A friend of mine mentioned recently that people generally either don’t use social media at all or use it as a replacement for traditional networking. (Actually, she will now be writing an article on that hypothesis for an upcoming issue of the MSBA YLS’s Advocate. Keep an eye out for that.)

That said, we’re all aware of social media as a “hot topic” for the year. Most of us use social media of some kind, for better or for worse. Most of us also wonder why and how to use social media. There are plenty of articles out there about how to conduct yourself online, how to develop relationships online and how to use social media in connection with litigation.

With all the excitement surrounding social media, it’s easy to forget about the dangers. To name a few, the Federal Trade Commission is starting to investigate bloggers who receive benefits for namedropping in their posts. Obviously, unscrupulous posts can put your reputation in question (it can also help you repair your reputation). There are security risks. And, yes, what you say online can still be used against you in a court of law (if it is properly authenticated, that is).

Despite those dangers, we seem to have become generally comfortable in this new way of communicating and are now focusing on how to most effectively exploit it.

What we lawyers cannot forget is that the rules of our profession still apply. For example, the American Bar Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct provide guidelines on advertising, providing information about legal services, maintaining confidentiality and communicating appropriately with opposing parties, whether they are represented or not.

And state bars are enforcing these ethical guidelines. A state court judge, for instance, was reprimanded for “friending” a lawyer” in a case he was presiding over.

In practice, it is even more complicated than you might think.

While social media provides us young attorneys with many great opportunities — to highlight risks and benefits of developing technologies for our colleagues and our clients; to network from the comfort of our couches; to maximize the reach of our marketing efforts—we cannot use social media now like some of us used to.

Now, we need to think before we friend someone, before we post, before we comment on someone else’s post and even before we “like” something. We must anticipate the unintended consequences of what we do and say online.

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I was at a networking event last week, carefully attempting to balance my plastic glass of wine while simultaneously eating enough of the hors d’oeuvres off my plastic plate to make it “dinner.” Just as I was stuffing a piece of bruschetta into my mouth, an older gentleman sauntered over and greeted me pleasantly. I returned the greeting and asked him how he was doing.

We got to talking, and he asked what I did… which, frankly, is why I come to these events. Since I work at a full-service law firm, I approach business development and networking events like this one with the mindset that everyone I meet can be a client or refer me to a client — if someone needs an attorney, my firm can handle it.

I told this gentleman that I was an attorney. He immediately made a face as though he just taken a bite out of a lemon.

“Ewwww,” he said as he grabbed a piece of yellow pepper off his plastic plate and took a bite. “You know what Shakespeare said,” he grinned while chewing on the pepper.

“Yes, ” I told him, “I do know, but I and my firm do a lot of important work for our clients.”

I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, although I was pretty sure that was a mistake.

He stopped chewing long enough to reply.

“Yes, but you lawyers ruin everything. I mean, how many people really need an attorney?” he asked, dragging it out so that it was clear what he thought.

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It’s that time of year again. You’ve made your personal New Year’s resolutions. But now, it is time to set some professional resolutions.

I’m talking about career development goals. You may be required to develop or update a career development plan as part of your firm’s evaluation process. Some are part of a formal program, while others are less structured. If you are not required to do so, you should take the time to do it yourself.

What is a career development plan? In simple terms, it’s a collection of your own goals that you can use to keep yourself on track. It is something concrete you can look back at over the course of the year to make sure you are moving in the right direction. It will let you evaluate each new opportunity that comes your way and will help you determine whether taking the opportunity will move you toward your goals or will infringe on the time and energy that you need to achieve your goals.

For example, your career development plan should “address what you want to accomplish, what you are going to do, and how you are going to do it.”  Your goals should be realistic and include a plan for addressing your current circumstances, including any deficiencies or limitations that you face. Your plan for reaching those goals should include a specific time frame in which you want to achieve your goal and each step toward your goal. It should include both short-term (today through the next five years) and long-term (five to ten-or-more years out) goals.

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An attorney recently referred a new corporate client to me. I contacted the corporate representative shortly thereafter to discuss my potential representation. The client decided to retain my firm.

A few weeks later, I met the company president for a site visit. As a young lawyer, I certainly felt like I had a lot to prove. The president has been in the business for decades and built the company from the ground up and he’s worked with many attorneys in his time; I was younger than his children and did not have a clue about his industry.

During the drive out for the site visit, I learned that the last attorney with whom the company worked was not accessible to the client. Multiple phone calls went unreturned.

The president later explained one of the reasons the company decided to hire me is because I immediately contacted the company after the referral and always returned calls and emails. The company did not have the same experience with past attorneys.

As a young associate, I am expected to bring clients into the firm. I’m also expected to nurture and develop relationships. I have made it a point in my practice to reach back out to a client within 24 hours and to provide updates as often as possible, but I had not previously realized the value of being accessible and returning a call or email.

Not every potential client is going to be willing to take a risk on a young lawyer. Yet, giving a potential client personal attention and being available may just give a young lawyer the edge to land — and keep – the client.

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Being consistent is important in the professional realm, be it law or sports. It’s important in work product, timeliness, communication and client/customer service in general.

It’s something I struggled with as a lawyer and something I currently struggle with as a recruiter. Consistency problems are particularly apparent to me as a recruiter. In a sales-type environment, I see examples every day of what happens when someone is and is not consistent, and the results are pretty astounding.

When a recruiter takes the time to be honest, straightforward and do all she can to help a person, she can expect referrals and future business even if she couldn’t help the person at the time. The benefits are not always immediately apparent, but they do come and it’s the way successful recruiters bring in business.

When a recruiter does not take their time with candidates, leaves them hanging or blows them off, the effects can be devastating. The recruiter doesn’t get referrals and word gets out not to work with him; the recruiter may never know that’s why he can’t grow his business.

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My parents, like many other parents, wanted more for their children. Specifically, they hoped that we would go out, get an education and have careers where we don’t have to wear a name badge. To them, that was progress.

In order to attain that goal, I spent a lot of years working at jobs with my name on my shirt doing everything from cleaning toilets to slinging vegetables (“pile it high, and watch it fly!”). I started at Safeway as a courtesy clerk when I was 16, and I worked there through high school, college, law school and beyond. I’ve worked in Parker, Colorado; Washington, D.C.; Silver Spring; and Baltimore. I’ve been a courtesy clerk, checker, baker and produce clerk (by far the best department).

Working that many years in retail flavors all subsequent jobs. At Safeway, the most important thing I learned is people may come to you the first time for your product, but they come back a second and third time because of your service.

Most lawyers understand they provide a service, but they do not always understand they are in the customer service industry. Motor tort lawyers must provide good service in order to get that second or third accident case. Some firms don’t rely much on repeat business — for example, medical malpractice firms rarely represent the same person twice. However, good customer service means that a client will recommend the firm to others. I suspect civil defense lawyers must provide good service, particularly to the insurance companies or businesses that pay their bills.

So when I find myself becoming frustrated with a client, or when my paralegal gets exasperated explaining something for the umpteenth time, we need to remember that these are people in unfamiliar and sometimes desperate situations, and a big smile goes a long way. We should all have our names on our shirts.

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