Comments on: Facebook for law firms

By: Jordan Furlong

Jordan Furlong — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:32:08 +0000

Debbie, that’s definitely a challenge. :-) This sounds like a firm that is extremely hesitant to actually do something — at a certain point, the objections become less “reasons not to do it” than “excuses not to try.” All I could suggest is to point out that I’m not aware of any case anywhere in which a law firm has been disciplined or sanctioned for using Facebook (or any social media, for that matter), whereas thousands of lawyers and law firms are using social media every day, without incident. Absolutely, firms want to avoid ethical miscues, but social media itself is not unethical, and used sensibly, it can be really effective. Good luck!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:39:12 +0000

I have a law firm as a client and they are SO concerned about the legal implications of using Facebook that they are nearly paralyzed. I have a copy of our states Bar Association marketing guidelines and it’s clear they were written with minimal knowledge and details concerning social media. The concerns I keep hearing from my client include things like “we aren’t permitted to give any advice”…ok…noted. “We don’t want to allow comments because we can’t create relationships (with prospective clients?)”. “We can’t show favoritism (supportive comments about a business, organzation, etc)”. I went so far as to call our state’s bar association and they couldn’t answer my questions and never returned my call as they offered to do once they got the answers which tells me they really don’t know either. What are your thoughts here?

By: Jordan Furlong

Jordan Furlong — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:53:00 +0000

I think that’s a terrific idea — thanks, Andrew!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:51:15 +0000

In you Twitter post you suggested creating niche practice area or industry feeds within Twitter. What about the same idea for Facebook? ie X’s Real Estate Law page. Within Facebook one can then “Like” certain companies with which they do business while providing a relevant stream of bulletins, firm news, industry news.

By: Steve Matthews

Steve Matthews — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:30:32 +0000

Josh, you can add in the factor of consent. FB (and LinkedIn) require both parties to accept the relationship connection. You can’t just list a group of people or clients as friends. The other person *must* approve that association, or it doesn’t happen.

By: Jordan Furlong

Jordan Furlong — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:16:23 +0000

Josh, thanks for your feedback and question. There’d be an issue of confidentiality only if Facebook had a special category for “client” by which the person were identified — and even then, only if the client had insisted that the retainer be kept a secret (many clients don’t care whether their client status is known, and quite a few provide recommendations that make their client status crystal clear). Being a lawyer’s friend is not the same thing as being a lawyer’s client (and vice versa).

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:42:06 +0000

Good article.
Would there not be issues of confidentiality if several clients were added, and shown on FaceBook as “friends.” This would enable current clients or members of the public to effectively have a list of previous and other current clients. How would you protect yourself from this?
J

By: Erin McDonough

Erin McDonough — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:47:24 +0000

This post is extremely helpful. I work for a small, private law firm and I am actually in charge of their social medias. I am a college student studying public relations, but the social networking for a law firm has been completely new to me. Your tips in all these blogs on this topic have been very insightful. The idea of letting the people see more of a human side behind the firm through their Facebook page makes so much sense.

Again,thanks for the post!

By: Blogging for law firms – Law Firm Web Strategy

Blogging for law firms – Law Firm Web Strategy — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:28:49 +0000

[...] by Jordan Furlong in Law Blogs, Social Networks No Comments Following on earlier posts about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for law firms, this entry will look at the last of the Big Four social media [...]

By: How Many Facebook Fan Pages Does One Firm Need? « Bringing Business to Business

Tue, 18 May 2010 21:06:51 +0000

[...] 18, 2010 Stem Legal recently posted an entry on Facebook for Lawfirms. In the posting, Jordan Furlong indicates that many law [...]

By: LinkedIn for law firms – Law Firm Web Strategy

LinkedIn for law firms – Law Firm Web Strategy — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:38:25 +0000

[...] Networks No Comments Following on my two previous entries that talked about how law firms can use Facebook and Twitter, respectively, it’s time I turned to the last of the Big Three social networks, [...]

By: Pieces of me

Pieces of me — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:33:31 +0000

[...] focused on social media in the law firm enterprise context. Here’s what I had to say about Facebook for law firms and Twitter for law [...]

By: Media Strategy Service at Stem Legal

Media Strategy Service at Stem Legal — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:04:49 +0000

[...] dozen years’ experience in legal journalism and communications with my emerging interest in social media for the legal profession. Check out the MSS main page for more details, and please don’t [...]

By: Jordan Furlong

Jordan Furlong — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:39:58 +0000

Let me refer you to a terrific piece on law firms and Facebook by Adrian Lurssen at JD Supra: http://scoop.jdsupra.com/2010/04/articles/law-firm-marketing/facebook-for-lawyers-news/ . Required reading on this subject.

By: Twitter for law firms – Law Firm Web Strategy

Twitter for law firms – Law Firm Web Strategy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:03:33 +0000

[...] Furlong in Social Networks No Comments Following on my last post, which looked at the uses of Facebook for law firms, I thought I’d review the uses of Twitter in the law firm context. As before, I’m going [...]