Breakout 7 - Putting Yourself Out There: Navigating Ethical and Legal Issues in Social Media

Teacher: Lisa Borodkin, Esq.

2015 Summit – Newport Beach, CA

Twitter: @lisaborodkin

Twitter hashtag: #NAELASummit

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Which picture accurately describes your feelings about

social media?

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Option 1:

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Option 2:

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Ethical Issues in:1. Building Your Profile

2. Interacting with Clients3. Growing Your Network

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Building Your Profile:

When Does Social Media Become “Attorney Advertising?”

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Focus on inbound marketing.

Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977) – Attorneys may

advertise.

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Commercial speech does no more than propose a commercial

transaction.Information, entertainment, education have more than a

pecuniary motive.

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

When does a blog post become Attorney Advertising?

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Hunter v. Virginia State Bar (Sup. Ct. Va. 2013)

• “This Week in Richmond Criminal Defense” part of a law firm website• Discussed only the firm’s cases• Not interactive (no comments)

• No disclaimer

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Ethics tips for blogging:• Keep it separate from your

firm website• Keep it general• Keep it interactive

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Use Social Media Profiles to Grow Your Practice• Facebook• Linkedin• Twitter• Avvo• Quora

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

First, what not to do on social media . . .

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Pennsylvania Bar Association Formal Opinion 2014-300 (Ethical Obligations for Attorneys Using Social Media)

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

When does a status update become “Attorney Advertising”?

California State Bar Formal Opinion

2012-186

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

FTFY (Fixed that for you) . . .

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Tips for using social networking:• Update, but don’t intrude.

• Be positive, but not promising.• Be informative, entertaining or

educational.• Be social, don’t sell.

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

2. Interacting with Clients

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Tips on Interacting with Clients:• Don’t consult online

• Use disclaimers if unsure

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Yet More Tips on Interacting with Clients:

• Send an end of engagement letter/email

• Ask for a review

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

3. Building Your Network

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Quick Tips for Avvo.com:• Answer questions• Endorse colleagues• Use multimedia

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Quick tips for Linkedin.com:• Include Projects

• Update and link to Twitter• Give endorsements

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Quick tips for Quora.com:• Answer questions in your

niche• Follow top writers

• Cross-post your answers

BREAKOUT 7: PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: NAVIGATING ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Quick tips for Twitter:• Cross-post to other sites

• Be interesting• Don’t be afraid to delete!

2015 Summit | January 29-31 | Newport Beach, CA

Session Take-Aways

After attending this session, you will be able to use social media and blogs to market your practice within

the legal and ethical parameters governing social media. Bring your devices.