Online Reputation Management: First Rule is to Avoid Self-Inflicted Wounds

A lot of people are concerned about online reputation management. They are worried about things posted online about them or their families. Lawyers in particular worry that unhappy former clients will post untrue things about the lawyer online that are difficult or impossible to refute.

Our Rules of Professional Conduct say a lawyer may reveal information relating to representation of a client "to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client" or " to respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the lawyer's representation of the client." ORPC 1.6(b)(5)

OK, who thinks that applies because you didn't like something a former client said on Twitter or Facebook? Yeah. Me neither. Well, maybe if it libels the lawyer. But proving the fact of libel as a defense to an ethics complaint is not a road most of us would choose to travel.

So to me, the key to online reputation management is to put lots of positive information about you online and to tell your story. Just overwhelm any critics.

As we have seen with many well-documented Facebook and Twitter stories, the biggest potential danger area for damage to your online reputation is you. We saw it happen with flame e-mailing when angry and now you can post your anger or missteps online for the entire world to see with social networking.

Today's example is from a lawyer who uses Twitter. This lawyer is one of those who tweets many times a day and certainly has more followers than I do. I'm not going to identify that lawyer because I do understand if you do that many tweets a day not all will be award-winners.

But here's what he posted on Twitter as a "rule," not just an offhand remark: "If your lawyer's email address ends in hotmail.com, gmail.com or yahoo.com (or aol.com), find a new lawyer." Now don't bother searching. His identity is not the point. And the rule was apparently reprinted from a national publication.

But that jewel coming from a lawyer insulted a lot of people and made a lot of them angry. He's already had one blogger today react negatively. When I read those words, even now hours later, my reaction is "You judgmental self-important jerk. How dare you tell people to fire their lawyers because of the e-mail service they use?" I recognized this person's name as a lawyer whose Twitter posts I had read before. I had a neutral, leaning positive opinion of him. But now for a long time, this is what I will think of when I see his name.

The ironic thing is I don't disagree with his general thinking. Lawyers in private practice representing clients should use an e-mail address that includes the law firm domain name in most cases. But failure to do so is not a firing offense. So the point gets obscured by the message. A few minutes ago a very, very techno-savvy sent several of us an e-mail using his Gmail account because of temporary problems with his primary e-mail account. (That's OK, Erik. None of us can fire you.) One of the most techno-savvy lawyers I know uses a Yahoo address and has for well over a decade. Right, Dan?

In fact, every techno-savvy lawyer I know has a GMail account!

Still somewhere, some person will search Twitter for "find a new lawyer" and learn that someone thinks they should fire their lawyer because of his or her e-mail address. If they are searching for that, they obviously aren't happy and maybe that will be the tipping point to fire their lawyer. Maybe they will even file a bar complaint.

So why am i going on about this? Because it is an unneeded, serious self-inflicted wound. It would be one thing entirely if this person sold e-mail services or was writing a paper on e-mail services. I have heard lawyers make the case that Gmail should not be used for confidential client e-mails because of Google's Terms of Service. That's a defensible opinion. But even the most jealous advocate of that theory knows it wouldn't be smart to insult the audience.

We've all been there. I have one rather infamous e-mail in my past I'd still like to have back. If you tweet multiple times per day, you are going to hit a few foul balls. I'll probably anger some people with this post. But, I think I am trying to make a point, which is let's all be careful out there on the Internet, OK?

By the way, three people subscribed to my blog e-mail alert service today. One used Hotmail and one used Gmail.

Site of the Week: Larry Bodine LawMarketing Blog

Larry Bodine is well-known in the legal marketing field. His blog is a great source of marketing information. Just scroll down and see his posts on the Yellow Pages, Twitter, controversial Internet marketing and a guest post on marketing a small firm on a shoestring budget. If you have never visited the blog before, check out the past posts in the archives section. Marketing is an activity that must continue on a regular, consistent basis. It is always good to pick up pointers. So check out the Larry Bodine LawMarketing Blog, this week's Website of the Week.

10 Ways to Make Your Business Card Your Calling Card

Jared Correia of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program brings us Carded!: 10 Ways to Make Your Business Card Your Calling Card  Jared has some interesting and cutting-edge ideas that will certainly make you think. And why don't lawyers typically have their pictures on their business cards anyway? Tradition?

Well, way back in 2001, I wrote an piece called The Lawyer’s Business Card. I was reminded of it because Jared mentioned the back of the business card and for that article, a Tulsa lawyer shared with me an interesting idea about the back of his business cards.

Support Your Local Bar Association

This post was prompted by reading today of a controversy between the Florida Bar and some of its members over selling the member's e-mail addresses. (I don't have a comment on that specific situation.) I've now worked for the OOklahoma Bar Association for over 11 years. Even though we have paid staff, a lot of our efforts depend on lawyers volunteering to serve on committees and do other types of volunteer work. These lawyers receive a lot in return, they tell me. They meet many different lawyers and develop friendships. But they also receive tangible business benefits, such as referrals from other lawyers they have encountered in their bar work. More than a few are now practicing in firms with other lawyers they originally met through volunteer bar work.

There's a lot of satisfaction in seeing a project you have shepherded come to reality, whether it helps other lawyers or helps other in our community. Some bar associations report difficulty with getting "brand new" lawyers to participate. All of us seem to have more to do than the time permits and I am sure that they feel the same way. But I would encourage new lawyers to get involved with the Young Lawyers Division and their state and local bar associations. You may make contacts and friendships there that will last a lifetime! You also have the chance to impact decisions that your bar association makes.

Over the last several years we have announced several member benefits from the Oklahoma Bar Association that are law practice management oriented. These include a subscription to the Factcase legal research service that is free to members as a part of their bar dues, discounts on Corevault online backup service for data protection and the OBA Law Firm Merchant Account to provide a system for lawyers to process credit card payments to the office and trust accounts. Just think what great things your bar association might do over the next few years with your input and time.

New Year's Resolution for Lawyers - Improve Your Web Site (or Create One)

A few years ago I wrote a blog post stating that all law firms really needed a Web site now. I hoped law firms would make it their New Year's Resolution for 2006 to set up one if they didn't have one and look at improving their site if they had one.

So now it is 2009 and I see Internet marketing being even more important for lawyers. The social networking sites are growing and many more people are using their browsers in their smart phones to locate important information. More people look to the Net first when searching for information. Certainly most law firms of any size now have a Web site. But some solo and small firm lawyers resist. I think mainly they just don't know where to begin. So I wrote a primer, Web Site How-To Tips for the Small Firm Lawyer, a few weeks ago. I hope this encourages the remaining laweyrs without a Web site to get going.

But if you have had a Web site for a few years, don't be complacent. The odds are that if you haven't thought about your Web site much in the last couple of years, it is due for a facelift. The color scheme may be dated or you have still list departed lawyers on it. Review your Web site now to see how you can improve it in the new year.

One idea might be to take some photos within your firm to use instead of stock impersonal pictures. I'd be overly cautious and get signed releases from any employees whose photos were used. (Sure it is OK to pay them a little bonus for consenting.) Respect the wishes of any employee who does not wish to be photographed. But, how much more alive, interesting and personal would your Web site be if it had pictures of your office and your staff instead of models and actors? Take plenty so you can easily rotate in new photos in a few months without having to have a new "picture day."

Digital Edge Podcast on Search Engine Optimization

Our podcast, The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology recently covered "The ABC's of SEO." SEO, as you probably know stands for Search Engine Optimization, or in layman's terms, "How can I get the search engines to notice my Website?"

Sharon Nelson and I tried to have some fun with what admittedly can be a dry topic. So before you pay an SEO firm thousands of dollars, give us a listen and see if we answer your questions. Due to technical reasons beyond our control, we missed a month or two of podcast production. We're sorry about that, but we think we have everything ironed out to give you a new podcast every month in the future. Next month will feature an interview with a noted expert who has tips on using Microsoft Outlook.

Yellow Pages Gather Dust

All law firms, including solos, need a Web page. That's my opinion, anyway. The Oklahoma City Journal Record interviewed me yesterday about attorney Web sites. I loved the headline for the feature, Yellow Pages gather dust as legal eagles flock to the Web to lure clients. Of course, I fear that it will not endear me to any Yellow Pages salespersons.

Read the article and see if you agree or disagree with my points. (Read it quickly. It will only be online for either 7 or 30 days.)

Your Website: Getting the Attention of the Search Engines

You finally got your law firm Web site online and waited for the new clients to come rolling in. But for some reason it just didn't happen that way. Well, all of our marketing efforts are long term projects, with the possible exception of TV, radio and newspaper ads. Your marketing efforts will hopefully still pay off for years in the future. But the Internet is all about immediate gratification, right? So this week, I'll have a bit of an online symposium on getting noticed by the search engines.

The first article is The ABCs of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by two of my favorite people Sharon D. Nelson and John Simek of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. SEO is one of those terms that intimidates a lot of people. Sharon and John do a great job of explaining the basics in understandable language. Everyone should read this article even if you don't have time to start your SEO project this week. And, remember that you don't have to try all of these techniques. Trying just a few simple ones will no doubt boast your search engine ranking. You may want to print or save this article for later reference as it is hosted at the Canadian Bar's PracticeLink and may slip into the "password required" area soon.

The Technology eReport from the American Bar Association General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division this month featured two articles on online marketing.

Internet Marketing 101 for Attorneys: How to Reach Prospective Clients Through Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing by lawyer-turned-Internet-entrepreneur Jeff Lantz covers many topics such a PPC (pay per click), the importance of anchor text and questions to ask a SEO company before agreeing to pay for their services. Since Jeff heads a company that does SEO, among other Internet marketing services, I appreciate his sharing of knowledge. This is a quite good in-depth piece. I know how anchor text works to optimize your site's ranking by search engines. People link to my blog by its name. Do a Google search for "law practice tips" with or without the quotes and see the results.

Marketing Your General Practice Firm Online is an article by Jennifer Black. "Although legal–related businesses are one of the top five topics consumers search for on the Internet every single day, the trick to connecting with these potential customers, involves a successful online marketing strategy that helps improve the ways these local firms can be found online," she states in this feature. I found this interesting. In the early days of law firm websites, the lawyers noticed that they initially got a lot of out-of-state clients who used the Internet because they didn't have access to local resources like phone directories. But now people use Web searches for local resources because they find the results more easily and quickly than with a phone directory. Want to start the betting pool on the eventual death of the Yellow Pages in print?

These three articles can expand your understanding of how the Internet can bring your clients--if you have a Website. But let's not forget the basics either. Have a unique and understandable domain name for your law firm website. Then make sure it is included on your stationery, firm brochures and the e-mail signature blocks of everyone in the firm. You might even have a sign in your waiting area "Visit us on the Web at xxx." Update your content regularly and if the domain name is short enough, include it in your Yellow Pages ad, as long as you still have one.

Marketing a Start-Up Solo Practice

Findlaw just published a nice little first person piece on Marketing a Start-Up Solo Practice by Burman E. Berger.

Client Development: Keep 'Em Coming Back for More with Technology

Law Practice Today posted the materials on "Client Development: Keep 'Em Coming Back for More with Technology" that Nancy Roberts Linder and I did for our ABA TECHSHOW 2007 presentation. Nancy and I have done marketing presentations together previously. My section focuses a little more on client satisfaction and development, while she focuses on content of materials and websites. I will immodestly suggest that it is worth your time.

The ABA TECHSHOW website reminds us that today, January 31, 2008, is the last day to register for ABA TECHSHOW 2008 and receive and early bird discount. (I heard a rumor that the early bird deadline might be extended, but it's time to register anyway if you are planning to attend.)