi Esq. www.legaline.com

23. 8. Fish where the fish are.
• 800 million-plus active users.
• Well over half post-college.

26. 9. Engage sites such as Avvo.

27. 10. It’s not just about building
networks but also about
nurturing them.

28. Part Two:
Understanding
the ethical
risks.

29. 1. The same rules apply.
“In general, we have found
that the principles
underlying our current
Model Rules are
applicable to these new
developments.”
www.americanbar.org/ethics2020

30. 2. Don’t
betray client
confidences.

31. 3. Avoid inadvertently forming
attorney-client relationships.

32. 4. Do not solicit.

33. Model Rule 7.3
“A lawyer shall not by in-person, live telephone or
real-time electronic contact solicit professional
employment from a prospective client when a
significant motive for the lawyer's doing so is the
lawyer's pecuniary gain.”

34. 5. Steer clear of
unauthorized
practice.

35. 6. Do not pay for recommendations.

36. 7. Remember
the rule on trial
publicity.

37. 8. Make no false or
misleading statements.

38. 9. Become competent in
technology and social media.

39. 10. Use
common
sense.

40. Now go
ahead –
dive in!

41. www.lawsitesblog.com
@bobambrogi
ambrogi@legaline.com
Robert J. Ambrogi Esq. lawsitesblog.com