How To Make LinkedIn Work for Your Practice

About MyCase

Built as a complete platform, MyCase offers features that seamlessly cover all the daily functions that a modern, small law firm requires in one place at an affordable price.

MyCase Web-Based Legal Practice Management Software

Just $39/month per attorney $29/month per paralegal or staff

About MyCase

•Modern and professional design built for your firm•Social media and blog integration•Complete integration with MyCase practice management software

MyCase Websites

About Our Presenter

• Founder and President at Legal Ease Consulting, Inc.

• Former practicing lawyer with experience as a law firm manager

• Legal marketing and law practice management consultant

• Social media coaching and training

• Helps lawyers and law firms improve productivity, boost their bottom line and attract high value clients

• http://lawyermeltdown.com/ - website

• http://legalease.blogs.com - blog

Allison C. Shields

Add Photo

Poll #1

1. I don’t currently have a LinkedIn Profile

2. I have a Profile, but it’s bare bones and I rarely use LinkedIn

3. My Profile is pretty complete, and I have over 200 connections. I use LinkedIn a few times a month

4. I’m a LinkedIn “power user”; I have 500+ connections and use LinkedIn at least weekly

How experienced are you with LinkedIn?

What is Your Purpose? What are you hiring LinkedIn to do for you?

Who Are You Trying to Reach?

Who Are You Trying to Reach?

Potential Clients

Referral Sources

Influencers

Existing Clients

Everything you do on LinkedIn needs to be geared toward your target audience

Your Profile

Who is your Profile

written for?

Professional Headline

Important: When someone interacts with you on LinkedIn this is what they see first. Be descriptive!

Headline Examples

Headline Examples

“Attorney”Practice Area – “Medical Malpractice”Identifies clients – “Patients”

Summary

• Write for your target audience – use words they use

• Use keywords

• Don’t use legal jargon

• Write in the first person

Summary Tips

Would your clients recognize themselves as potential candidates for your services just by reading your Profile?

Summary

I am a business minded attorney providing trusted advice at the intersection of real estate, finance and technology.

You need practical solutions. An experienced guide who can collaborate on a cross functional team. Creative solutions informed by broad education and skill. You need someone who is responsive, yet balanced—someone who understands that life is about working hard and playing hard with people you enjoy.

These are the hallmarks of my service. Profitable outcomes and positive community impacts are the measures of my success. I look forward to talking soon.

Summary Example

The practice of law is more than just about giving legal advice—it’s about counseling on all matters related to a client's business. I listen carefully and respond with clarity. I take your business seriously, but try not to take myself too seriously. I’m glad to count many of my clients as personal friends. By knowing both the business and the people, I'm able to provide more insightful and effective counsel. My personal goal is to have fun creating profitable outcomes and positive impacts in the community.

Summary Example

Add Profile Sections

Also consider:

• Publications

• Projects

• Certifications

Add Media to Your Profile

New Rich media tool replaces old Applications feature

Add media to Summary, Experience or Education sections

On Edit Profile screen, find the “Add

Media” icon within the designated sections

Portfolio

Recommendations

Manage received recommendations Send recommendations Request recommendations Ethical issues

Skills and Expertise

Skills & Expertise now Skills & Endorsements

Endorsements

Only endorse people you know, for skills you have personal knowledge about

Helps define the jurisdictions you practice in

Add to your Summary or Experience sections

Example:

PROFESSIONAL LICENSES:Admitted to the state bars of New York, District of Columbia, Florida, and Georgia. Also admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Bar Admissions

• Review your ethics and attorney advertising rules!

• LinkedIn Profiles qualify as attorney advertising in many states

• “Attorney Advertising” disclaimer

• Disclaimers about confidentiality, attorney-client relationship

• “Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome”

• ABA Formal Opinion 10-457, Lawyer Websites, August 5, 2010

Disclaimers

Company Pages and Showcase Pages

Company Pages for Law Firms

About your Firm

Showcase Practice Areas and Services using Showcase Pages

Recommendations

Firm News

Update employees

Promote firm events

Highlight Employees

Company Pages

Company Pages

Company Pages

Page Insights

• Page Views• Unique Visitors• Page Clicks

Analytics

• Audience• Impressions• Clicks• Interaction• Engagement

Showcase Pages

Highlight different practice areasSend targeted messagesFollowers get only information they’re interested in

Using LinkedIn Updates Wisely

Poll #2

1. Never

2. Rarely

3. At Least Once a Month

4. At Least Once a Week

How often do you post LinkedIn Updates?

Network Updates

• Don’t make it all about you• What is your audience interested in?• Post links to articles of interest to your

audience• Articles can be written by you or

others• Consider LinkedIn’s publishing

platform

What to post in Updates

LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform

Social features on LinkedIn Updates

People in your network see your updates on their home page

*Weekly update Email from LinkedIn

Making your LinkedIn Connections Work for You

Alumni Search

Alumni Search

Search for Companies

Refine your search by:• Location• Industry• Relationship • Company Size• Fortune

• Follow clients, competitors• See how you’re connected• Get more info

Find People to Connect With

People You May Know

Who’s Viewed Your Profile?

People You May Know

Who’s Viewed Your Profile

Who’s Viewed Your Profile

Connecting with People

Personalize your invitations to connect

Don’t use the default invitation

Give them a reason to connect

Connecting with People

*Continue the conversation: thank the person for connecting

Take advantage of connections’ connections

See who your connections know

Segregating Connections

• Use tags to group Connections

• Filter by tag

Message multiple connections

LinkedIn Contacts

Sync contacts with your address book

Use the Outlook social connector

Enable LinkedIn features in OS X Mavericks

Add notes, tags, reminders

Search Contacts when traveling

Leverage your Connections’ Contacts

Watch Updates for opportunities to connect

Send periodic messages

Withdrawing Invitations to Connect

Go to your Inbox, click Sent

Find an invitation not yet accepted

Click the subject line

Click Withdraw

If there is no Withdraw button, you can’t withdraw

The recipient won't be notified about a withdrawn invitation

LinkedIn Groups

Poll #3

1. I have not joined any Groups on LinkedIn

2. I have joined a few Groups but don’t pay much attention to them

3. I have joined several Groups and periodically review the discussions but don’t participate often

4. I’m an active participant in LinkedIn Groups, contributing where I can, posting articles and starting discussions

How active are you with LinkedIn Groups?

Groups:

Get known outside of your circle

Establish yourself as an expert

Demonstrate knowledge

Build relationships

Develop rapport

LinkedIn Groups

Organized by:

• Area of practice• Personal interests• Alumni• Charitable• Other

New Groups Page

Groups Feed

• Think about your target audience• View your connections’ Profiles to see what

Groups they belong to• Start simply• Participate regularly• Start your own discussions• Use Groups social features• Review Group membership lists for new

connections

Groups Tips

Blocking Spam on LinkedIn

Block or report on their Profile

Disconnect

Flag or Report

Group Moderation

Mobile vs. Desktop

• Watch out when uploading contacts on mobile

• No ability to customize invitations on mobile

• Desktop viewer history is from the past 90 days.

• Mobile viewer history is based on the last 100 viewers.

• Differences in viewing your recent activity and others’ activity

• Mobile can be difficult to use

Settings

Where to Find Settings

Adjust your LinkedIn profile settings from the toolbar on the top right of your screen.

• Turn on/off activity broadcasts

• Select what others see when you view their Profile

• Set frequency of emails

• Set frequency of group digest emails

• Turn on/off data sharing with 3rd party applications

• Manage settings for LinkedIn plugins on third-party sites

Settings Lawyers Should Know

Goal: take it off-line ‘digital to personal’

Questions?

LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers (Second Edition) available now in the ABA webstore:

http://bit.ly/LIOHFL2d

Contact Us

Allison Shields• Legal Ease Consulting, Inc

• http://lawyermeltdown.com/

• http://legalease.blogs.com

• 631-642-0221

• Allison@LegalEaseConsulting.com

MyCase.comMyCase.com/blogsupport@mycase.com(800) 571-806230-Day FREE Trial

MyCaseWeb-Based Legal Practice Management Software

Get 10% Off Your First 6 Months With MyCase Using Promo Code: 10LIN14

Thank You