How Social is Your Lawyer? – Social Media for Lawyers

It was an honor and privilege to speak at the Beverly Hills Bar Association on Social Media for Lawyers.

With the majority of attorneys without a facebook page, I had the opportunity to teach them how to create a page, set their privacy settings, and show the ways to provide compelling content on their page.

Prior to the meeting, I spoke with Ethan J. Wall, Richman Greer, P.A., who through his involvement in the Meritas Leadership Institute, helped lead a survey about social media and lawyers.” This survey of approximately 400 attorneys by Meritas, a nonprofit legal alliance,  found that just over 1/3 of the attorneys are using social media for business. One out of four attorneys who have used social media said that they have increased their business as a result.

The hesitancy was agreed upon by attorneys in attendance of the Beverly Hills Bar Association meeting who confirmed the Meritas results, with Linkedin still being the number favorite site.

Of the 34.5 percent of firms with social media accounts, it was interesting to note the following results:

• 53.3 percent have Facebook accounts
• 68.9 percent have LinkedIn accounts
• 37.7 percent have Twitter accounts
• 27.0 percent have blogs

At the end of the evening, the percentages shifted as over 30 local Los Angeles attorneys now have custom facebook pages and social media will replace traditional networking for client development for law firms of all sizes.

Revised 4.15.2011