No Need to Re-Create that Wheel

I was a first-year associate before discovering forms and templates. They might have been covered in legal research and writing, but I was probably too busy figuring out Lexis to have paid much attention. Don’t make my mistake. At the very least, a good template can be a starting point to a better conversation about how a given document should be strengthened.  I myself own some fairly pricey books featuring sample law firm policies, but check out the free social media policy template here. Happy surfing!

Make an Opportunity Out of Bad News

Big Law has not exactly endorsed the blogosphere, according to this report in the National Law Journal on how few major law firms have lawyers who blog. Initially, all I could think was an exasperated Really? But there’s opportunity there for everyone in a firm. Whether you are a paralegal, an associate, a partner, a marketer, suggest a blog. Make a business case for it. Offer to write it. Seize some initiative. Then track the results.

What Are your Associates Tweeting?

This recent dustup in the running world, involving sexist tweets made by a writer, some of whose clients then had to tweet responses (with one editor telling the writer to “grow up”), serves as a cogent reminder that law firms need social media policies, and they need someone to monitor social media sites, and they need someone to enforce those policies. An “all tweets are my own” disclaimer doesn’t necessarily absolve the writer; significant damage can be done even if a tweeter is just venting his or her own opinion about, say, a firm, a rival, a client, or an industry. Do you know what your associates are tweeting?