Social media an opportunity for good lawyers to shine?

Lawyers making use of social media in an authentic way are putting their acumen, judgment, skill, and passion on display for all the world to see. If that’s the case, doesn’t this represent a golden opportunity for good lawyers to separate themselves from the pack?

There will always be some rotten apples using social media, and any other medium, in a way that looks crass and gives lawyers a bad name. But should that be reason to scare good lawyers from using this very powerful tool which enables them to give of themselves by sharing insight, building trust, and improving the image of lawyers?

When I began using the Internet as a practicing lawyer in 1996 by answering questions on AOL I realized the net was a great equalizer for good & caring lawyers across the country. Rather than the work going to lawyers who had war chests for advertising and marketing, legal work would increasingly go to those lawyers willing to give of themselves online.

What was particularly nice about the net was that the more I gave of myself by sharing information and insight (common sense after practicing almost 20 years) the more good work I received. The work came because people trusted me – one, because the information I shared was helpful and made sense, and two, because people like and trust people who help others.

Those I helped and those who observed me helping others shared my name and insight. Work came by word of mouth. Seemed like the holy grail of being a good lawyer — the more you serve, the more good work you get.

16 years later the opportunities for good lawyers to give of themselves have exploded. From message boards, listservs, cursory websites, and no search engines, we’ve advanced to powerful personal publishing platforms (blogs), Twitter, Facebook, Q & A sites (Avvo, Justia, Quora), LinkedIn, and so much more.

From a limited number of people with Internet access, virtually everyone turns to the Internet for the information they need and to validate the choice of a service or product.

No question, there are many lawyers using social media in an authentic way whose focus is giving of themselves, as opposed to drawing attention to themselves. But the vast majority of good lawyers have not begun to use the Internet to give of themselves.

I’m an optimist. I see the good in lawyers. My gut tells me we’re going to see a tremendous growth in the number of good lawyers giving of themselves via social media. To give of themselves. To build trust. To improve the image of lawyers. And getting good legal work as a result.

Am I naive?