Chances are that the younger members of your law firm have devoted a good deal of their time managing their personal relationships through social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace — and still do. Now it looks as if the rest of your attorneys and employees are, or will be in the near future, following suit. It's a natural pursuit for experienced employees and up-and-comers in general to apply their technology skills not only in e-commerce and in bricks-and-mortar firms, but to nonwork activities in the workplace. That's why your firm, whether it is pure-play e-commerce or a mixture of marketing modes, needs a social media policy.
In the last few months, Facebook has aged up. According to statistics released by the Web site, the number of Americans over 35, 45 and 55 on Facebook is exploding. In late March, Facebook reported that in the prior 60 days, the number of people on the site over the age of 35 had nearly doubled. In total, according to Facebook, more than 200 million people are active users and more than 100 million users log on to the site at least once per day.
Social networks in general are experiencing galloping growth. As of last month, LinkedIn had more than 40 million registered users, according to the site. Twitter now has about 10 million users. All are places where people — including your staff — are congregating to share news, insight, maybe a good joke and, if they're not cautious, information that may be damaging to your client relationships or your firm.
NOT IF, BUT WHEN
Even if your law firm hasn't codified the way employees are engaging online, even if your firm doesn't have an official blog, Facebook page or LinkedIn group, even if you're at a firm that blocks access to social networks entirely (and we urge you to reconsider that policy quickly), your employees are already there.
Being engaged in social networks has enormous value for your firm. Through them, you can establish thought leadership, find new recruits, provide a more efficient way for potential clients to find you online, and participate in and monitor discussions about the issues that have an impact on your clients and your firm.
Achieving those benefits, however, requires participation by members of your firm. This group extends beyond your marketing and public relations representatives or a single spokesperson for your firm, all of whom are already well-versed in the strategic and prudent disclosure of information. Best practices can be applied firmwide that help achieve your business goals and protect the firm.
HOW TO BUILD A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
At Jaffe, a PR agency serving only the legal community, we implemented our social media policy more than a year ago when we realized that, as communicators, our employees were engaging in online conversations every day. We were conversing with bloggers to promote our clients, and many of us were joining and participating in virtual professional networks, such as Legal OnRamp and LinkedIn. It made sense to us to map out some guidelines for our team.
Last fall, we made our policy available for free download through our Web site, www.jaffepr.com You can adapt it as your own or comb through the numerous examples of policies written by organizations such as Sun Microsystems Inc. — where thousands of employees have their own blogs — the U.S. Navy or Harvard Law School (see http://twitpwr.com/2Ff).
Based on our experience at Jaffe, we understood that any company's social media policy should reflect the culture of the firm. For example, Microsoft Corp.'s social media policy is simply "Be Smart." And, while that may work well for Microsoft, law firms, as you well know, must adhere to different standards.
Furthermore, when developing your policy, it's important to be familiar with the ethics rules of the states in which you operate.
WHAT CONSTITUTES WORK-RELATED ACTIVITY ONLINE?
This is a tricky question, given the reality that personal and business worlds are dynamic and constantly bumping into one another. The answer is that a social media policy should apply to work-related online activity; however, what constitutes work-related activity is not black and white.
Take the (completely fictional) example of Leslie Kay, an associate at a firm specializing in bankruptcy law. Leslie also is a rock-climbing enthusiast. For "professional purposes," Leslie has a LinkedIn profile, where she has posted her work experience and titles of books she's reading for work. She even shares information about bankruptcy legal news on LinkedIn groups.
Leslie also has a Facebook page where she keeps up with her friends from every stage in her life, including her lawyer and law school friends, and plans outings with a rock-climbing group that communicates through the Web site. Leslie's profile also includes her work information. She also has a blog about rock climbing and she Twitters when she climbs. Sometimes, Leslie compares her climbs to challenges she faces at work. Leslie's Twitter stream is set to post automatically to her Facebook profile. So while Leslie is using her blog, Twitter and Facebook to pursue her social life, anyone who wants to can find out where she works and then find her on LinkedIn.
If an employee mentions on a personal social network profile that she works for your firm, then the social media policy can apply to her activity in social networks.
THE COMMONSENSE CLAUSE
Here's how we handled this dilemma in Jaffe PR's social media policy:
"You are responsible for what you post. You are personally responsible for any of your online activity conducted with a firm e-mail address, and/or which can be traced back to the firm's domain, and/or which uses firm assets. The (FIRM DOMAIN).com address attached to your name implies that you are acting on the firm's behalf. When using a firm e-mail address or firm assets to engage in any social media or professional social networking activity (for example LinkedIn and Legal OnRamp), all actions are public, and attorneys (and staff) will be held fully responsible for any and all said activities."
THE LESS-THAN-OBVIOUS CLAUSE
Outside the workplace, your rights to privacy and free speech protect online activity conducted on your personal social networks with your personal e-mail address. However, what you publish on such personal online sites should never be attributed to the firm and should not appear to be endorsed by or originated from the firm. If you choose to list your work affiliation on a social network, then you should regard all communication on that network as you would in a professional network. Online lives are ultimately linked, whether or not you choose to mention the firm in your personal online networking activity.
Some companies solve the problem by asking their employees who blog to name their employer on the blog, regardless of whether the blog relates to business. Other companies ask that employees post a disclaimer that indicates that the views on the site are not necessarily those of the company.
SO WHAT CAN EMPLOYEES POST?
At their core, social media policies are there to encourage, rather than discourage, activity on social networks. In general, posting policies should follow common sense:
• Don't post anything that's confidential.
• Avoid the appearance of establishing a client-attorney relationship.
• Don't get into an argument with anyone.
• Be polite and avoid sensitive subjects.
But the truth is, many younger employees have been online for years, sharing everything they can think of and aren't always used to putting on the brakes, even when it comes to engaging in conversations online on behalf of work.
One intriguing policy is Sun Microsystems' (see www.sun.com/communities/guidelines.jsp.), which starts by assuming that its employees will use common sense, but also offers some suggestions on how to dive in:
• Be respectful.
• Never identify anyone in a photo or quote someone unless he or she has given you express permission to do so.
• Be transparent.
• Lay claim to your posts and comments.
MAINTAINING CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY
Another thing to remember is that a breach of confidentiality will have a serious impact on your firm. This must be clearly spelled out in any social media policy since such breaches may be unintentional. Once something is out there on the Web, it can be spread — and repurposed — anywhere.
Here's how we provide guidance in Jaffe PR's social media policy:
"Avoid forums where there is little control over what you know to be confidential information. In the world of social networking, there is often a breach of confidentiality when someone e-mails an attorney or posts a comment congratulating him/her on representation of a specific client or on a specific case. Often these things are being discussed in the social network circles — it's how attorneys are establishing credibility — so be very selective and thoughtful about where you post and how you reply (or not)."
SHOULD APPROVAL BE REQUIRED BEFORE EMPLOYEES POST?
Generally, if a social media policy is in place and the firm's staff is trained in how to engage online, the vast majority of posts should not require approval by anyone in the firm. In fact, employees may balk at this oversight and significantly scale back their participation online.
There will be times, however, when such approvals are necessary. These include occasions when employees wish to respond to a negative or inaccurate post about your firm or a client, post recommendations for colleagues (which can be perceived as testimonials), or respond directly to journalists regarding issues of concern for the firm. All of these instances can have unintended legal repercussions.
WHY YOU MAY WANT TO HAVE A DISCLAIMER
For lawyers, it's important to be very clear about what is — and isn't — offered on social networks. The vast majority of social media experts in the legal field advise that firms use disclaimers on their blogs, especially when communicating about fees, awards, recent cases or case outcomes, or when offering information. That's because attorney-client relationships may be created online, and this often occurs in social media whether you want it to or not. To protect your firm, disclaimers may be prudent.
Social media policies can help protect the firm's reputation. But having such a policy and implementing it properly requires careful attention to the nuances of the rapidly changing online world. When everyone is encouraged to dive in and converse, when it's so easy to demonstrate expertise and to share, it's also easy to go over the line and, for example, answer a legal question on a social network. More important than any social media policy, then, is training staff on best practices, asking for their participation and keeping up with the changes in the technology and new media so that you can help the firm stay apace and reputable.
This article originally appeared in e-Commerce Law & Strategy, a Recorder affiliate. Jay M. Jaffe is president and CEO of Jaffe PR, a virtual PR firm serving the legal profession. He is also a member of the board of editors of sibling publication Internet Law & Strategy. He can be reached at jjaffe@jaffepr.com.
