LinkedIn for Attorneys. LinkedIn provides a tremendous opportunity for law firms to engage in professional social networking with other attorneys, potential clients, and potential referral sources. Because of the exponential nature of connections, attorneys and law firms use a number of LinkedIn features to dramatically expand their reach.
May 18, 2017 · Look for this box on your My Networks page. It has a list of people LI thinks you might know based on contacts of your contacts. It does a good job of finding people that you will know. DO mine the contacts lists of people you know: Once you connect with someone in LI, you can see their list of contacts (if they have made their contact list ...
Sep 30, 2015 · Twitter. 11% for finding an attorney; 14% for researching a referral; Basically, if you are going to put your time, money, and sweat into optimizing your …
Oct 14, 2017 · Just don't put "Attorney at Law" or something like that. ETA: I'm assuming, based on your question, that your law firm considers you an associate already. If that's not the case--if your firm lists you as a law clerk or something until you're admitted--then don't identify yourself as an associate on your LinkedIn page. Top.
If people are being pulled in by your LinkedIn profile, make sure that you’re leading them in the direction you want, but more importantly in the direction that they expect and want. Too often, attorneys include a link to a generic law firm webpage. At the very least, lead prospects who were interested in you, specifically, to a page about you, specifically.
Are attorneys only talking to each other on LinkedIn? Many attorneys and law firms use LinkedIn to network with other legal professionals but completely ignore the large group of prospective clients they could reach. They’re missing out on huge opportunities and don’t realize it.
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ETA: I'm assuming, based on your question, that your law firm considers you an associate already. If that's not the case--if your firm lists you as a law clerk or something until you're admitted--then don't identify yourself as an associate on your LinkedIn page.
Long answer: Most states do not permit non-lawyers from holding themselves out as licensed attorneys, even (or especially?) on social media. I would either put "Law Clerk" or put nothing at all. Some firms won't even put law clerks on their website until they've been sworn in; others put "*Not Yet Admitted" or "Law Clerk" or "Law Graduate" or whatever. I mean technically you're not even being billed out as a first year associate yet, so you're technically not even an associate. No point in putting yourself in a bad position before you even get admitted especially when no one really cares what your LinkedIn profile says. Besides, states like NY, where you're burned at the coals by C&F after you've passed the bar exam, will likely do a search on you to see what you've been up to and what you haven't disclosed. If your LinkedIn profile states you're an associate at x law firm, that could raise some issues for your admission regarding UPL. I'd disagree with the above poster because in order to view the disclaimer you'd have to dig deeper into your profile and C&F might view the header as enough to qualify as UPL.
Your firm's position on LinkedIn is strange. That said, if your title is Associate, you can put that. A bunch folks in my network put "Associate (Bar Admission Pending)" on their LinkedIn profile, then removed the parenthetical when they passed the Bar.
My firm requires non-admitted folks to put "law clerk" in their email signature. Especially if you're going to try to waive into DC, publicly identifying yourself as an attorney/associate before admission can cause C&F problems down the line. We got a whole scary memo about it. I had already updated my LinkedIn but took it down asap.
In general, you can stay out of trouble with the Bar if you do these two things:
Don’t overstate your ro l e in any results. If you were lead counsel, state that. But if your role could be more accurately described as “sat second chair” or “assisted with,” then stick with that.
If your profile is public – which it should be – and it includes information beyond what’s spelled out in rule 7.07 (e), it is required to be submitted for approval.
More opportunities to grow your client base. The biggest benefit of being a multistate lawyer is that you open up a larger client base. For example, for states that lack population density for your niche legal practice area, being able to take cases from the other side of the state line is big.
Louis, Omaha, Philadelphia, etc., or you may have to relocate for family. You may also be an attorney planning to grow your law firm and serve clients from other states.
Even if you did not take the uniform bar, there are other ways to get admitted in a state without taking another bar exam. Most states have some form of reciprocity where they will allow lawyers admitted in a reciprocal state to gain admission on application—no exam required. The states typically have some experience requirements For example, you may need five years of actively practicing law before you can be admitted on application or motion. BarReciprocity.com is a great resource where you can click on any state on the map and find out all of the rules regarding reciprocity for that state.
With the law, they only offer a bar exam twice per year. Also, moving between states can throw your career off for months or even years. This is because you have to deal with licensure and character and fitness requirements.
Today, with reciprocity and uniform bar admission, becoming a multi-state lawyer is a lot less challenging than before. If your circumstances require it or if you find it advantageous for your law firm to practice law in another state, adding a second or third bar license is certainly achievable despite the paperwork involved. Just make sure you’re prepared for some administrative work on trust accounts and CLEs.
The second bar exam was infinitely less stressful. Although taking bar exams in multiple states to become a multi-state lawyer is challenging, it could be a good option. This is because you’ll know how hard the first exam was. The second exam likely will not be that stressful.
For transactional lawyers, other than the cost of admission, bar dues, and CLEs, there is very little downside to being a multi-state lawyer. You can probably also expand your practice to cover multiple states overnight. Although some substantive laws will vary from state to state, much of the work you have put into your transactional legal templates will carry over across the state border.
Don’t skip the summary. The summary portion of your LinkedIn Profile is akin to the cover letter to your resume (even if you’re not looking for a job). The rest of your LinkedIn Profile is divided into categories: work experience, volunteer or other organizational work, etc.
It should be a differentiator that helps you to stand out in search results and it should be descriptive so that when people see your professional headline they immediately know what you do . When people read your professional headline on LinkedIn, it should entice them to want to read your full Profile.
Crop the photo so that it shows your head and shoulders only to get maximum exposure for your face – many interactions on LinkedIn use thumbnail photos which can make it difficult to tell who is in the photo if it isn’t cropped correctly. Most disturbing are the lawyer Profiles with no photo at all.
LinkedIn is the largest online professional network and the social media platform lawyers are most likely to engage in. But many lawyers are not using LinkedIn effectively, and they’re missing opportunities as a result. Here are five of the top mistakes lawyers make on their LinkedIn Profiles.
LinkedIn is a business network, not a social network, so no selfies or photos with pets, please! Truthfully, I haven’t seen any lawyers who have posted Profile pictures with their pets, but I have seen photos that are obviously selfies (even if they tried to look professional), photos that are taken too far away and photos with distracting backgrounds. You may like the photo of you in front of your office window or your library of (obsolete) law books, but you’re much better off with a plain background for your LinkedIn Profile photo. Crop the photo so that it shows your head and shoulders only to get maximum exposure for your face – many interactions on LinkedIn use thumbnail photos which can make it difficult to tell who is in the photo if it isn’t cropped correctly.
Lawyer advertising and legal ethics rules apply to online activities just as they do to offline activities. Lawyers need to be mindful of the ethical rules that apply and to ensure they are in compliance. Ignorance is no excuse. Many attorneys run afoul of legal ethics rules because they forget to apply them to their LinkedIn Profile and presence; they use words in their LinkedIn Profiles that they would not use in other marketing materials, fail to provide required disclaimers, don’t manage their endorsements and recommendations properly, or don’t include basic information that the ethics rules require. For example, many New York lawyers with LinkedIn Profiles have not removed the “Specialties” section at the bottom of their Profile, which was deemed to violate the ethics rules by the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics in August of 2013.
Remember to proofread; lawyers take care in how they present themselves to clients or in court, but don’t always take the same care when presenting themselves online. Spelling and typographical errors are inexcusable. Headlines and names of positions should be capitalized. Proper grammar and punctuation are a must.
Your LinkedIn profile picture is often your opportunity to make a good first impression and take control of your image. Like a handshake, the right (or wrong) profile picture can set the tone for future encounters with your employers and peers. So take the first step in creating a solid professional image by choosing and uploading the right picture. For many, the perfect picture will be your law school graduation picture or the professional headshots used for your attorney biography.
However, we frequently find grammatical, stylistic, and spelling errors on LinkedIn and in resumes (often passages from your resume can be copied and pasted directly into LinkedIn)! So remember , it can be difficult to proof your own writing. Print your profile and ask a trusted colleague or friend to review it, or–if all else fails–take a break, and, later, read it upside down (Yes, this helps the brain to spot errors!).
Once you’ve established your LinkedIn presence, it is socially acceptable to ask (and you should ask!) your close peers, friends and colleagues to endorse you for the skills you most value. According to William Arruda at Forbes.com you should:
Yes, LinkedIn is a professional social media site. Yes, you should take it seriously and only use it to attain your professional goals and maintain/cultivate professional relationships. However, LinkedIn can be fun. Don’t be afraid to show your true self. Being professional doesn’t mean hiding who your are or trying to be someone different. It merely means putting your best, work-appropriate self forward. If you enjoy exercise, reading, or have a unique hobby, don’t be afraid to list it as an interest! LinkedIn is great opportunity to create or continue your professional presence, and that often includes showing the person behind the suit!
Search for New York Attorneys - To verify the license, good standing, or bar number of an attorney in New York, use the “attorney search” feature on the New York State Unified Court System (USC) website. To search the USC database for an attorney in New York, you must enter the attorney’s first name, middle name, last name, or sort by city, state, registration number, registration status or year admitted. The name in the USC database of attorneys corresponds to the name in the Appellate Division Admissions file.
Because the attorney is required to keep the information updated, these directories maintained by the state bar are often the best source of the most current information about the attorney.
Before you hire an attorney, you might want to confirm whether any disciplinary action was taken against the attorney by a state bar or the court system. Most of these bar directories also allow the public to research the attorney's licensing and disciplinary history.
The directory maintained by the state bar or its disciplinary board is sometimes called the "Roster of Attorneys" or the "Roll of Attorneys."
Use the links below to select the state where the attorney practices law. Then go to the state bar site to search the attorney's name or bar number. On many of these directories, you can see if the license has ever been inactive or if the attorney was disciplined for misconduct.
Some states have a voluntary bar association that focuses on advancing and improving the legal profession. Some states have a bar that is a government-sanctioned body charged with the regulation and licensing of attorneys. In some states, one organization serves both functions. Every state, however, has at least one entity that exists to assure confidence in and accountability for attorneys.
Generally, the state bar database provides information about the attorney's name, address, phone number, email address, education, area of practice or specialty, and years in practice.