ROI for lawyer social networking is ‘astronomic’

That’s the word from Doug Cornelius, a senior real estate associate with Goodwin Procter in Boston and well known knowledge management blogger, in a recent article by The American Lawyer’s Brian Baxter.

Social networking costs are minimal — it’s not like sponsoring a table at an awards dinner or printing brochures — so your return on investment is astronomic…

Cornelius’ comment was part of a story on Legal OnRamp, started by Cisco Systems Inc. General Counsel Mark Chandler and former Perkins Coie lawyer Paul Lippe. In less than a year, Legal OnRamp has grown to more than 3,000 members from 200 firms and 400 companies.

Allen & Overy, whose partner Kenneth Rivlin unsuccessfully tried kill off associates use of Facebook, saw enough merit in social networking sites to invest in Legal OnRamp. Per Rivlin:

We saw both lawyers and staff using the site to build professional networks. Firm management saw the opportunity for lawyers to exchange resumes, make client contacts and circulate best practices memos about everything from writing a contract to structuring a deal.

With the ability to browse individual lawyer bios, visit message boards, attend Q&A sessions, join groups, and receive Facebook-style updates on other lawyers, Cornelius ‘favors Legal OnRamp over other business networking sites like LinkedIn and LawLink because it’s interactive and offers access to potential clients through its in-house contacts.’

I recently joined Legal OnRamp, courtesy of an invite from an in-house counsel I met via LinkedIn. I haven’t spent enough time on it to personally form an opinion on it’s value.

But 3,000 lawyers from 200 law firms, presumably large law, and 400 companies combined with large law firms investing in the social networking site ought to tell you something. Some lawyers are seeing value in social networking.