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Twitter success awaits savvy lawyers

That’s the word from Neil Rose, editor of Legal Futures, who penned an excellent story in the UK’s Guardian Tuesday on the value of Twitter to practicing lawyers.

Rose leads off with professor and widely respected law firm consultant, Richard Susskind, who defends Twitter in a new introduction to his book, The End of Lawyers?, just out in paperback.

Most lawyers that I speak to dismiss Twitter as yet another plaything for their children. Of what possible relevance, they inquire, could this possibly be for a senior legal practitioner?’

I reply that I know quite a few general counsel and senior in-house lawyers who now use Twitter and regularly send out messages about what they are doing, what they are thinking, and where they are going; and if my clients were sending out regular updates on their news and views, I would want to be on the receiving end, even if the medium has a slightly silly name.

Rose agrees.

I was a sceptic when I joined Twitter earlier this year for the launch of my own website, @legalfutures. It just seemed like something I had to do, but I have become increasingly convinced by its value. This comes in many forms: spreading awareness of my site, making contact with people with similar interests, and being pointed to people and information that I otherwise might not have found… It’s not perfect by any means – some people can tweet you to distraction – but I also like the sense of community.

On asking fellow legal professionals their view on the value of Twitter, Rose received overwhelmingly positive responses.

  • @in_house_lawyer (Melanie Hatton, in-house at Latitude) said it had provided real-time access to legal developments, a better network and enabled her to carve out a niche.
  • @jcasalmir (June Casalmir, Sprint ad law/social media in-house counsel) said that through Twitter she had met people she would like to emulate in her in-house practice.
  • @changesq (Michael Chang, international business & legal affairs exec at major Hollywood motion picture studio) said Twitter ‘reveals the ‘human’ side of fellow lawyers and execs, helping to develop camaraderie online & off.
  • @freemvntblog (UK immigration and asylum law blogger) talked about the access to legal updates.
  • @catrinmills (Catrin Mills, employment lawyer with a difference at Longmores) said it had helped her land a deal with a legal publisher, and there was perhaps unsurprisingly a good response from younger lawyers.
  • @arc7 (Ashley Connick, law student) said he was about to start his law conversion course – ‘Twitter has given me access to lawyers and blogs which have influenced my thinking’ as well as ‘people who have been happy to answer my questions’.
  • @kevinpoulter (Kevin Poulter, employment lawyer) said it had helped the Law Society’s junior lawyers division communicate with its members, while on a personal level he had maintained and built peer-to-peer relationships ‘and occasionally client relationships’.

Legal public relations specialist, Clare Rodway (@clarerodway), explained that Twitter’s value is more raising’s one profile.

…[I]t can be used for ‘extremely targeted prospecting’ for clients. ‘Lawyers ask, ‘Can social networking win business?’ The A is in the Q: It’s a social NETWORK so as useful as any other networking. …[I]t can be better than networking in the real world because ‘you can work a roomful of relevant people without leaving your desk.’

I thought Twitter was the dumbest thing ever when I registered for it out of a sense of obligation to try it three years ago. How the heck can be there any value in sharing that my dog just rolled over?

But after following far smarter people than I who were using Twitter and experimenting with it in a number of ways, there’s no question of Twitters value for me in business and professional development.

  • Sharing news and information I read allows me to help others. Serving others is what drives me.
  • People trust me as a reliable source of relevant news and information. Being trusted in this way is a step of way from further engagement, whether it be invitations to speak or people inquiring about my company’s service.
  • Professional development. Reading and meeting people is my principal means of learning. Twitter’s big on both accounts.
  • Relationship building. I can’t tell you how many people I have come to know better via Twitter. And with my passion being in what I do, the people I meet are critical to my businesses success.

What do you guys think of Twitter for professional development and business development? Join the discussion that’s going on at the Guardian in the comments to Rose’s article or leave a comment here.

  • http://blog.simplejustice.us shg

    Rarely does one see a collection of such vague, meaningless words strung randomly together, as when one tries to hype the newest,shiniest marketing source.
    Twitter is a wonderful place to meet plenty of other people similarly trying to meet plenty of other people, all of whom hope that the other people want to buy their product or services, except that the other people aren’t buying, but selling their services to you, while you’re trying to sell your services to them.
    Not to beat on poor law school graduate Rex7, but he has about 76,000 followers and still doesn’t have a job. He does, however, get invited to talk at conferences to tell lawyers about the wonders of twitter. Is there no one connecting the dots here?

  • http://iplawyerintraining.blogspot.com Julia Mathis

    Good post and interesting article. I would be interested in seeing a follow up on the topic of how to use Twitter effectively to best promote yourself or your firm.
    Certainly posting links to promote your blog posts is one way of using it and seems to be the most common way. However, what about some good guidelines for retwitting other posts or most effective twitter handles? How much is too much posting or how little is too little?

  • http://kevin.lexblog.com Kevin OKeefe

    Couple ways to look at this Scott. Your way or that though Twitter is new and can appear flakey to many, that some poeple are figuring out how it works.
    One example can my meeting one of the leading trial lawyers in Seattle through Twitter. She followed me on Twitter a week ago Sunday night. I look at her background and was impressed with what she was doing personally and professionaly. Enough so, that I connected with her through LinkedIn, something I very rarely do. She responded that she had a couple trials settle and was out trying to learn what she could. I said if she needed help, just holler – not to sell her something, but has someone who likes helping good lawyers (maybe strange, but true).
    We met for breakfast last Friday. She became a client earlier this week and now she wants to introduce me to her partners to possibly do work for the firm as a whole.
    No way if I did not use Twitter that we would have met or had that exchange. A significant amount of business for our company eveloved from that. And this is not an isolated occurrence.
    No one is saying drop everything and use Twitter nor that you can be a lightweight with little to offer and that Twitter will make you riches. It’s a networking tool that can work for lawyers, nothing more.
    Julia, I’ll do a post with a few best practices – or least ones I abide by and talk about. I’m not the God of Twitter for lawyers. I’m just a gut trying to figure this all out like everyone else.

  • http://blog.simplejustice.us shg

    I hate to remind you, Kev, but you aren’t selling legal services, but turn key blogging services. And even on the blogging part, that’s one client. You’re got 9000 followers, 12000 twits, and one client out of it?

  • http://kevin.lexblog.com Kevin OKeefe

    It’s relationships Scott. I don’t care whether your selling burial plots, legal services, or blogs. Those with relationships with a valuble service win.
    Would going without using Twitter hurt my business today? Yes. Would I spend time on Twitter if it didn’t help me engage people and build relationships? No.

  • http://blog.simplejustice.us shg

    I spend time on twitter to hang out with guys like you. Not for business, but just because I like you. It’s the relationships, Kev.

  • http://www.cruiselawnews.com Jim Walker

    I met O’Keefe on Twitter, followed his blog “Real Lawyers Have Blogs,” and chose LexBlog as my soapbox to the world. I have been on Twitter for 1 and 1/2 years and on Lexblog 1 year.
    I remember 15 years ago taking out a Yellow Page ad the size of a business card for over $5,000 a year. I never received a call.
    But for $0, Twitter has created hundreds of connections to other lawyers, bloggers, media types and friends and foes. And I connect with people everyday. I have received and referred cases through Twitter, been contacted by newspapers and influential bloggers, and am in touch with my area of the law on a real time basis.
    Still, lots of lawyers think that being on Twitter is a joke.
    I wonder how much they are spending on their Yellow Page ads . . .

  • http://www.twitter.com/VBalasubramani Venkat

    I’m a huge fan of Twitter, but I use it mostly for fun. It’s a fun chatty way to talk to people in your community and your industry.
    To me, it’s a mistake to even ask about its “business development potential.” If you’re not willing to expend (waste) 20-30 (100?) hours getting your feet wet and experimenting, I wouldn’t bother. I’ve talked to many many lawyers, business people, journalists, and just random people (etc.) on Twitter, and I don’t think any two people use it the same way. This means that you’re going to have to play with it and figure out what works for you. And this takes time. Probably a short vacation’s worth at least, if not more.

  • http://kevin.lexblog.com Kevin OKeefe

    Why is it a mistake when someone talks about the “business development potential” of Twitter Venkat?
    If I said that I have gotten business from coaching little leaugue and roller hockey by meeting great people over the 10 or 12 years I did that would you imply there’s something wrong about that? How about when I sit on civic or charitable boards and meet people and build relationships that lead to business?
    All we’re talking about is getting to know people as people, building relationships, and sharing some knowledge. People come together because of common interests. They then interact in many ways. Whether it’s face to face or online.
    During such social interaction a person’s reputation as a being a good person, knowledgeable about particular matters, and someone you can trust grows. It’s only natural that business relationships ensue.
    Just yesterday, a great guy I met through little league called me and wanted to discuss how his professional services firm with an outstanding group of managing principals should address the issue of their partners blogging on individual blogs as opposed to the firm’s blog. We reviewed the plusses and minuses of the practice and various options to consider. Though I never said why don’t you hire LexBlog, it’s possible business may ensue at some point. In turn, he introduced me to a candidate for an operations head I’m looking to find for LexBlog. Good stuff.
    Sometimes lawyers look at the terms networking and business development as bad things when applied to social interaction.
    You wouldn’t believe the visceral reaction people had, including many lawyers, when I said blogs could be used for client development in 2003. You would have thought I killed someone. “How dare you see these mediums of conversation, sharing of knowledge, and getting to know each other be used for something that sounds like marketing.”
    I saw blogs as a natural way of networking, sharing of knowledge, and building a reputation. You couldn’t help but get work if you blogged with that philosoply. It turned it to be true.
    Twitter’s the same thing. Social interaction. Good stuff.

  • http://www.dypadvisors.com Douglas Park

    I have used Twitter for over a year and have found it useful to build relationships and expertise. In addition to posting news and comments on others’ posts, I push out all of my blog post on to Twitter. As of a result of my efforts to tweet about corporate governance, I have been named by Boardmember.com in its Who’s Who of the Corporate Governance Twitterverse.

  • http://blog.simplejustice.us shg

    Wow, Douglas. I never dreamed twitter could do anything like that. So what’s next, a run for the Senate?

  • http://www.dypadvisors.com Douglas Park

    Scott,
    I’m not sure why you’re so negative about Twitter. Building relationships and expertise is better than what most other social media platforms can do. I’ve met people in the entrepreneurship and corporate governance fields through Twitter and, yes, even gotten business from people who first heard of me through Twitter. I don’t sell anything or even attempt to sell anything on Twitter. Maybe you don’t need Twitter because you’re blog is so well read and recognized. More power to you. But Twitter helps push traffic to my humble blog. And from that I get phone calls and email inquiries because readers like what I write. What’s wrong with that?
    Douglas Park

  • Kimberly A. Graham

    Scott, I subscribed to: “if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.” Or at minimum, if you have a critique, there’s no need for sarcasm and insults. Just say what you’d like to say, tactfully and with civility.
    Anyway, Kevin, I’m just getting into trying out Twitter a little bit after reserving my name there years ago. I still don’t quite “get” it, but may be missing some thing. For instance, I’d like to find other lawyers in my area to follow, but I don’t see a way to find them. (I have a Blackberry, not iphone, if that matters.) I don’t have Twitter on my phone either, because I have far too much going on there with emails and phone calls.
    Thanks for your post.
    Kimberly