This document provides guidance on using social media for legal marketing in an ethical manner. It discusses various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and YouTube and how to use them effectively for legal marketing. It also analyzes potential ethics issues with social media use and provides best practices to ensure communications comply with advertising and solicitation rules. Key recommendations include following all ethics rules, including necessary disclaimers, and using social media primarily for educational and networking purposes rather than direct solicitation.

1. Ethics for Lawyers:
Using Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn for Legal Marketing
National Constitution Center
June 24, 2014
Jennifer Ellis, Esq.
Lowenthal & Abrams, PC
&
Jennifer Ellis, JD
jennifer@jlellis.net
www.jlellis.net
@jle_jd
1

2. Jennifer Ellis
• Attorney, Lowenthal & Abrams
– Legal Malpractice & Ethics
• Law practice management consultant, Jennifer Ellis, JD
– Online presence/marketing & technology
• Author Creating Websites: Using WordPress in One
Hour for Lawyers
• Nationally known speaker and author
– Ethics
– Social Media
– Technology
– Law Practice Management
2

3. These are the Rules of Jennifer
1. Rules that apply off-line apply on-line
2. Amount of possible trouble is expanded by
the number of people who can see what you
wrote
3

4. What is the Difference between a
Cocktail Party and the Web?
4

5. 1.23
billion
1 billion people
4 billion views/day
300
million
150 million
16 billion photos
70 million
243 million
152
million
277
million
45 million
1.3 million businesses

6. Reputation
• Our reputations are all we have
• “Maintain the Integrity of the Profession” (8.x)
• Viral can be positive or negative
6

7. The Web is:
• Networking tool
• Advertising medium
• Your reputation
7

8. Potential Clients Must
• Find you
• See your expertise
• Feel comfortable with you
8

9. Break for Ethics
• ABA Ethics 20/20
– Effort to adjust ethical rules for impact of
Technology, including:
• Web
• Social Media
• Competence includes use of technology
• Most states have adopted
9

10. For Example: Pennsylvania
• Competence includes:
“Keep[ing] abreast of changes in the law and its
practice, including the benefits and risks
associated with relevant technology”
10

11. No Need to Panic about Technology
 Be aware of technology you
should be using
 Understand and mitigate risks of
technology you are using
 Take reasonable precautions to
protect data
11

12. Back to Marketing –
Ask Yourself
• Who hires you?
• How will they find you?
• Where are they looking?
• What are they seeking?
• Why do they need you?
12

13. Be Easy to Find
• Website
• Blog
• Google+
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Numerous other sites
13

14. 14

15. Blogs & Websites
1. Website – Center of online presence
1. Blog
1. Valuable SEO
2. Constantly changing content
2. SEO – Search Engine Optimization
1. Google
2. Bing
3. Yahoo
15

16. Blog
• 1 in 4 people read blogs
– 152 million blogs
• Law firms increasing use of blogs
• Best way to show your
– Voice
– Knowledge
• Place for detailed content
– You have control
16

17. Content
• What questions do people ask at the first
interview?
– Answer
• What is current in the news related to your
practice?
– Explain
• Relevant cases or laws?
– Discuss
• What interests you as a person?
– Share
17

18. • Lawyers Don’t Need Websites?
• Malware Prevention on WordPress Websites and Blogs
• Resolve to Backup your Data
• Ever thought about building your own computer?
• Facebook jumps on the social search bandwagon
• Pinterest creates business pages
• Twitter sinks a personal injury case
18

19. • Why won’t a lawyer take my Philadelphia medical
malpractice case?
• Pennsylvania Fatal Truck Accidents on the Rise
• Elder abuse is on the rise in Pennsylvania and across
the country
• Jury Awards Child $1.1 Million in a Harrisburg Brain
Injury Medical Negligence Case
• Strokes and how iPads can help the victim through the
process
19

20. Break for Ethics
• Is Social Media Marketing?
– What is marketing?
“The action or business of promoting and selling
products or services, including market research and
advertising.”
20

21. What Is the Intent?
• Directly seeking clients?
– Marketing
• Providing broad educational information?
– Not marketing
• My advice?
– Assume everything is marketing
21

22. Advertising Rules
• Follow advertising rules (7.2)
• Follow rules for all states in which licensed or
seeking clients (8.5)
22

23. Honesty is Crucial
Rule 7.1 Communications Concerning A Lawyer's
Services
“A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading
communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's
services. A communication is false or misleading if it
contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law,
or omits a fact necessary to make the statement
considered as a whole not materially misleading.”
23

24. What is Misleading?
• One office?
– Not offices of
• One attorney?
– Not Smith & Associates
• Watch domain names
– Attorney.com
– Attorneys.com
• Appropriate practice areas
• Fee language
24

25. Ethics & Marketing Problems
25

26. Proper Use of Firm Name
• Virginia attorney called himself & Associates
– Had no associates
• Listed practice groups that did not exist
• Listed non-attorney as attorney
• Also engaged in other malfeasance which is
what brought his advertising to light
• Suspended
26

27. Is This Misleading?
• Attorney right out of law school using pictures
like this on his site
• Content discusses his substantial experience in
numerous areas of practice
27

28. Watch Your State’s Rules
• Specialization – not an expert unless
– Patent
– Admiralty
– Other approved
• Keep copies for 2 (or more) years
– Screen shots
– PDFs
– Social Safe
– Backupify
28

29. Disclaimers
• Not legal advice (informational only)
• Does not form an attorney/client relationship
• Confidentiality concerns
• Geographic limitations
• Other requirements from your jurisdiction(s)
29

30. Blog Disclaimers & Content
• Hunter v. Virginia State Bar
• Blog listed favorable results
• Board found blog:
– Constituted advertising
– Made “false or misleading communication about
the lawyer or the lawyer’s services” (Rule 7.1)
– Failed to include a disclaimer (7.2)
– Violated client confidentiality (1.6)
30

31. Hunter Appealed
• Overturned ruling on 1.6, confirmed the rest.
Required a disclaimer:
– “Case results depend upon a variety of factors
unique to each case. Case results do not
guarantee or predict a similar result in any future
case.”
31

32. Hunter Appealed
• Did not violate 1.6
• Is commercial and not political speech
– Intermediate scrutiny
• Potentially misleading
– Board can require a disclaimer
32

33. Hunter Appealed
• US Supreme Court denied cert
• Hunter planned to remove blog rather than
use disclaimer
– Note Virginia rules have changed since the ruling,
but still require a disclaimer.
33

34. Google+
• Integrated with Google search results
• Helps with location based searching
• Crucial for SEO
34

35. Personal Google+ Profile
35

36. Google Author
• Extremely Important for SEO
– Connects Google+ profile to content on blog
– Requires appropriate code to form connection
36

37. Google My Business
37

38. Business Google+ Profile
38

39. Best Practices for Google+
• Use the appropriate keywords in your post
– Use hashtags # as well
• Seek to engage, but in a limited fashion
– Google is not very successful as social media and
it not worth too much time as compared to other
sites for engagement
• Include pictures
• Link your YouTube account
39

40. Facebook & LinkedIn
• Use your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts as a
way to network with
– Potential clients
– Other attorneys
• Facebook = Consumer
• LinkedIn = Business
40

41. 41

42. 42

43. Ethical Concerns
• Follow all ethical
rules
• Put a disclaimer
on your account
• Follow terms of
service
43

44. Skills &
Endorsements
• People can endorse
you for any skill on
LinkedIn
• If you do not have
the skill, remove it
44

45. Facebook & LinkedIn
• Create a page for your firm
• Becomes a mini-website on Facebook
• Useful tool on LinkedIn
– Ask employees to connect the pages
– Encourage followers
– Provide useful information
– Share blog posts
– Communicate and engage
– Include disclaimers
45

46. 46

47. Use Apps to Extend Content
47

48. LinkedIn Page
• Watch for
specialties
– New York ethics
opinion forbids
use of this tab
48

49. Best Practices for Facebook: Account
• Engage people on your personal
account
– Share only what makes you
comfortable
– If you are not comfortable, don’t
use your personal account
• I discuss:
– My dog
– My work
– News
– Other people’s posts
– My blog posts
– Random facts
• I get clients from Facebook
49

50. Concerns
• Should you friend clients on Facebook?
– Depends on how you use your account
– Very personal?
• No
– General?
• Maybe
• If you are uncomfortable, tell people to like
your business page instead
50

51. Best Practices: Facebook Page
• Share interesting blog posts
• Share interesting news
• Encourage conversation
• Don’t just use your page as a one way
newsletter
• Have a robust page
• Offer contests and sweepstakes
– Watch law and ethics in your state
51

52. Break for Ethics
• What kind of posts are ok on Facebook?
– Watch confidentiality
– Beware of answering specific questions with
detailed advice
– Keep true to your personality
• Don’t be afraid of controversy, but don’t seek it out for
controversies sake
52

53. Specific Examples of Facebook Posts
State Bar of CA – Opinion 2012-186
• Social Media Postings Subject to Advertising
Rules?
• Assume all Postings Subject to Rules
• Rule 1-400 (Advertising and Solicitation)
• Article 9.5 (Legal Advertising)
53

54. The Rule
• Communications
– “any message or offer made by or on behalf of a
member concerning the availability for
professional employment of a member or a law
firm directed to any former, present or
prospective client.”
54

55. The Rule
• Communication or solicitation shall not:
1. Contain any untrue statement; or
2. Contain any matter, or present or arrange any matter in a
manner or format which is false, deceptive or which
trends to confuse, deceive, or mislead the public; or
3. Omit to state any fact necessary to make the statements
made, in the light of circumstances under which they are
made, nor misleading to the public or
4. Fail to indicate clearly, expressly, or by context, that it is
a communication or solicitation as the case may be; or
5. Be transmitted in any manner which involves intrusion,
coercion, duress, compulsion, intimidation, threats or
vexatious or harassing conduct
55

56. Example One
• “Case finally over. Unanimous verdict!
Celebrating tonight”
– Not a communication
– Does not contain an offer concerning the
availability for professional employment
56

57. Example Two
• “Another great victory in court today! My
client is delighted. Who wants to be next?”
– Is a communication
• “Who wants to be next” is availability for employment
– Violates rule
• Does not contain a disclaimer
• Does not state it is an advertisement
• Offers guarantee or prediction of winning
57

58. Example Three
• “Won another personal injury case. Call me
for a free consultation.”
– Communication
• “Call me for a free consultation” suggests availability for
employment
• Free does not mitigate the problem
58

59. Example Four
• “Just published an article on wage and hour
breaks. Let me know if you would like a copy.”
– Not communication
– Information regarding an article
59

60. Best Practices for LinkedIn
• Keep it professional
– Avoid sharing personal information beyond work
• Otherwise risk annoying people
• Do not spam in boxes with ads for yourself
• Be careful about disturbing people you do not know
– Be very polite
– Watch the first impression
• Join relevant groups and be active to engage
• Share blog posts
• Share useful information
• Network
60

61. Ads on Facebook
• Purchase ads on Facebook
– Target by demographics
• Age
• Gender
• Marital status
– Target by interests
– Pre-existing email lists
61

62. Facebook Ads
• Connect
– Facebook page
• Increase likes
– Website
• Increase traffic
• Obtain leads
62

63. Boost Posts
• Write a post
• Promote it
– Costs varies from
$5 and up
– Increases visibility
of post,
encourages likes
and comments
63

64. LinkedIn Ads
• Purchase ads on LinkedIn
– Target by
• Job Title
• Industry
• Age
• Location
64

65. Ethics Concerns
• Are ads on social media ok?
• No clear opinions yet, but pay-per-click on
Google has been in use for years
– Some stricter states which require detailed
disclaimers in the ad might forbid use
• Be sure to check your rules
– Some states, probably acceptable to link to a
location with the appropriate disclaimers
65

66. Twitter
• 140 character micro blogging
– A great way to let people get to know you as a
person
– Share quick bits of information
– Re-share what other people post
– Link your Facebook, LinkedIn accounts and Blog to
Twitter as a way to get more value for your effort
– Crucial to engage
66

67. • People responding to
• Favoriting
• Following
• Retweeting
67

68. Language of Twitter
• Be careful sharing posts from Twitter to other
sites
– The language is different
– #hashtags
– RT = Retweet
– @jle_jd is to my attention, references me
– Abbreviated language to fit within 140 characters
68

69. Best Practices for Twitter
• Share and share alike
– Share other people’s content, they will share yours
• Give credit where credit is due
• Thank people for their interactions
• Complete your thoughts
– Watch for portions of your posts being cut off when
you use tools to post
• Use hashtags that make sense
• Humor is fine
69

70. Ethics Concerns
• Twitter is potentially unusable in several states
– In Florida, each tweet must have:
• Attorney name
• Office location
70

71. Twitter Ads
71

72. Break for Ethics: Solicitation
• What is solicitation? (Rule 7.3)
– A solicitation is a targeted communication initiated by
the lawyer that is directed to a specific person and
that offers to provide, or can reasonably be
understood as offering to provide, legal services. In
contrast, a lawyer’s communication typically does not
constitute a solicitation if it is directed to the general
public, such as through a billboard, an Internet banner
advertisement, a website or a television commercial,
or if it is in response to a request for information or is
automatically generated in response to Internet
searches.
72

73. Real Time Communication
• Not allowed to use real time communication
– Phone call
– Instant chat
• Ok
– Email
– Website
– Banners
– Social media posts
– General chat rooms
73

74. Beware!
• Facebook
– Person not online, private message
• Like email
– Person online, private message
• Like chat (Immediate?)
• Beware tagging someone in a post if she has
had a recent tragedy
– Might be considered targeted solicitation
– Will be considered bad taste
74

75. People Like to Watch
• 1 billion unique users each month
• 4 billion videos viewed each day
• Use video to help people see you
– Allows people to connect
– Provides a different form of content
– Excellent SEO
• Share by embedding
75

76. Use SEO
76

77. Best Practices for YouTube
• Use videos to:
– Let people get to know you
• Short bios
• Other useful information about you
– Educate people
• Brief question and answer sessions on your practice
area
– Use keywords in description and title as well as
designated area
• Share videos throughout your network
77

78. Share Documents
• Scribd
• SlideShare
• Increases reach of presentations
• Embed on your network
• Use proper keywords for SEO
78

79. Scribd
79

80. SlideShare
80

81. • Popular site among laypeople for finding
attorneys
– 5 million visitors per month
– 95% of attorneys listed
– 150k attorneys have claimed profiles
• Controversial among attorneys
– Cannot unclaim your listing
– Not always clear how ratings are established
81

82. 82

83. Best Practices for Avvo
• Claim your listing if:
– No disciplinary problems
– Robust profile
• Complete the listing
– Profile affects score
• Get endorsements
– Endorsements affect score
• Seek reviews
– Reviews do not affect score
• Answer questions
– Increases findability
• Follow terms of service
• Include disclaimer
83

84. Attorney/Client
Relationship (5.5)
• Be careful about answering questions in
comments (or on other sites)
– Don’t want to inadvertently form attorney/client
relationship
– Practice in state where not licensed
• Suggest people call you instead of answering online
when appropriate
84

85. What is an Attorney/Client
Relationship?
• Formed when a client has reason to believe
the attorney is handling his legal interests
– Express or implied
• Standard is objectively reasonable belief
85

86. Online Attorney/Client Relationship
• No cases yet involving unintentional formation of
attorney/client relationship through Avvo,
comments on blogs or similar locations
• Be careful about how specific you are when
offering information
• Be broad about the concept as opposed to
offering detailed advice on what the person
should do
• Encourage person to contact a lawyer in his
jurisdiction
• Use a disclaimer
86

87. Unauthorized Practice
Rule 5.5 Unauthorized Practice Of Law; Multijurisdictional
Practice Of Law
• (a) A lawyer shall not practice law in a jurisdiction in
violation of the regulation of the legal profession in that
jurisdiction, or assist another in doing so.
• (b) A lawyer who is not admitted to practice in this
jurisdiction shall not:
• (1) except as authorized by these Rules or other law,
establish an office or other systematic and continuous
presence in this jurisdiction for the practice of law; or
• (2) hold out to the public or otherwise represent that the
lawyer is admitted to practice law in this jurisdiction.
87

88. Other Question/Answer Sites
• Beware sites that do not follow ethical rules
– Fee splitting with non-lawyers (Rule 5.4)
– Answering questions without
• Detailed information – risk giving bad information
• Conflict checking – risk representing the wrong side
• Location information – unauthorized practice of law
88

89. Lead Generation Sites Fine
Rule 7.2
A lawyer may pay others for generating client leads, such as
Internet-based client leads, as long as the lead generator does
not recommend the lawyer, any payment to the lead
generator is consistent with Rules 1.5(e) (division of fees) and
5.4 (professional independence of the lawyer), and the lead
generator’s communications are consistent with Rule 7.1
(communications concerning a lawyer’s services). To comply
with Rule 7.1, a lawyer must not pay a lead generator that
states, implies, or creates a reasonable impression that it is
recommending the lawyer, is making the referral without
payment from the lawyer, or has analyzed a person’s legal
problems when determining which lawyer should receive the
referral.
89

90. Gelocation
• Where are you?
• What are you doing?
• Not great for clients
– Confidentiality issues
• Good for attorneys
– Speaking on x at y
– Networking
• At PBA event for Estate and Elder Law Attorneys
90

91. Examples
• Facebook
• FourSquare
91

92. Reviews
• Numerous opportunities for reviews online
– Google+
• Personal & Business
– Facebook
– Avvo
– Put on your website
92

93. Specific Ethics Concerns
• Do not give away anything in exchange for a
review
• Some states do not allow testimonials at all
• Others have specific requirements
– Example, PA may not have a celebrity endorse you
• Probably ok to have a past client who happens to be a
celebrity review you though
93

94. Ethics and Reviews
• Responsible for the content
– Cannot state “this attorney will win for you” or
other promises
– If you cannot edit content, respond to clarify
• Bad review?
– Best to respond politely
– Do not share confidential information to defend
yourself
94

95. Attorney in Trouble
• “This is simply false. The person did not reveal all the
facts of his situation up front in our first and second
meeting. [sic] When I received his personnel file, I
discussed the contents of it with him and informed him
that he would likely lose unless the employer chose not
to contest the unemployment (employers sometimes
do is [sic]). Despite knowing that he would likely lose,
he chose to go forward with a hearing to try to obtain
benefits. I dislike it very much when my clients lose but
I cannot invent positive facts for clients when they are
not there. I feel badly for him but his own actions in
beating up a female coworker are what caused the
consequences he is now so upset about.”
95

96. Suing Over Bad Reviews
• Watch for the Streisand Effect
• Barbara Streisand sued to have an image of
her house removed from the Internet
– Resulted in greater publicity and a lot of insults
• Lesson learned?
– Suing rarely works
96

97. Connect Everything
• Provide links to all of your accounts and your
Website everywhere you can
• This will provide the maximum opportunity for
people to find and research you
97

98. Links
BlogBlog
Website
Google+
Twitter
Facebook
98

99. Managing Time
• Tools such as HootSuite help
• Automatically connect sites when appropriate
99

100. HootSuite at Work
100

101. How to Behave
Be Aware That Professional Versus Personal
Conduct Doesn’t Matter on the Web
101

102. Prosecutor on a Personal Crusade
Against a Student
• Wrote a blog to attack a student
– “Welcome to ‘Chris Armstrong Watch’. This is a
site for concerned University of Michigan alumni,
students, and others who oppose the recent
election of Chris Armstrong — a RADICAL
HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST, RACIST, ELITIST, & LIAR —
as the new head of student government.”
• Claimed it was personal so irrelevant to his
work
• Refused to step down
102

103. Prosecutor Fired
• His attorney, said his client
was merely expressing his
free-speech rights
• In explaining the firing his
ex-employer stated “[he]
repeatedly violated office
policies, engaged in
borderline stalking behavior
and inappropriately used
state resources”
103

104. Tweeting “Jokes”
• Indiana AG Fired over Tweet
– “use live ammunition”
104

105. Remember No One Can
See or Hear You
• No body language or vocal inflection
• Different senses of humor
• What is a joke to one person is an insult or a
grievous threat to another.
105

106. General Business Concerns
• Encourage firm’s attorneys to use social media
• Encourage someone to keep track of all social
media for the firm
• Have clear policies on social media use
106

107. Employees
• Make employees understand that they are not
allowed to post on behalf of the firm unless it
is part of their job
• Make it clear that if someone violates client
confidentiality he will be punished (up to and
including termination of employment)
• Lawyers are responsible for their employees’
actions (Rule 5.3)
107

108. Prepare for Problems
• Have a plan for responding to problems
• Empower someone to respond in an
emergency
– Waiting is not an option
– Know when not to respond (things are out of
control and people are ganging up)
– Know when to respond
• Legal issues
• Harassment concerns
108

109. Final Thoughts
• Don’t be afraid of social media
– It is a powerful marketing tool
– It is a powerful networking tool
– Simply be sure to remember that many people will
see what you post
– Obey the ethical rules
– Obey advertising laws
109

110. Thank You
Jennifer Ellis
Lowenthal & Abrams, PC
&
Jennifer Ellis, JD
jennifer@jlellis.net
www.jlellis.net
@jle_jd
110