Four tips to remember when preparing your legal press release highlighting new lawyers

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

For most law firms, hiring a new attorney is a significant development. It is a sizable investment that sends a positive message about your firm’s growth and ability to serve your client base.

Many law firms send press releases to a variety of legal and mainstream publications announcing their new hires. The practice serves two purposes:

• It is a nice welcoming gesture that gets the new relationship off on the right track.
• It is an inexpensive way to generate publicity for the firm.

If you are considering announcing a new hire, be sure your press release submission meets these four criteria.

1.  Keep it short.

As I mentioned in Press Release Writing Tips Part II, I recommend keeping the release under 400 words. Press releases are business communications, and your readers, busy journalists, will appreciate your ability to get to the point.

2.  Identify educational institutions and graduation dates.

In addition to sending the press release to local, legal and bar publications, consider submitting it to the new hire’s alumni magazines. Most college and law school alumni magazines include a class notes sections that highlights recent alumnus achievements. Alumni magazine editors generally ask that the release identify educational institutions, degrees received and years of graduation. Including these details allows the editor to more easily verify the information.

3.  Include a high-resolution photograph.

A photo of the new hire is a good way to complement the text. However, if the photo will appear in print, it needs to be of high resolution — 300 pixels per inch (300 dpi) or greater.

For Windows’ users, to figure out whether you have a high-resolution image, right-click on the photo and select Properties. You may have to select Advanced Properties, but you will eventually obtain the resolution information.

Many digital cameras have as their default setting 72 dpi, a low resolution that is great for the Internet and websites but terrible for print. To learn how to produce a high-resolution image, read this eHow article by Sharon Mcelwee.

You can also hire a professional photographer who will supply both high- and low-resolution images. At Legal Media Matters, we recommend using a professional photographer. For more information on why a professional photographer is an important ally when it comes to creating an image for your law firm and for tips on making the most of a professional shoot, read Legal Marketing: 4 Photo Shoot Tips.

4. Insert a paragraph describing the firm’s practice area.

Use the press release to promote the firm in addition to spotlighting the new hire. Make sure the last paragraph of the press release identifies the firm’s location and areas of practice. Although the complete information will most likely not make it into the final version that appears in the publication, you have used the opportunity to educate the reporters and editors responsible for modifying the content for their publication about your firm. That could translate into interview requests in the future when a reporter is looking for legal experts.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Three reasons to limit a release to around 400 words

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

A few weeks ago I highlighted some of the basic elements lawyers should include in a press release in "Legal Press Release Writing Tips." Those elements are:

• Headline and subhead
• Nut graph
• Details that allow a reporter to verify the information contained in the release
• Description of the firm

One of the items not on the list but that I briefly mentioned was the recommendation to keep the release to about 400 words. A few of my readers e-mailed and asked why. In this blog entry, I’ll cover three reasons behind my 400-word suggestion.

1. Cost

Many of my clients’ press releases are circulated by way of a wire service that charges a flat fee for the first 400 words. For each additional 100 words, the cost increases by $75.

2. Concrete Target

A specific word count provides a better benchmark than the nebulous “keep it short.” For lawyers, accustomed to writing lengthy briefs and pleadings, “short” may translate into a three-page press release rather than the one-page, 400-word release.

But tight writing can be very difficult. Don’t underestimate the time it takes to draft a carefully crafted release. In a wry comment about the unique challenges of concise writing, Mark Twain famously noted, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

3. Readers’ Time

It would be nice if people took stacks of my press releases to the pool with them to enjoy as leisure reading — but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Legal press releases are business communications. The readers include journalists, potential clients and other lawyers who are in a hurry and need to absorb the main messages quickly.

Like all rules, the 400-word recommendation can be broken, but this should be done only sparingly — the exception rather than the rule.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Use legal PR to reach your clients’ trusted advisors

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

Yesterday I gave presentation to a group of students enrolled in a mediation training course offered by St. Louis attorney and mediator Marta Papa. The topic: how to promote your mediation practice.

In addition to volunteering information, I came away with some new ideas.

One of the PR ideas I highlighted is the importance of promoting one’s mediation practice to referral sources — trusted advisors whose recommendation carries great weight when it comes to the selection of an attorney or mediator.

As I discussed in my YouTube video, traditional marketing involves the attorney using PR efforts to reach the client directly.

But referral marketing is a three-step approach, best exemplified in this diagram.

Papa took it a step further and shared one of her favorite referral marketing strategies. She makes it her goal to meet three referral sources each week for lunch. A problem that has legal ramifications also often has a financial, medical or emotional component.

A family lawyer, Papa had an extensive list of professionals whose work complemented her practice, including:

• Certified public accountants
• Mortgage brokers
• Physicians
• Psychiatrists
• Financial advisors
• Stockbrokers
• Insurance agent
• Real estate agents
• Clergy
• Business evaluators

She approached the professionals not from the standpoint of how they could send cases to her but instead in terms of how the professionals could help her clients. Some of her clients needed the services of professionals, and they looked to Papa for recommendations.

Take-Away Tips:

1. Identify professionals outside the legal community who also help your clients deal with the underlying issues that gave rise to the legal problem.
2. Meet for coffee or lunch as a way to introduce yourself, learn about a professional’s business and describe your practice.
3. Remember that referral marketing must be a two-way street. Don’t ask for help without offering assistance.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Be sure to include these basic elements in your law firm’s next release

Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

In law school, students learn how to write legal memos for partners, prepare briefs for judges and draw up contracts for clients. But not  many ever imagine there will come a time when they must know how to write a press release for the media. Increasingly, though, attorneys are doing just that — yet few have access to the built-in public relations or legal marketing departments that are routine in most large law firms.

There are many reasons behind the growing interest in circulating a press releases.

From the promotional standpoint, a legal press release is a great way to attract media attention to a recent verdict or settlement and a useful and economical vehicle for announcing new hires, awards or honors that will be picked up by local newspapers, trade publications and alumni magazines.

A legal press release also confers search engine optimization advantages. When uploaded to a law firm’s website, it provides a new page of fresh content. (With Google's recent search engine updates, fresh content has become even important.) When circulated through a site such as BusinessWire, the legal news release provides an immediate search engine boost and inbound links to the law firm’s website.

In this blog entry I’ll discuss some of the basic elements of a press release that deserve particular attention during the drafting process. You'll want to make sure you include these items in a press release that is ideally no more than 400 words.

1.   Headline and subhead

The headline should include the law firm’s name and a brief description that immediately lets the reader know the type of release he or she is reading. Does it cover a verdict or suit filing, or announce the hiring of a new associate? The subhead should provide further detail.

In addition, the reader should be able to scan the heading and subhead to obtain a concise synopsis of the remainder of the release.

For SEO purposes, the headline and subhead are an ideal place to insert keywords. In addition to the firm’s name, be sure to include practice area keywords.

2.  The nut graph

The nut graph, the first paragraph of the release, concisely explains the news value of the story. It sums up the entire point of the release in a sentence. Writing the nut graph can feel counterintuitive to lawyers, who are trained to lay out the logic before writing the conclusion. It feels, in some respects, like delivering the punchline of a joke and then providing the setup.

3. Details that allow a reporter to easily verify the information contained in the release

A good reporter independently verifies the information contained in the legal press release. You can make his or her job easier by including a few obvious elements, especially if the release pertains to a verdict, settlement or suit filing:

• Style of the case
• Case number
• Filing date
• Verdict date
• The court in which the case was filed

4. Description of the firm

Consider the legal press release as another tool for educating the media and potential clients about your practice. Include a brief paragraph summarizing your practice areas. Hyperlink your law firm’s website and include a phone number and e-mail address.

Here’s a link to the Breaking News section of our website which contains both of the releases used for this blog post. If you would prefer to outsource your press release writing, contact Legal Media Matters; we prepare and circulate releases for law firms nationwide.

For more information, contact me by filling out the online contact form, calling or sending an e-mail to geri@legalmediamatters.com.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

For most lawyers, referrals from other attorneys continue to be a major source of new business. So when you’re developing a legal marketing and public relations campaign, it is important to identify your referral base and include the audience in your promotional efforts.

For this blog post, I’ve uploaded and narrated a short PowerPoint presentation that explains how to reach your referral base.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Our weekly roundup of legal news links, legal PR client news and story ideas

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

The law and advanced tools for communicating continue to converge — and collide — on the Internet.

In this week’s roundup I’ve highlighted several stories that demonstrate how lawyers are leveraging the Internet, social media and emerging technology in their legal PR and marketing efforts.

In some cases, it is the Internet or tech companies who are using the law as a tool.

But first, client news.

LMM Client News

A sex discrimination class action lawsuit against Roto-Rooter has been allowed to proceed. Last week, a federal judge denied the company’s motion to dismiss the$5 million case, which claims that the plumbing giant denied promotions to women. The Simon Law Firm represents the plaintiffs, and one of the firm’s lawyers, Erich Vieth, was quoted in this article in Law 360, reprinted on Forbes.com.

Notable Links for Lawyers

Amazon Patents Social Networking System, Winks at Facebook

The U.S. Patent and Trademark office has awarded Amazon a social networking-related patent. Mashable’s Stan Schroeder writes that if you replace the word “system” in the patent language with “Facebook” it reveals “how flawed the U.S. patent system is.”

Dallas Divorce Lawyer and Dallas App Developer Team Up for iPhone DIY Divorce Apps

A Dallas divorce lawyer and an app developer have teamed up to offer two divorce-related apps, each priced at $9.99. One tracks the cost of divorce and helps track key information. The other helps create an inventory of assets and liabilities. The story, by Victor Godinez, originally appeared in The Dallas Morning News and was highlighted on Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites.

Quebec Bar Association Redesigns Its Website – Adds Virtual Tour Guide

Slaw’s Michel-Adrien Sheppard reports that the Quebec Bar Association has revamped its website. The site, which features a virtual guide tour, aims to provide information to both lawyers and the general public in clear, simplified language. Sheppard says the bar association is also active on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and co-produces a TV show.

Using Social Networking as Legal Tool

The Wall Street Journal’s Nathan Koppel writes that law firms are devoting more resources to cultivating an online presence. In addition to traditional websites, firms are also developing niche websites and sites that have the look and feel of forums and news sites.

How to: Build a Twitter Strategy for Your Business

When it comes to leveraging social media for business purposes, a clear strategy makes sense. Writing for Mashable, Megan Berry outlines the five questions every business should ask and answer before  developing a comprehensive Twitter strategy.

Story Ideas for Business, Consumer and Law Reporters, Writers and Bloggers

Pet Provisions

Certainly, there are people who prefer the companionship of their pets over relatives. But can a dog, cat, horse or snake — the reptilian sort, that is — inherit property?

With the recent news that Conchita, the beloved Chihuahua of Miami heiress Gail Posner, who, with two other dogs  has been bequeathed the right to live in an $8.3 million mansion and a $3 million trust fund was set aside to take care of her needs, the question becomes, “Is that legal?” If it isn’t, are there any steps a pet owner can take to ensure that an animal is provided for in the event the owner dies?

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Our weekly roundup of legal news links, legal PR client news and story ideas

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

In the U.S. today caps a four-day work week. Missouri lawyers planning to attend the Solo & Small Firm Conference next week will enjoy another compressed week.

I will be attending, and blogging and tweeting from, the Solo & Small Firm Conference, scheduled for June 12-14 at the Lake of the Ozarks. If you’re one of the approximately 800 lawyers who plan to attend, let me know. It would be great to meet you.

More about the conference next week. Right now, client news and notable links.

LMM Client News

A $3 million wrongful death settlement obtained by Jim Lemonds and Andrea McNairy, of St. Louis-based Brown & Crouppen, and Greg Roberts of The Roberts Law Firm, was highlighted in this week’s Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Notable Links for Lawyers

The Fall

Jeff Smith: A Political Tragedy in Three Acts

Opening with a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald — “Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy” — St. Louis Magazine’s Jeannette Cooperman chronicles the downfall of Missouri state Sen. Jeff Smith. Once a rising star in Missouri politics and the subject of a documentary, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? Smith is now serving a prison sentence of a year and one day on federal obstruction of justice charges.

Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court

A critic who airs complaints online may find him- or herself the target of an old-fashioned lawsuit. The New York Times’ Dan Frosch explains how strategic lawsuits against public participation — or meritless defamation claims — are raising the ire of some First Amendment lawyers.

Marrying Out: One in Seven Marriages Is Interracial or Interethnic

A new report from the Pew Research Center reveals that a record number of new marriages in the United States were between spouses of different races or ethnicities. The study also indicates that most Americans approve of racial or ethnic intermarriage.

In 1967 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Virginia’s law prohibiting interracial marriages in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia.

Report from the ODR Conference in Buenos Aires

David Bilinsky attended the first South American conference on online dispute resolution. In a post on the Canadian legal blog Slaw.ca, he highlights the five major themes that emerged from the conference, including the need to educate about ODR, questions about whether ODR will grow within the legal system or parallel to it, the types of disputes heard and the potential benefit ODR promises to Third World Countries.

How Lawyers Are Using Social Media for Real Results

Mashable’s Matt Silverman highlights how increasing numbers of lawyer are using social media to network, obtain business and raise their profiles nationwide.

Manage Service of Process via the Cloud

A web-based tool that allows legal professionals to manage every stage of service of process is featured on Robert Ambrogi’s Law Sites blog.

Story Ideas for Business, Consumer and Law Reporters, Writers and Bloggers

Gagged by the Doctor

In addition to highlighting the problem of SLAPP suits, the New York Times story mentioned above notes that some physicians are requiring their patients to sign agreements that give the physician more control over what patients post online.

It would be interesting to know how many doctors are asking their patients to give up the right to speak out, whether any breach of contract suits stemming from the practice have been filed and what the public policy ramifications of such a move might be.

Have any links to suggest? Give them a mention in our comments section. And if you have any recommendations for next week, feel free to e-mail them to me. geri@legalmediamatters.com

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

An in-house lawyer wants to reach executives and explain the services a general counsel offers

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I invited my Twitter followers to pose a question (in 140 characters or fewer, of course) that I would take up on this blog. One lawyer sent a direct message wanting to know the best keywords to attract chief executive officers and chief financial officers who want to learn more about what their in-house lawyers can do for them.

The question is much more complicated than it might seem at first blush.

Here’s a driving analogy. If someone asks how to start a car, the easiest answer is: “Just turn the key in the ignition.” But there’s a complicated assortment of processes going on behind the dashboard and beneath the hood that are responsible for starting the engine.  Even though the key signals to the engine that it is time to start, it is the first piece of a complicated process.

In other words, simply possessing a key will not make a car run — and the same key won’t start every car.

As with cars, there’s often a multilayered process that is engaged in before keywords will work. As with car keys, the keywords that will deliver the best performance are going to vary; one size does not fit all.

Legal Keywords and Problem-Solving

Keywords help people sort through the huge pool of information provided on the Internet and find what they’re looking for. But vague keywords, or inefficient keywords in areas where there is a lot of expert competition, are like replacement keys that are almost exact duplicates: They’re not going to work in the way you want them to.

To discover what types of keywords might attract them to your website or blog, you must first figure out what keeps executives up at night. Once you’ve done that, you can explain how an in-house lawyer is a problem-solver and ally when it comes to providing solutions to those specific problems.

Is an executive looking for loan workout help or bankruptcy reorganization advice? If the company is located in the U.S., does the executive have questions about the new healthcare legislation and how it applies to his or her company? What are the legal pitfalls a domestic company looking to expand abroad must avoid?

Once you’ve brainstormed ideas, it’s time to test them. There are several free tools — among them Google Insights, Wordtracker and Google AdWords — you can use to conduct research. (For more on the mechanical steps of finding keywords used in actual searches and then including them in your content, read “Law Firm Websites: Seven Tips for Legal Content Writing.”)

For a test run, I chose the simple phrase “in-house counsel” to see what would come up.

At Google Insights, a worldwide search of the phrase revealed that the top searches involved finding jobs and salary information.

I went to Wordtracker and plugged in “in-house counsel” to see what would come up. The most-searched phrase turned out to be the most specific grouping of keywords (a “long tail”): “in-house counsel obligation regarding spoliation.” Several job search-related queries also surfaced. There were two searches recorded for the keyword phrase “evolving role of in-house counsel.”

At Google AdWords, the “in-house counsel” query once again pulled up several job-related searches. However, it also indicated that the phrase “general counsel” is extremely popular and that “attorney client privilege in house counsel” is one substantive area that receives some inquiries.

There are, of course, additional strategies and techniques to sort and sift the information, but this brief exercise illustrates four points:

1. When it comes to keywords, there is no virtual master key.
2. Avoiding certain keyword phrases, such as the ones related to job searches, is just as important as finding the phrases you want to use.
3. The best-performing site will have one page dedicated to each distinct phrase — for example, a page addressing spoliation, another explaining attorney-client privilege and a third discussing the evolving role of in-house counsel. (For more information on how to use your keywords on a page, read “Three Keyword Rules for Law Firm Website.”)
4. You must measure the performance of your Web pages and keywords. Most sites require monitoring and adjustment. Because keyword selection isn’t as straightforward as one might hope, you may find one set of keywords performing extremely well and another set underperforming. (For more information on measurement, read “How to Install Google Analytics to Measure Your Marketing Campaign.”)

Integrate Your Legal Keyword Efforts with Media Outreach

At Legal Media Matters, we research keywords, develop strategies based on the basis of our clients' goals and then write content. We also emphasize the importance of integrating online and traditional public relations strategies.

In addition to your online outreach, don’t forget traditional print publications as a means of reaching out to executives. Some of the best places for this type of outreach are the so-called industry bibles and trusted trade publications that accept guest articles. Review the editorial calendar to find an opening. (For more on this process, see “Writer’s Guidelines and Guest Articles,” and “Editorial Calendars and Guest Articles.”)

Another way to educate your audience is to post comments to articles related to your topics. In both instances, comments and guest articles can serve as the initial means of engaging your target audience. A website address or link back to your blog, if an executive is reading the information online, will allow him or her to continue the conversation — and may also provide valuable inbound links to your site, boosting its performance and the reach of your keywords. (For more ideas on finding your audience, see “Law Firm Marketing: To Draw Clients In, Reach Out.”)

If you need help researching keywords, writing content or devising a print publication placement strategy, contact Legal Media Matters. We can help you with your legal content writing project and tailor a legal marketing and public relations plan tailored to your firm’s unique goals.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Our weekly roundup of legal news links, legal PR client news and story ideas

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

Awareness. Engagement. Conversion. When you’re adopting a social media strategy for your legal practice, measure your effort with these three goals in mind, advises writer Brian R. Hook in the article “Climbing the B2B Business Ladder.”

I use the same yardstick to evaluate my own online marketing and social media outreach.

In January, the new Legal Media Matters site was launched. Over the course of five months the number of unique monthly visitors has more than doubled. We’ve received feedback and comments on a variety of articles. Our article providing photo shoot tips generated the greatest number of comments.

Our network on LinkedIn has expanded as well. Not only has our social media outreach on the business sight brought in new legal PR and law firm website writing clients, but it has also resulted in great conversations with people such as Nils Montan, an IP lawyer who owns IPAlly.com and lawandsocialnetworking.com.

Initially a skeptic, I have a newfound respect for Twitter. I joined, tweeted for a few weeks and then ignored the site. Eventually I gave it a second chance and put more effort into it. I’m glad I did. I have thoroughly enjoyed my interactions and learned a lot from a variety of people, from @richardrusseth, a lawyer in Colorado and general counsel for a private company, to @MaxDolotov, a law practitioner in Ukraine, and @dfscot, a lawyer in Scotland.

Through the Legal Media Matters Facebook page I’ve been able to share interesting legal news items and tips with people I know and individuals I hope to get to know better in the future.

So, to our friends, followers, subscribers, readers and commenters:  Thank you!

I would also like to thank Kerry Bailey, a tireless copy editor who helps me dot my i’s and cross my t’s in my posts and in the writing work we perform for our clients. Enrique Serrano, a programmer and designer, helps me keep my site running with style, provides technical insights and conducts important keyword research on behalf of our clients.

We’re heading into a three-day holiday weekend in the United States. With Memorial Day just around the corner, I’d like to issue a final thank-you, this one to our service men and women.

I will not be posting an entry on Monday but will resume Wednesday. In the meantime, you can still find me on Twitter. (@legalmediamtrs)

LMM Client News

Consumer attorney John Campbell, of St. Louis-based The Simon Law Firm, was recently highlighted in Missouri Lawyers Media. Campbell appeared before the Missouri Supreme Court and argued that class action waivers contained in arbitration agreements are unenforceable. The case is Beverly Brewer v. Missouri Title Loans Inc.

St. Louis divorce lawyer and mediator Marta J. Papa is offering her 40-hour divorce mediation training course June 23-27. The training includes demonstrations, lectures, role-playing and coaching. I’m delighted to be a guest speaker during the training session in which I’ll discuss ways to market your mediation practice.

Notable Links for Lawyers

Victims Allege Man Posing as Attorney

A fugitive felon who is supposed to be serving a 10-year sentence for stealing sets up shop in downtown St. Louis as a bankruptcy legal representative. Fox 2 investigative reporter Chris Hayes confronts Richard O’Donnell, the man posing as attorney who opened up Bankruptcy n’ More, whose clients allege he took their money and provided less than nothing.

Do You Comply with the FTC’s Red Flag Rule?

On June 1, the federal government’s so-called Red Flag Rule that requires businesses to spot red flags to prevent identity theft, goes into effect. In this Inc. article, Courtney Rubin notes that small businesses, including law firms, may be subject to the law.

Majority of Adults Now Google Themselves

More online users are taking online reputation management seriously, according to a study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove notes that young adults are becoming more aware of the information they post online and how it can affect their careers. As the article, “Do You Google Yourself,” explains, lawyers also need to monitor their virtual images.

Make Marketing a Habit

On Slaw.ca, Allison C. Shields reminds lawyers that marketing is a marathon, not a sprint, and offers five excellent marketing habits lawyers should consider establishing.  For more PR and marketing ideas, read “Is Your Marketing Resolve Slipping?”

Climbing the B2B Business Ladder

To survive and thrive, all businesses will eventually need to adopt a social media strategy, Brian R. Hook writes for E-Commerce Times. Hook explains the options available to businesses and discusses the three ways to measure efforts:  awareness, engagement and conversion.

Twitter Guide for Writers

Want to get the most from Twitter? Don’t be obsessed with the number of followers you accumulate, advises writer and cartoonist Debbie Ridpath Ohi, also known as Inkygirl. Instead, use it as a place to network and a source of support and encouragement. Although the tips are aimed at writers, the advice holds true for lawyers as well.

The Most Ridiculous News Typos Ever

If you’ve been reading my blog posts regularly, you know that I preach the gospel of a good copy edit. The reason? To avoid embarrassing mistakes like the ones the ones highlighted on the Huffington Post. (The menu item “honey mustard chicken diapers” is thoroughly unappetizing, and that’s just one of the tamer typos.) Want to ensure that your website doesn’t contain similar gaffes? Read “Editing Web Content for Law Firms.”

Story Ideas for Business, Consumer and Law

Reporters, Writers and Bloggers

Moral Turpitude Clauses

The latest issue of The Civil Litigator highlights a jury verdict for a football coach and social studies teacher at a Catholic high school in Iowa. When the teacher remarried without getting his first marriage annulled, he was fired for violating the moral turpitude clause in his contract. The teacher sued for breach of contract, and a jury awarded him more than $600,000.

How common are moral turpitude clauses? Can schools and businesses enforce them? If so, how can they do it without exposing themselves to liability?

Fireworks and the Fourth of July

We’re heading into the first U.S. holiday of the summer, and the second major American holiday, the Fourth of July, is just around the corner. That means we’ll soon be hearing the whistle of fireworks and the pop of firecrackers in our neighborhoods — even when they’re technically illegal.

A few possible story ideas:  If you set off fireworks and they end up damaging your neighbor’s property, are you liable? Does it make a difference from a liability standpoint if you shot them off legally or illegally? Are laws banning fireworks enforced? If you need legal experts to talk about these issues, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Have any links to suggest? Give them a mention in our comments section. And if you have any recommendations for next week, feel free to e-mail them to me. geri@legalmediamatters.com

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Our weekly roundup of PR client news, notable links and story ideas

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

There’s no question that the law influences technology. From net neutrality to the quest to unmask anonymous commenters on news sites, courts in the United States and abroad have been asked to weigh in and formulate rules to apply to this virtual land.

But it is not a one-way street. Technology is also transforming the law.

From the way in which evidence is gathered to innovations that are giving real meaning to the ideal of open courts, technology is influencing how cases are investigated and how legal practices are managed.

Ironically, by giving the public front-row seat in courtrooms, technology may offer the legal system a chance to transcend the belief that meting out real-life justice is a simple, clean process.

In this issue I’ll highlight notable links for lawyers and ideas for journalists where law and technology intersect.

But first, client news.

LMM Client News

Last week Butsch Simeri Fields LLC and two other law firms filed a federal class action lawsuit against Farmland Foods in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Print, radio and television media located near Farmland Foods facilities picked up the story. You can follow it here:

KTVO-3 (ABC) Heartland News.com

KWIX 1230 AM

Canadian family lawyer Russell I. Alexander, based in Brooklin, Ontario, established a $5,000 annual grant for nonprofits serving greater Durham and Kawartha Lakes. The fund helps not-for-profit agencies that promote community development, arts and culture, sports, education and health and human services. In 2009, Covenant House of Toronto received the grant. The law firm is accepting applications for its 2010 grant.

Notable Links for Lawyers

What the Judge Ate for Breakfast

Who was one of the first newspaper reporters to tweet from a courtroom? You’re probably thinking of someone from The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Los Angeles Times. But did you consider a reporter from the Wichita Eagle? Indeed, the Wichita Eagle’s Ron Sylvester is the courtroom tweeting pioneer. And it was a Kansas judge, Sedgwick County District Judge Ben Burgess, who allowed it.

Now Sylvester is using technology to further expand the reach of his legal reporting by incorporating courtroom video and interviews on in his blog, “What the Judge Ate for Breakfast.”

The blog offers a realistic picture of the various tensions in the U.S. judicial system: the bureaucratic mandate to push cases through the system; the inexact science of balancing responsibility, punishment, redemption; and efforts to minimize collateral damage to innocent family members.

Of course, there are no makeup artists, expensive costume designers or special lighting. Lawyers and legal affairs reporters will instantly recognize this is the real unglamorous deal.

On Monday I’ll post an interview with Sylvester, a veteran legal affairs and courts reporter who also covered the BTK serial killer. He’ll discuss his project and reveal how he was able to persuade judges, lawyers and court personnel to give him access.

For now, if you want “true” TV, watch Common Law: Trying a Judge’s Patience.

Federal Judiciary Launches Enhanced Website

Podcasts, widgets, a YouTube channel. When it comes to press releases from the U.S. federal judiciary, one usually doesn’t see these references to technology and social media. But on Monday the court unveiled its new website and announced that its communication efforts would include multimedia outreach.

MRIs and the Law

Last week, NPR’s Science Friday aired a segment on using MRIs to tell whether someone is lying. Although some technology companies claim that brain scans can show whether a criminal suspect is telling the truth, a recent study revealed a high rate of false positives.

Stanford University law professor Henry Greeley appeared as a guest on the show and discussed the legal and ethical questions surrounding the use of MRIs as evidence

Translating for IT and Earthlings

In the May issue of California Lawyer, Robert D. Brownstone’s guest article highlights the challenges of collaborating with IT departments on eDiscovery issues. Brownstone, law and technology director at the Silicon Valley firm Fenwick & West LLP, includes a handy chart that translates into plain English both “geek-speak” and legalese.

21 Rules for Social Media Engagement

Admit it: As lawyers, we can’t help like knowing the rules. So if you’ve been considering using social media as a method for marketing and communication, read these rules from Brian Solis, featured on Mashable.

10 Sure Cures for Blogging Burnout

Those of you who already have a blog will want to keep these 10 tips handy. Whether you’ve already encountered burnout or fear that it may creep in, Michelle V. Rafter at WordCount offers some helpful ideas to get past — and even avoid — the blogging blahs.

Story Ideas for Business and Law Reporters, Writers and Bloggers

Cameras in the delivery room

This week on Legal Lad, Adam Freedman tackles the question, posed by a reader, as to whether hospitals may ban cameras in the delivery room. A few years ago I wrote a piece for Missouri Lawyers Weekly, titled “Birth of a Lawsuit,” detailing the pivotal role played by delivery room video in a malpractice suit.

As a reporter, you could write about the tension between the desire to record such an important event and evidence-gathering. How are your local hospitals handling the question?

Technology and Open Government

In addition to the U.S. federal courts new website and Ron Sylvester’s vlog of daily courtroom drama in Kansas court, the Indiana Supreme Court has announced that it is now tweeting legal news.

Are your local courts embracing technology? If not, what are the reasons being given for resistance?

A Service of Note

When I prepare verdict and settlement reports for my law firm clients, I submit the write-ups to a number of publications, including The Civil Litigator. An online database serving the legal community in the Midwest, The Civil Litigator provides coverage of civil cases throughout Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. For more information about subscribing, e-mail editor@civil-litigator.com.

Beth Lewandowski, The Civil Litigator’s editor, is also a St. Louis family law attorney. Her firm, Law Office of Marta J. Papa, is a Legal Media Matters client.

Have any links to suggest? Give them a mention in our comments section. And if you have any recommendations for next week, feel free to e-mail them to me. geri@legalmediamatters.com

Have a great weekend!