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ATTORNEY ADVERTISING IN THE DIGITAL AGERule 7.1 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct governs

appropriateuse of “computer accessed communications” – defined very broadly

In general, Rule 1.0(c) of the New York Rules of Professional Conductdefines computer-accessed communications as any electroniccommunications made by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm,

including:• Websites / Blogs• Chat Rooms• Forums / Comments• E-mail / Instant messaging• Banner Ads• Pay Per Click Advertising

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RECORDKEEPING AND RESPONSIBILITY

• A New York attorney or law firm is required to pre-approve any

advertisement, including websites, and they must retain a copy of the

website for at least one year.

• A copy of the contents of any website are required to be preserved upon

the initial publication of the website, upon any major redesign, or upon ameaningful and extensive change in the content, according to

Rule 7.1(k).

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WEBSITE DO’S• Under Rule 7.1(h), at least one attorney or law firm's name,

telephonenumber and location of the principal law office is required on all advertisements, including websites.

• According to Rule 7.1(f), the home page of the attorney's website that is

used to advertise or market the services of the attorney shall be labeledwith the phrase, "Attorney Advertising.“

• If your website has a case evaluation or similar form, include a

disclosure that submitting a form does not create an attorney client relationship.

• The meta-tags or other hidden computer codes on an attorney's website

must follow the same rules that would apply if the meta-tags were visible. 4

WEBSITE DON’TS

• According to Rule 7.1, an attorney's website cannot contain any statements

or claims that are false, deceptive or misleading or that violate any Rule.

• Statements about the level or quality of services provided should be

factually supported by the lawyer or law firm as of the date on which the advertisement is published or disseminated.

• Rule 7.4(a) of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct states that an

attorney is prevented from using the terms "recognized," "certified" or

"specialist," unless certain specific requirements are met..

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ATTORNEY TESTIMONIALS

• According to Rule 7.1(e), the testimonial cannot be false or misleading,

the information must be able to be factually verifiable, and it must include a disclaimer that says "Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.“

• If a legal matter is still pending, the client must provide the lawyer with

informed consent that is given in writing to use the testimonial or

endorsement.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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LINKEDIN FOR LAWYERS

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WHY LINKEDIN FOR LAWYERS

• Get found by potential clients

• Connect and engage existing and potential clients

• Promote content (law journal articles, firm communications, blog articles, news mentions, major settlements, videos, photos)

• Demonstrate thought leadership

• Generate leads

• Firm recruiting

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WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW ON LINKEDIN

• Build your LinkedIn network

• Connect with clients and companies

• Join groups

• Participate in groups

• Give and get recommendations

• Create a company page

• Create a LinkedIn group

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TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET?

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WHY TWITTER FOR LAWYERS

• Get found by potential clients

• Professional networking

• Connect and engage existing clients and followers

• Promote content (law journal articles, firm communications, blog articles, news mentions, major settlements, videos, photos

• Demonstrate thought leadership

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WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW ON TWITTER

• Create a Twitter account

• Post a headshot or attractive logo

• Create a Twitter account for your firm

• Follow colleagues, friends, news publications

• Post at least 3 x day

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WHY FACEBOOK FOR LAWYERS

• 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook – your clients are already there

• Get found by potential clients

• Connect and engage existing clients

• Promote content (law journal articles, firm communications, blog articles, news mentions, major settlements, videos, photos

• Generate leads

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WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW ON FACEBOOK

• Create a personal Facebook page

• Create a Facebook business page

• Add friends

• Join networks

• “Like” companies

• Manage privacy settings

• Post relevant content

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7 SOCIAL MEDIA STATS YOU NEED TO KNOW1. 91% of online adults use social media regularly

(Source: Experian)

2. 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook(Source: Comscore February 2011)

3. Internet users spend 3x more time on blogs/social networks than email(Source: Nielsen Company - Nov 2010)

4. 3 out of 4 consumers seeking a lawyer last year searched online(Source: The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG), March 2012)

5. 95 percent of lawyers are on LinkedIn for professional purposes(Source: 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report)

6. 38 percent of lawyers use Facebook for professional purposes(Source: 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report)

7. 11 percent of lawyers use Twitter for professional purposes(Source: 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report)

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WHY BLOG?

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• According to Hubspot, companies that blog get 97 percent more inbound

links, 55 percent more website visitors and generate 88 percent more inbound leads than those who do not blog.

• Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages

• Blogging frequency has a direct impact on lead generation – companies

that blog weekly get twice the median number of leads of companies compares to companies that blog monthly.

THE POWER OF BLOG MARKETING

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WHAT ABOUT PAY PER CLICK?

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Source: Covario – January 2011

DOES PPC ADVERTISING EVER MAKE SENSE?• For highly competitive keywords

• While you are implementing your SEO strategy

• For time-limited offers/promotions

• To capitalize on breaking news

• PPC advertising is made to measure

• Analyze keywords and competitors carefully and demand metrics

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SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATIONThe top 10 organic search results receive 89% of all clicks from users.

SEO has changed forever – are you still doing the same thing?

Here are seven simple steps to improve your SEO:

1. Determine relevant keywords for your practice2. Analyze your competition3. On-page optimization (titles, tags, keywords, coding)4. Blog to increase frequency of new content5. Get social (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+)6. Off-page optimization and linkbuilding7. Monitor results and repeat

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ABOUT REPUTATION RHINO

Reputation Rhino is a leading online reputation management consultancy and digital agency based in New York City.

We have an extraordinary team of experienced legal, public relations, marketing and technology experts who have worked with the largest brands in the world.

Our company has been featured on Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Fox Business, Politico, U.S. News, Bankrate, InformationWeek and WABC Radio.

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WHAT WE DO

Reputation Management

Online Public Relations

Social Intelligence

Search Engine Optimization

Web Design & Development

Blogging & Social Media

Online Advertising

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WHY REPUTATION RHINO? We are a results-driven digital agency with over 25 years of

combined PR and marketing experience working with some of the world’s largest brands.

We create fully integrated public relations and online marketing campaigns based on our clients goals and consistent with their legal and regulatory obligations.

We have unmatched expertise in online public relations and online reputation management for individuals and business.

We build a strong relationship with our clients and maintain close involvement and regular contact.

We take pride in our strategic planning, achieve measurable results and deliver a return on investment.

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LET’S CONNECT

Reputation Rhino LLC

711 Third Avenue – 12th Floor

New York, New York 10017

(p) 888.975.3331

(e) info@reputationrhino.com

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