LinkedOut and MisTweeted: Ethical Uses of Social Networking in Marketing Your Law Practice

It is hard to believe that I’ve been teaching the “advertising/marketing” ethics hour for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute for more than a decade now. But what makes it particularly interesting is that my space (pun intended, if you get it) keeps changing with such rapid fire imprecision that it really never gets old. This year I return to the theme of social networking ethics. I could say I’m repeating my program from 2010, but very little is the same. I looked back into my PowerPoint slides to find my first discussion of advertising and social media taking place in 2003. This makes me sound and feel ancient.

As usual, I will be presenting this PBI program live in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in April, August and December of 2014. My April programs take place on the 24th in Pittsburgh and 29th in Philadelphia–from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. For more information and registration, visit PBI.

Course Description:

Understanding social media is critical to the practice of law–Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking sites not only enter into almost every practice, but are key tools for law firm marketing and business development efforts. However, many lawyers have failed to understand the ethical implications as they relate to the Rules of Professional Conduct. What issues should you be aware of when delving into social networking for generating business opportunities? What are the implications of using LinkedIn’s recommendations, endorsements and specialization components? How have state bars addressed these issues in recent rule changes and new ethics opinions? You’ll learn the how-to, how-not-to and the latest lessons in social networking participation.