10/22/2010
Twitter has ceased to become a mode of communication and networking enjoyed by teens, students, and young professionals alone. It has also become one of the best venues for dissipating and acquiring information among in-house counsels and other legal advisers.
According to Melanie Hatton, Latitude Digital Marketing’s legal department head, she used Twitter to gain information, but later on came to realize that she too had information to share. She now has a blog, Tweagle, which is a discussion group for lawyers who have made Twitter a part of their daily course of business.
Hatton also said that in-house lawyers must be resourceful in order to find good information. She said that, “…Twitter really helps me as I get a constant stream of information based on following a carefully selected group of lawyers in private practice and other in-house lawyers as well as government sources, industry sources and legal publications.”
Aside from Twitter, another social media network that has gain prominence among lawyers is LinkedIn. Now, a lot of city lawyers have accounts with the said network group. Hatton said that LinkedIn is a great way to connect with peers. She receives emails about various discussions that were started, which might be of interest to her profession.
Other than gaining information, more lawyers see social networks as a marketing tool. Andrew Sharpe, Charles Russell TMT partner said that, “…it can also be an explicit marketing tool as a move can be used as an excuse to get in contact and you may win new client instructions as a result. LinkedIn should be treated seriously – and I think increasingly it is.”