At least 653 charged with Social Media Crimes in 2012

On December 27 2012 BBC Radio 4 News at 6 reported that at least 653 people have been charged with crimes relating to the social media sites Facebook and Twitter.

The statistics were accessed by the Press Association News Agency under freedom of information legislation. The statistics themselves came from just over half of the legal forces from England, Wales and Scotland.

Twitter gearing up for IPO

Everyone knows Bloomberg radio is the place for authoritative economic news but it's also a great source for the latest tech news.

Does UK Law Practice Need a Digital Inclusion Champion?

"Perhaps no British person beyond Sir Tim Berners-Lee has better credentials to be an internet tsar," than Martha Lane Fox said the Times.

Martha Lane Fox is a prodigious English businesswoman that can boast of a raft of achievements, but what she’s best known for is Lastminute.com. A wildly successfully online travel company that she founded in 2001 despite the market chaos associated with the collapse of the dotcom bubble.

NI Tweeter of the Week:@birdcagebelfast

Another week has passed and so we must announce the latest “Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week.” Ewing’s fishmongers won it last time round but who will they pass the title onto this week?

The last 7 days threw up some great tweeting and the competition was tremendously tight and so in order to pick a winner we referred throughout the process to the usual criteria: level of interaction, frequency of tweets, aesthetics of Twitter page, biography, informativeness, consistency, photos and overall Twitter experience.

#Newsnight: reimagining the size and function of the state

The Newsnight episode from Friday 7 December 2012 which featured a debate on the size of the state which included Nassim Taleb.

These are fiscally challenging times. Public debt is on such a scale that it’s not just a short term challenge but a multi-generational one. And so with our public finances out of control is there a case to rethink and even reconstruct the purpose, role, size and function of our state? To reconsider what we need from Whitehall and what state provisions we can reasonably do without.

#DigitalRevolution: digital factories and the new industrial revolution

On Monday 10 December 2012 the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 discussed the rise of digital factories, digital manufacturing, the associated “Maker Movement” and the emergence of the New Industrial Revolution”. You can listen to what they had to say here.

GT Law: Reimagining Law Practice

GT Law are a vibrant law firm who are turning the tradition model of law practice on it's head

Under a backdrop of economic turmoil and corporate pain the legal industry is undergoing some radical changes. The traditional model of legal practice is being turned on its head. No longer can solicitors be specialism-specific technocrats. Clients want more for less, they want value-added services and they want commercially aware client-centric advisors who know them and their market intimately.

And here's the methodologically rigorous evidence from the FT that backs all this up.

Digital Barrister: presenting the case for barristers being on social media

Say social media to a barrister and they'll almost invariably think of Facebook. Go further and they'll think you're crazy for talking about something that their kid or grandchild plays with - right? Well yes that's what'll they're likely to think, but importantly they're Wrong! 

Ewing's Seafood: The Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week

Ewing's blend an appreciation for the old trade with new media to put on a masterclass on top client service.

Another week has passed and so the Tweeting Lawyer must announce the latest winner of the “Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week” Award. The Twitter-savvy Wagamama Belfast were last week’s rightful winners, but who’ll they be passing the title onto this week? It certainly hasn’t been an easy decision for us to make. As always the quality of Northern Ireland Tweeting was of the highest standard and the competition was fierce.

A letter to Inksters: just because it’s winter it doesn’t mean that you can put your Twitter into hibernation

How often should law firms Tweet? This is my response to Brian Inkster and his earlier correspondence on the matter available here.

Inksters Solicitors had always impressed me. They were a vibrant, forward looking and an ever-classy Tweeting law firm. They did what others often didn’t do on Twitter: they were fun, open, interactive and engaging. And they told you all about it on their Twitter bio: a forward thinking law firm, the first Scottish firm on Twitter and an award winning team. The total package it seemed to me.

Digital Law Student: is law school a cave entire of itself?

A startled law graduate, book in hand, takes his first tentative step out of law school.

I entered law school in September 2006 and exited in December 2011, very much startled and blurry eyed. It was, in all honesty, a traumatising experience. For 5 years I had lived within the sanctuary - or cave - of academia, cut off from the rest of the working world. All I had known was books, the dark and dusty library, more books, lectures, papers and more books. An experience with which I’m sure many of you legal people can relate.

Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week

The Tweeting Lawyer is delighted to lift the curtain on the 5^th ever “Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week Award”. The premier Award for Tweeting excellence that recognises and pays tribute to Northern Ireland Tweeters who Tweet with class and potency and who set the standard for others to follow. 

And remember that’s what this Award is all about: it’s not just an acknowledgement of top Tweeting but also a chance to show other businesses, especially law firms, how Twitter should be done. Anyway we've had some fantastic winners so far and this week’s winner has been no different. 

We’re all amateur lawyers now? If not you’ll need to be.

John Bromley Davenport QC talks about social media law and sentencing 

The Lord McAlpine-affair has just shown how unclear, legally speaking, the world of Twitter is. For years it’s pretty much been a verbal free for all. A world where internet trolls can hide behind the cloak of anonymity and reduce the lives of others to misery. But we’re now in a post-McAlpine world and that world is heralding a new age. An age in which we’re all going to have to become amateur lawyers.

Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week

Boojum don't just do killer Mexican food - they're also Top Tweeters!

At Twitter for Law Firms we’re delighted to lift the curtain on and unveil the winner of the latest “Northern Ireland Tweeter of the Week Award”. An Award of Tweeting excellence that recognises and pays tribute to Tweeters who Tweet with class and potency and who set the standard for others to follow.

Digital Lawyer: Are You Dangerously Out of Touch?

If you don't do social media you could be seen as out of touch and snooty

Since you're reading this it's likely that you're involved in law and have an appreciation for social media. However to what degree are you doing social media? Are you outside looking in or are you on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Do you listen, engage, interact regularly and influence others? Do you post daily and often or have you just parked your social media account?

Digital Law Student: The Power of Creating a Digital Identity.

Are you going to be an old-school law student, or are you going to be a Digital Law Student?

Have you ever thought about building an online brand? If not, you should. Whether you’re still in high school or college and want to study law, or whether you’re a Law School fresher, in final year or an employed or unemployed law graduate you should embrace the power of the internet to mould and promote your very own personal and professional legal brand.

Digital Lawyer: What Sort of Digital Legacy Will You Leave Behind?

Are you building a Digital Legacy? Will you leave a Digital Legacy that outlives your Real World life?

We're all going to die someday. We've all strapped into the ride of Human Life and whether we want to accept it or not death is at the end of that road. Even so death is still a difficult subject for all of us. It's the perennial taboo. We simply don't talk about it, even though we know that one day, it will come upon us.

Digital Citizen: Do You Participate in Digital's New World?

Are you a modern frontiersman or woman ready to stake your claim in the Digital World?

The birth of the internet has heralded a new Age: the Age of Digitalism. An Age that has seen the wondrous and insatiable creep of digital. In less that a decade digital has woven itself into every aspect of our daily lives. This Digital Age has also ushered in a new and exciting world for all of humankind to explore - a limitless plain of untouched Digital Land for man and woman to colonise and stake claim to.

Guest Blog: Social Media, Being a Law Student, Networking and Why YOU Need to Be "In It, to Win It!"

Paralegal, law student and aspiring lawyer based in London, Anthony Lyons (@ParalegalTony), talks about how he has used social media to make contacts and break into the legal profession.

LPC student and paralegal Anthony Lyons.

Social media is a buzz word being thrown about not just by teens but by marketing companies, recruitment agencies and business development departments - and usually with the same over-exuberance!

Digital Lawyer: Should Law School Teach Digital Literacy?

Should lawyers be digitally literate? Should digital literacy be taught in law school? These are the questions I asked myself after episode 4, Series 2 of the Digital Human of the BBC Radio 4. For those interested you can listen to the full episode here.

Why Lawyers Can't Blog

We live in a multi-media world, and so law firms need to work in a multi-media way. Yes thanks to the digital age there is a panoply of means of expression; digital avenues which can you can use to engage, interact and to market and monetise your legal expertise.

How has the Global Downturn Affected the Legal Industry?

Few have dodged the wrath of the global economic downturn. There have been many victims and in this post we ask a simple question: how has the economic crisis affected the legal industry?

Tweeter of the Week

We announce the fourth ever "Tweeter of the Week". Read on to see who it is.

This week's "Tweeter of the Week" Mr. Barra Best

We identified this week's “Tweeter of the Week” by scoring them on a number of criteria: level of interaction, frequency of Tweets, aesthetics of Twitter page, biography, humour, informativeness, consistency and overall Twitter experience they give you.

Guest Post: Should Law Students Sit on the Fence or Editorialise Their Tweets?

This is the second guest blog from Pat Ellis who asks: is it OK for law students to let their partisan political voice free on Twitter?

Pat Ellis of Michigan State School of Law

Well, another debate season has come and gone. For the next few hours, days, and weeks, the “Twitterverse” will be abuzz with quotes and opinions, accusations and commentary about the debates and the presidential candidates.  Some of these 140-character political manifestos will be thoughtful, but most will likely be dull reiterations of the same pundit-points made millions of times before.  Regardless, Twitter’s impact and importance will be on full display in the coming weeks, culminating in the presidential election and an inevitable, partisan Tweetsplosion.

So now, I have a question.  This is a question that comes from a lack of experience both on Twitter and in the legal profession. Should a law student and aspiring attorney participate in the political discussion on Twitter?

What Doe’s Twitter’s “Law Tribe” Mean for Law?

In this post we ask a difficult question: what does Twitter's "Law Tribe" mean for law?

The legal services industry is in the midst of a revolution. These are convulsions triggered by a range of factors including persistent economic headwinds, chronic business uncertainty and an increase in regulation. But at the heart of law’s metamorphosis has been the client. Under a gloomy economic backdrop the long and short is: clients want more for less.

Guest Blog: Re-Imagining Law (and Law School) Thanks To Twitter

Pat Ellis, a second year student at Michigan State's School of Law, talks about how Twitter has changed his experience of Law School and his career ambitions.

Pat Ellis who is in his second year of Law School 

For any of you who witnessed the recent Red Bull Stratos Space Jump, my entry into the “Twittersphere” was similar to the ascent of Felix Baumgartner’s balloon and capsule: painfully slow. In fact, I actually made an account, tried to work it for a week, and then deleted it. I was nervous and had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even have a photo or a bio! Lost and disgruntled that my only followers seemed to be pornographic spammers, I denounced Twitter and quit. 

22% of US Consumers Use Social Media to Find Lawyer

We unveil some fascinating figures that will make you want to boost your firm's social media presence and online identity. Find out all about the statistics below!

In a recent article, available here, LexisNexis revealed that the latest research has shown that 22% of those who sought an attorney in the last year said they turned to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Youtube to find a practitioner who they felt could help them with their legal problem.

How to Get More out of 140 Characters

Twitter may prove troublesome to those who find condensing their thoughts into 140 words, but there's a load of Twitter-related tools out their that can really improve your Twitter experience.

In a recent article in the Economic Times, available here, they explained how some of the add-ons work and how they can be used to upgrade your Tweeting. Here's 35 of the add-ons on offer:

Tweeter of the Week

We announce the third ever "Tweeter of the Week". To find out who the Tweeter is, read on!

We identified this week's “Tweeter of the Week” by scoring them on a number of criteria which make up good Tweeting: level of interaction and engagement, frequency of Tweets, aesthetics and qualities of Twitter page, biography, humour, the informativeness of their content, their consistency and the overall experience they give you.

Twitter's Law Tribe

In this post we look at Twitter's legal tribe, look at some of its legal tribes-people and look at how tribes can dilute the integrity of the micro-blogging platform.

One thing that makes Twitter unique from all other social media is its unique qualities: instantaneity and flowing openness. A direct consequence of these attributes is that like minded people from all around the world can find and connect with each other exceptionally easy. As they say: at the click of a button.

This Twitter functionality allows, both consciously and unconsciously, for the formation of large Twitter tribes. Unseen and unheard by non-Tweeters and fresh faced Tweeps, Tribes are the collection and intermingling of people who share interests, have similar identities, perhaps share the same profession and regularly engage over one broad subject.

The Tweeter of the Week

The Tweeting Lawyer announces the winner of the second ever "Tweeter of the Week" award. To find out who the Northern Ireland Tweeter is, read on!

We identified this week's Top Tweeter by scoring them on a number of criteria which we feel make up for a strong Twitter experience: level of interaction and engagement, frequency of Tweets, aesthetics and qualities of Twitter page, biography, humour, the informativeness of their content, their consistency and the overall experience they give you.

Digital Lawyer: How Can You be Influential on Twitter and Social Media?

The Tweeting lawyer takes a look at the BBC Radio 4 series "The Digital Human," a show that looks into, and pulls apart the digital world in order to better understand how ever-increasing digitalisation is changing the way we live and interact.

As I was driving to rugby training the other night I was captivated by "The Digital Human," a series produced by BBC Radio 4 that discusses how the digital world is changing our world. And thanks to the wonder of technology, you too can listen here.

But what was so great about the broadcast, what was it about and why do I feel the urge to share it with the legal community?

745,140,854 Registered Twitter Users and Counting

There's economic doom and gloom at seemingly every turn we take. However Twitter is one source of explosive growth; so, can you afford to miss out on it? We give you the numbers.

Check out the graph above which we got from wewillraakyou.com, here. Ostensibly the graphic speaks for itself, 745,140,854 registered Tweeters and counting!

It just leaves one simple question: can you afford to miss out on this?

Boost Your Firm by Advertising on Twitter

You can pay to advertise on Twitter, and thanks to Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog we tell you how.

There's 3 ways that law firms can advertise on Twitter, and as Kevin O'Keefe noted here, here's how:

Firstly, law firms can pay for PROMOTED TWEETS. This increases the reach of your firm by allowing you to broadcast Tweeters to a far larger audience.

Secondly, law firms can pay for PROMOTED TRENDS. This gives you the chance to include a trending topic at the top of Twitter's trends list.

Thirdly, law firms can pay for a PROMOTED ACCOUNT. As law and social media guru Kevin O'Keefe noted: having a promoted account allows your to "turbocharge" your Twitter account.

Kevin O'Keefe rightly added that some people may be put off by this practice, but ultimately I think he's very much correct when he said that it's something that we're going to see more and more.

So there you go: if you don't mind pulling out the wallet and you really want to boost your Twitter presence give some thought to purchasing a promoted account, trend or Tweet!

Why Monitoring Your Twitter Performance is VITAL!

The Tweeting lawyer encourages you to 'ego track' your Twitter account and shows you how.

You may have developed, implemented and promoted an amazing Twitter strategy; you could be performing beautifully and even be a top Tweeter, however all that could be for nothing if you aren't tracking and monitoring your performance.

Monitoring your Twitter is vital: by following your Twitter growth and level of interaction you can reevaluate, spot and address weaknesses and alter your Twitter behaviour appropriately.

You could spend time everyday logging new followers, interactions and retweets into a spread sheet and work out weekly and monthly averages - OR - you could sign up to TwentyFeet and let it do all the difficult and time consuming arithmetic.

Click here, and you can download the fantastic application and really SUPERCHARGE your total Twitter performance. I'd be lost without it!

Law Society of Scotland: Social Media - Advice and Information for the Legal Profession

In June 2012 the Law Society of Scotland published a guide on how the legal profession can get the most out of social media.

The report took great time to look at how law firms can use Twitter but I don't want to say too much for now, so click here and check out what they had to say.

"Twitter for Small (Law Firms): A Guide to Get Started"

Twitter can do wonders for your small law practice. We're going to tell you how.

Legal practitioners often simply don't know what to do on Twitter. They get stage fright and go all stiff, rigid and tight; they behave like an awkward teenager on the dance floor. 

I'm always asked by lawyers looking to build a presence on Twitter: who should we follow? What do we say? Where are we going with Twitter? When should we Tweet? How often should we Tweet? These are the questions that confront small law firms time after time.

But worry not: Twitter itself has provided a guide on how small businesses can best use Twitter. Available here, the paper is called: "Twitter for Small Businesses: A Guide to Get Started." The recommendations and suggestions are simple and easily put into practice. Whilst the advice is targeted specifically towards small businesses, the suggestions are just as applicable to the small law firm getting started on Twitter.

So go on and take a look at it, and you'll soon see how simple Tweeting and Tweeting effectively can be.

12 Twitter Tips for Small Law Firms

Do you want to be HUGE on Twitter? Well follow these Twitter endorsed tips to find out how!

There's countless sources on the internet purporting to offer authoritative Tweeting guidance to the small business. Some of the sources are good, some are bad and others are just plain wrong. Obviously we're amazing at providing Twitter guidance to law firms!

However there is one source of information that offers Twitter tips better than all the rest: that's Twitter itself.

A paper produced by Twitter, available here, entitled, "Twitter for Small Business: A Guide to Get Started," provides the consummate guide on how small businesses can do Twitter well.

Tuesday Tweeter of the Week

The Tweeting Laywer announces its Tweeter of the Week and awards the 'Tuesday Tweeter' title to the week past's savviest Tweeter.

We looked at the following criteria: frequency of Tweets, quality of Tweets, informativeness, whether they were topical and the overall consistency and message of the Twitter feed.

Top 5 Northern Ireland Tweeters

The Tweeting Lawyer presents five Northern Ireland Tweeps who do Twitter exceptionally well and who you could do well to follow.

Today we're going to take a break from all the dry legal chatter and look at the best Twitter accounts in Northern Ireland as picked by the Tweeting Lawyer.

But there's a reason for doing this: by highlighting the best Tweeters in Northern Ireland and explaining why they're good, law firms and lawyers can begin to understand good Twitter-practice and how they can improve their Twitter performance.

How Well do Law Firms in Northern Ireland Do Twitter?

In an earlier post we looked at how law firms across the world use twitter, but how are law firms in Northern Ireland doing on the Twittersphere?

To find out we will compare and critique the Twitter accounts of the top 12 Corporate and M&A law firms in Northern Ireland as noted by the Legal500, which can be seen here.

Global Audit of Law Firms shows poor Twitter Take Up and Usage

An international audit of law firms painted an interesting picture of Twitter take up and usage by law firms.

The 2011 audit, available here, was produced in association with LexisNexis and reviewed 110 law firms across the world in 22 cities between April and mid-May 2011.

Of the 110 law firms reviewed 35 had registered with Twitter, which equates to just over 30% of the global sample.

Isn’t it a Contradiction that Lawyers Don’t Do Twitter?

Two things are certain in life: firstly, lawyers are the ultimate networking beast. Secondly, Twitter is the ultimate online networking tool.

So as a matter of course you would expect that the lawyer and Twitter would be inseparable bedfellows. However, nothing could be further from the truth. As The Tweeting Lawyer noted in an earlier post, available here, commentators suggest that only 10% of law firms in the UK are actively using Twitter.

The Perils of Not Doing Twitter Right

Anyone can do Twitter: your ten year old brother, or your ninety year old gran; you could even set one up for your pet cat if you fancied it.

However, not everyone ‘gets’ twitter.

The Perils of Not Joining Twitter

This blog is all about helping lawyers who can't tweet good. But this post will look at what a law firm can expect from not doing Twitter at all.

As the tweeting lawyer noted here, Twitter done right is a fantastic marketing and business development tool, it's good for client and customer care and for promoting good relations, business and market research, pitching ideas, engaging with opinion formers and for showing thought leadership.

The law firm that doesn't have a Twitter presence will therefore miss out on all of these opportunities. But there is more to not doing Twitter than just losing out on the benefits we noted above. The law firm that doesn't do Twitter risks making itself look out of touch and behind the times. 

1 in 10 Scottish Law Firms Use Twitter

It's been said many times before and I'll say it again: law firms aren't so hot on the old Twitter front.

The latest figures back this up; so what are the actual numbers?

So Mr Lawyer, What is Twitter?

That Twitter is so hot right now.

Yea Twitter is the big thing these days and is enjoying massive growth. However a lot of people still don't know what twitter or tweeting is - including seemingly pretty much most of the legal trade.

So in this first post of the Twitter For Law Firms blog I want to keep things very simple and offer an introduction to Twitter; exploring what it is, what it does and how it can bring value to your service and product line.