As BigLaw Firms Embrace Social Media, More Are Hiring Full-Time Specialists to Help
Large law firms trying to attract notice from corporate counsel are increasingly turning to social media to showcase their expertise—and hiring experts to make it happen.
Several of the nation’s top law firms are hiring full-time social media specialists, the Washington Post reports. They include Nixon Peabody, which plans to have its first social media manager on board in April, and Latham & Watkins, which hired a former legal journalist last year to oversee its social media platforms.
The story cites an American Lawyer survey of 179 managing partners, lawyers and marketing directors from both large and small law firms. Twenty percent had full-time social media specialists on staff, and about 40 percent said blogging and social media initiatives helped attract business.
At Dechert, lawyers are participating in a YouTube video briefing series. At McKenna Long & Aldridge, public relations manager Sabrina McGowan oversees the firm’s Twitter accounts and helps lawyers use keywords to get more search engine hits. Her firm added two new blogs this year.
“We don’t have a product, we have a service,” McGowan told the Post. “That’s what we’re trying to promote—knowledge and experience.”
