What Now After LinkedIn IPO?

Is LinkedIn sexy now?  While there is no question that LinkedIn had been popular, it has never been the media darling that Twitter and Facebook have become.  However, with a very successful IPO under its belt, it might never need to be sexy just the glue that holds together the professional world. Because it focuses on all things professional, it has a much narrower range than the other two social media giants.  However, that work to its benefit as its grabbing critical information about how people interact as professionals.  That can be monetized without a doubt.

What About Lawyers?

As I’ve mentioned before, I’d like to see LinkedIn become more sensitive to needs of particular professionals and how they represent themselves.  Now that they have serious cash, its time for them to connect with the ABA and make sure that they conform to the model rules of professional responsibility in how they structure their profiles.  Three quick fixes would go a long way:

• Allow attorneys to edit “specialties” and turn it into “Focus Areas” or the like
• Allow contacts to be shared at the contact level rather than globally
• Allow attorneys to easily insert footnotes for disclaimers on recommendations, answers to questions and even the profiles generally.

Big Firms: We Want Our Own Professional Rules

One of the challenges for large firms that cross state borders is how they comply with state bar rules that impact their web presence. Obviously, these firms can’t have a website or Facebook page for each state that complies with that state’s specific rules on how attorneys can present themselves online.  Should law firms then make sure that they are complying with the strictest rules in the United States?

Rules Applying to Firms with Sophisticated Clients

This proposal is more concerned with lawyer mobility and conflicts of interests regulated by the various 50 states and D.C.  However, their proposal is to create a single “clearinghouse” that would create a uniform set of regulations to facilitate the practice of law across jurisdictions.

Snowball’s Chance?

This article suggests the difficulty such a proposal faces.  Consider this: most of the attorneys in the ABA policy making body come from small firms who might see this proposal as providing special treatment for the large firms.  Ouch.

ABA Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference in Nov.

I don’t think I can attend but there are a couple session, I wish I could go to:

Small Firm Track: Utilizing The Internet for Small Firm Marketing – How to Maximize Websites, Blogs, Social Networking, Directory Profiles and Other Aspects of Web 2.0
Our panel of attorneys who are on the cutting edge of internet marketing will discuss how a smaller firm can use the internet to compete with Big Law. Learn how you can use simple tools to optimize your exposure and show off your expertise on the Internet.

Moderator: Steven Silverberg, Esq., Conference Chair, Silverberg Zalantis, White Plains, NY
Panel:
William W. Bowser, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP., Wilmington, DE
Tom Mighell, Fios, Inc., Dallas, TX
Greg Siskind, Siskind Susser, P.C. – Immigration Lawyers, Memphis, TN
Tim Stanley, Justia, Inc., Mountainview, CA

Niche Marketing
Lawyers are constantly hearing that they must differentiate themselves from the competition, but what does that really mean? As your firm pursues a “cottage” market segment, consider some guiding principles on how to successfully target and exploit your niche.
J. Manly Parks, Duane Morris, Philadelphia, PA
 
Conference info: