THEY SAID WHAT ABOUT ME!?....Your Internet Reputation

Your day was progressing as usual and then you discovered a scathing review that someone left about you on the internet.

It used to be that disgruntled clients would leave your office, complain to a few friends and family; maybe write you a nasty letter, and then they simply moved on with their lives.

Not so today. The internet has opened new and dangerous venues for vocalizing complaints, right or wrong.

Recently, a client called, very upset, that one of his previous clients from over a year ago had just posted a flaming negative review on Yelp. My client knew that every thing that was written online was fabricated and incorrect, but what could he do. Suing someone for defamation is a difficult road.  A week later, another client called with the same problem. 

Both clients' initial response was to write a long reply defending themselves and their firm. Fortunately, they talked to me first.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

1.) Don't panic. Seldom can you think clearly when you are angry and in a panic.

2.) Do not attempt to defend yourself in a posted response. You will lose! Defending yourself, you will provide more information for your reviewer to attack; then  you will defend again,and the reviewer will attack your defense, and so on and so on...... you will lose!

3.) Do not break client/attorney privilege by writing anything about the case.  Not only will this give the reviewer something else to attack, you have now provided them something to take to the state bar.

4.) Do not attack the credibility of the poster. This is not a courtroom and it quickly becomes your word against theirs. Most times, you will lose! 

5.) Do not write a advertising type review of yourself; citing how all of your clients are happy with your work, etc. In your haste to defend yourself,  you may unintentionally violate Rule 400.

6.) Do not respond as a victim. What you write will remain on the internet for future clients to find. Broadcasting yourself a victim may interfere with your brand as a competent attorney.

7.) Do not ignore it and hope it will go away. A negative post without a response may be the one result a searcher will find.

8.) Do not continue clicking on the link, or send it to friends to read. What assists search results to stay at the top of results is their popularity. The more clicks - the longer the life of the link.

9.) Do not ask others to immediately post on this review, or respond to the poster of the review. Positive reviews all posted immediately after the negative review, posted on the same day, near the same time and worded similar will appear manipulated and dishonest.

Removing or reducing the impact of your negative reviews is best achieved when following a strategic plan.

WHAT TO DO:

1.) Take a breath.

2.) Write our your response in a word document, and set it aside for a day. 

3.) Make a plan to ask colleagues and clients to post positive reviews on several OTHER sites, including your firm website, over a few weeks span, without any reference to the negative site.

4.) Claim your profile on this site, if possible, to respond appropriately in proper time. Build this profile with the same focus as your website.

5.) When you feel you are ready to respond to the review, have what you intend to post reviewed by someone who understands Rule 400, client/attorney privilege and Public Relations, in order to make sure your response is appropriate and places you in the best light possible.

6.) Submit a request to the search engines to de-index the offending site/page. Be prepared to explain why it should be removed from the database. Your request should be as carefully worded as your direct response to the post. In some cases, you can ask the specific site to remove a post. Revenge sites are another matter. They have sprung up with the intention to give people a platform to say anything. They have shown to be unreceptive regarding removing negative posts. In those cases, your strategy needs to be one to drown the bad review with  a strong plan of positive actions and reviews.

7.) Post positive reviews on your website. Update the content on your website so it continues to be fresh and current for the search algorithms.

8.) Take advantage of free attorney profiles on legitimate 3rd party sites to build your brand and acquire positive reviews.

9.) Be active on legal websites where you can answer legal questions and showcase your expertise.

All that being said, some negative reviews can be a support to your image. All 5 star, glowing reviews can appear disingenuous.

Another Big DO: Stay on top of your internet reputation. Do not simply trust a Google Alert to keep you informed. Google and Yahoo have their separate and sometimes similar database so you may not see everything that is on the internet about you. I recommend using Dogpile.com , Mamma.com or zabasearch.com. These mega search engines aggregate and organize the web's content from several of the leading search engines.

These are only the top tips on what you should and should not do. Your internet strategy should contain additional actions. All that being said - when in doubt - call me.


For assistance, training or consultation with your internet marketing, call 800-569-8279 or email me through this link 

Why Can't I Say That?

After last month's article titled: Facebook Dangers for Lawyers, I received a number of  inquiries asking, "Why can't I say that?"

Two points come to mind:

One is the advertising/communications rule.

A recent opinion from the California bar's ethics committee (Formal Op. 2012-186) the question is addressed: Under what circumstances would an attorney's postings on social media websites be subject to professional responsibility rules and standards governing attorney advertising?

The published opinion presented five examples of posts:
1.) "Case finally over. Unanimous verdict! Celebrating tonight."
2.) "Another great victory in court today! My client is delighted. Who wants to be next?"
3. ) "Won a million dollar verdict. Tell your friends and check out my website."
4.) "Won another personal injury case. Call me for a free consultation."
5.) "Just published an article on wage and hour breaks. Let me know if you would like a copy."

How do these posts appear to you? Are they similar to any posts that you might have made?

The opinion concludes that the advertising rules do not come into play if a lawyer's social media post merely announces a victory or recent publication (examples 1 and 5), without suggesting that the lawyer is in the market for new clients. But when a message expresses the lawyer's willingness to be hired (examples 2, 3 and 4), the posts must comply with Rule 1-400.

This holds true on any site that can be accessed by the public, including your blog, website and the legal directory sites where you have an opportunity to post information or answer questions. A quick disclaimer stating your answer wasn't a solicitation for clients, after you stated,  call me, etc. won't protect you. It's much safer to follow the Rule.

It is a professional hazard to think that a post on a "personal" social media site allegedly seen by only "friends or connections" will be safe communications. Friends will have friends, who have friends, who may also see these posts. Regardless of your privacy settings today, the settings may default anytime the social media site makes a system upgrade, making all your posts public. "It's not my fault." won't help.

and the other point is the appearance of impropriety.

The good and bad is that the data on a social media sites is highly searchable.  Photos, posts, comments on posts and peer endorsements are especially popular in search results.

If you are going to post photos, I strongly suggest that you maintain the highest privacy setting and be cautious of who you tag in your photos. An attorney socializing with a judge or mediator can be an innocent event, until a juror or opposing counsel, doing their due diligence, finds it.  Most of the judges I have spoken with at social events tend to avoid the camera, and have told me that they don't want any photos of themselves placed on the internet. So I don't feel bad when they turn or walk away when a camera approaches.

Recommendations and peer reviews are another tricky area. All dependent on how it is worded, if an attorney posts a glowing review on a mediator's profile or vise versa, it can possibly be construed as an appearance of impropriety leading to a conflict of interest. If a mediator has reviews only from plaintiff attorneys or only from defense attorneys, it could put the mediators' neutrality into question.

There are other areas of concern unique to certain social sites, which I will cover on my blog and in future newsletters.

Social media has a number of advantages, and when used properly can be an marketing asset to you and your firm. I'll address more of this topic in future newsletters.


The bottom line - be safe, not sorry. Know the rules and think of the bigger picture before posting, and when in doubt - dont!

For assistance, training or consultation with your internet marketing, call 800-569-8279 or email

Should you be on Facebook?

"Everybody is doing it, so I should too." is one of the most dangerous reasons to do anything, especially a marketing strategy.

I can still hear my Mother's voice ringing in my ear. "If Susie jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?"

That sounded ridiculous at the time, and still does; however, it's that same copycat thinking that many attorneys use when deciding on their marketing strategy. 

The world is changing and the Internet has become the tool for discovery, communications and referrals.  Just because you are told that "everyone is on Facebook" is not enough reason for you to join the game. As with any marketing approach, you must first determine why you want to use Facebook and what you hope it will do for you. The Internet is impersonal, and can support or wreak havoc on your image,  your brand.

Social media sites such as Facebook encourage electronic social interaction. Attorneys have a different set of cautions and are controlled by bar rules when advertising, or soliciting. Use of Facebook and other similar can fall into that area.

You may have precautions in mind about confidentiality and code of ethics in your posts, however, your image is affected by other things as well.

The good and bad is that the data on a Facebook page is highly searchable. Posting photos to Facebook of your weekend party or even your bar gathering can have consequences.  I advise my clients not to willingly let anyone tag them in any photos on Facebook. If a juror or opposing counsel is doing their due diligence, finding photos of judges and attorneys drinking together can be a potential image problem. Photos on a website can be less searchable and are more easily controlled.

In some states, having a judge "friend" an attorney, could give the impression that the attorney is in a special position to influence the judge, and therefore crosses the ethics line.

If you have set up a Facebook page for your firm,  you have no control over who likes your page. If your setting are open that allows followers to comment on the page or on a conversation stream, there is potential for negative or other unacceptable comments. Even though you may delete these from the page, they stay on the posters timeline and potentially in search results.

The privacy settings can only help so much. You might post jokes and private comments on your personal timeline, and one of your friends likes or shares - it is then no longer private. Plus many times when Facebook updates it's latest algorithms, the settings revert back to the default, which is no longer private.

Search results don't always deliver the entire string of a conversation. I found a search result one time where my client was named in a sarcastic off-color remark on one of his friends posts. The search result picked up the client's name, the name of his firm and the sarcastic off-color comment. At a glance, it appeared that his firm had made this comment. Clicking the link in the search result ended up on a page with privacy settings, so the entire post stream was unavailable, leaving the searcher with the edited portion, and an unflattering image of the firm.

Before adding Facebook or any other social media site into your marketing mix, make sure you understand what it can and cannot do for you,  how you are going to use it and how you will monitor it.

Remember that One Size Does Not Fit All. Just because your friends are doing it, doesn't mean it right for you. If your online presence is not giving you the results you were hoping, let's talk. Click to email us.   We'll listen first to your goals, research your Internet presence and provide our solutions to meet your unique objectives.

Have you ever wondered how search works

Have you ever wondered how search engines actually work to deliver you the results you seek in the blink of an eye? The following link is an interactive inforgraphic by Google to give an insight into what happens between the request of a search query and the retrieval of results.

As you watch this, note how often "freshness" and "content" are mentioned. http://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/thestory/

Keeping the content on your website current and updated regularly with helpful and relevant information is very important. So if your website hasn't been updated in a while, regardless of how attractive it might be or how important you think that information is, it may be time to tweak, add to, change or restructure your website for better results.

If you think  your website needs an overhaul, let's talk. Click to email us. We'll listen first, look at your online presence and then offer our recommendations.  One size does not fit all.The solution for you should be unique to your business and goals. 

What you do best

Regardless of the size of your law firm, marketing is essential if you want to keep pace and grow in today's marketplace. The Internet is a powerful marketing tool - when used strategically and correctly. A few common mistakes that can hurt you might include:

A website that looks like everyone else, with common content.
      When your website looks like everyone else then how does your client or a referring attorney see you as any different. This is usually made by using the same template you liked on someone else's site, or using a web company with limited knowledge or access to templates.

Attorneys who post personal activities on their social media profiles.
     Most attorneys (hopefully) know what is legal to post online, however, when you advise your clients to be careful of what they post on their social sites, the same advice is good for you. What you think is a cute joke or "no harm" comment just might show up in a search by a juror or opposing counsel.


Attorneys who control it all 
     It is important that you have an understanding of what the Internet can do for you, however, the playing field is changing multiple times a day.  The learning never ends. What you are doing today may not hold up to the search engine algorithms, or the changes in various social media policies and offerings.  The biggest mistake in doing it all yourself is how much time you take away from what you do best - lawyering. 

The worst mistake is to stop marketing
     Every day new lawyers are entering the already competitive marketplace. Although the Internet is growing in persuasive power every day, it is only one component that should be included in your overall marketing plan.   Some attorneys stop marketing because they think they have enough cases or referrals, then things slow now and panic ensues.  Marketing through personal networking, speaking engagements, associations and events should also be in your marketing arsenal. Each one is powerful, however, putting them together in a strategic marketing plan can be even more effective for you.

Whether you are looking to attract clients or referrals from other attorneys, the image they see on the Internet will play into their decision about you.

So do what you do best, and trust your assistants or outside consultants to assist you in maximizing the potential of the Internet.