Social Media | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Ethics charges are filed over blog

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 13, 2011
Tags: Chesterfield County Circuit Court, Constitutional, Federal Courts, Judge Frederick G. Rockwell III, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Law Firms, Lawyer Discipline, Social Media, Virginia State Bar

Richmond lawyer Horace F. Hunter faces a June 10 disciplinary hearing before the Virginia State Bar on a charge that a blog on his law firm website does not carry a disclaimer.
Hunter says the VSB’s demand for a disclaimer violates his First Amendment rights. He sued the VSB in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § [...]

Getting the business, from in-house counsel

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 21, 2011
Tags: Corporate Counsel, Legal Marketing, Social Media

Lawyers sifting through social media tools should start with LinkedIn, a panel of in-house counsel told their law firm counterparts April 21 at a program in Richmond.
“It’s your resume and Rolodex online,” all rolled into one, said Springfield lawyer Brett Coffee, a panelist at Virginia Lawyers Media’s first Business and Law Breakfast April 21 in [...]

Done right, social media a powerful tool for lawyers

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 25, 2011
Tags: Social Media, Technology

With every year, it seems that the Internet and social media become more ubiquitous. As online sites and mobile applications continue to become the dominant media by which content is delivered and digested by the public, traditional platforms – such as print publications and broadcast television – cede ground. The very ways in which we [...]

Facebook ‘sideshow’ no distraction, lawyer says

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 16, 2010
Tags: Charlotte County Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Personal Injury, Social Media, Wrongful Death

The fight over a wrongful death plaintiff’s Facebook page led to an ugly discovery dispute, with sanctions for the plaintiff’s lawyer for accusing opposing counsel of “hacking” and a spoliation claim for the plaintiff’s deletion of photos from his Facebook page.
But the evidence that finally was gleaned from the plaintiff’s Facebook page apparently had little [...]

Lawyer blogs draw fans, foes and a few clients

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 6, 2010
Tags: Law Firms, Legal Marketing, Social Media, Technology

Lawyers who blog – whether to boost business or for personal satisfaction – like having the online outlet. Directly or indirectly, blogging can improve the bottom line. Keeping up the pace of posting, however, may require a good dose of self-discipline or even external encouragement, many bloggers say.
A blog – the word derives from [...]

Juror Feedback: Research after a verdict can educate counsel for next time

By Alan Cooper
Published: May 17, 2010
Tags: Arlington County Circuit Court, Judge JoAnne F. Alper, Practice Tips, Social Media

After the conclusion of a trial, lawyers often want to ask jurors a simple question: How did I do?
The lawyer who lost the case may particularly want to know how the juror reached its conclusion and why, so she can learn something that will help her when she tries her next case.
Indeed, some defense and [...]

Marketing: Five ways to get more out of LinkedIn

By Sylvia Hsieh
Published: April 14, 2010
Tags: Social Media, Technology

If you’re looking for ways to spruce up your online presence, your LinkedIn profile is one place to start.
Legal marketers say most lawyers aren’t getting the most out of the professional networking site that now boasts 60 million users.
“We tell lawyers these days that you better be on LinkedIn, because your clients are,” [...]

Social media and P.I. practice

By Alan Cooper
Published: April 12, 2010
Tags: Personal Injury, Practice Tips, Social Media

One of the first questions Richmond personal injury attorney Courtney Van Winkle asks her clients is whether they are on any social networking sites.
If the answer is yes, she gives this legal advice: Shut it down. Or at least use the privacy settings on such sites as Facebook, by far the largest of the networks [...]

Client, Facebook friend – or both?

By Sylvia Hsieh
Published: January 25, 2010
Tags: Practice Tips, Social Media, Technology

As more lawyers create personal Facebook pages, the decision about whether to include clients as “friends” is just a click away.
Many younger, social media-loving lawyers advocate friending as many people as possible to grow your online presence. They see nothing wrong with including clients on a personal Facebook page.
Richard Vetstein, a real estate [...]

Social Networking for Lawyers

By dmc-admin
Published: November 17, 2008
Tags: Social Media, Technology

For anyone who’s been keeping up with the trend, it’s no surprise that social networking sites have become more than just a place for teens and young adults to interact with their friends.
More and more savvy businesspeople are starting to realize the potential of online networking and embrace it as a means of reaching out [...]

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