Law Practice Management and Technology
The Bottom Line Volume 34, No. 5, December 2013
Content
- Message From the Guest Editors: MCLE Just in Time for the Compliance Deadline!
- Coach's Corner: a Financial Dashboard Shows a Law Firm’s Speed – and If It Has Enough Gas
- MCLE Self-Study Article 6 Email Tips for Busy Attorneys
- MCLE Self-Study Article Recurring Ethical Issues Relating To Fees and Fee Agreement
- MCLE Self-Study Article Shouldn't We be Helping to Lead the Way to the Future of Legal Services?
- MCLE Self-Study Article the Right Strategy for Bringing on a Practice Successor
- Message from the Chair
- MCLE Self-Study Article Online Reputation – Occupational Hazard for Lawyers
MCLE Self-Study Article Online Reputation – Occupational Hazard for Lawyers
By Jay Bettinger, Esq.
Bettinger, LLP
Lawyers are often shocked to find letters or emails they wrote to adverse parties appear online — even more so when hateful, usually anonymous, Internet comments target them. Consider what happened to the NFL attorney who was caught in the crossfire when she sent cease-and-desist letters on behalf of the NFL to neighborhood churches to prevent them from using the term “Super Bowl†to promote hosted parties.
Online reputation is a tool in legal disputes to affect the outcome of otherwise unremarkable, routine legal matters. Though they often dodge the attention of high profile blog sites like AboveTheLaw.com or Volokh.com, solo practitioners and small firms should pay close attention to their online reputation, for it is quickly becoming an occupational hazard.
In the context of online reputation, every lawyer should think about online sites that cater to attorney reputation, such as AVVO.com, Lawyers.com, Martindale.com, and SuperLawyers.com. Most are managing their profiles on LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, and Twitter.com, and almost everyone is aware of sites like Yelp.com, HealthGrades.com, TripAdvisor.com, Glassdoor.com, and RateMyProfessors.com.