Understanding Facebook rules of engagement for lawyers and legal marketing is important both professionally and ethically. The same rules that apply to attorney marketing apply to social media. One of my favorite law firm social media examples is of a girl who lost her father’s $80,000 settlement with a ”SUCK IT” Facebook post. The Miami, Florida father was the head of a school against which he filed an age discrimination complaint. There was a confidentiality clause in the settlement agreement which the daughter subsequently violated when she mentioned her parents’ names, the defendant’s name in relation to the lawsuit telling the defendant to “SUCK IT.” Personal injury and other attorneys must address social media in letters of engagement to ensure that their clients understand the ramifications – not just the attorneys. Other things lawyers should be mindful of are to use a good profile picture, include relevant content, use a vanity URL, verify the page in settings, be transparent, authentic and monitor, communicate and personally engage. Another Facebook example is of a Philadelphia union law firm in Philadelphia sharing a Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion on school reform. The Philadelphia law firm’s post reached 6,636 people the first day alone on Facebook.
In this video, experienced legal marketer, attorney and author, Gina Rubel, discusses the rules of Facebook engagement for lawyers and the necessity of addressing social media in law firm letters of engagement. According to Rubel, understanding Facebook rules of engagement for lawyers and legal marketing is important both professionally and ethically. The same rules that apply to attorney marketing apply to social media.
Examples of correct and incorrect ways for lawyers (and their clients) to communicate on Facebook highlight the necessity for law firms to address social media as part of the law firm’s business strategy, legal marketing, business development and public relations goals.