Check out this excerpt from an article in the current issue of the Indiana Lawyer (an IBJ Media publication), featuring none other than the author of the Indiana Intellectual Property & Technology Law Blog:

New-school Networking Ideas

…To help avoid having potential clients see personal information, attorneys on Facebook can also set up business profiles for their firms, which are separate from personal pages.

Kenan Farrell, a solo attorney in Indianapolis who represents artists and musicians among his list of intellectual property clients, said he has had success through his Facebook business page, Facebook ad – charged on a pay-per-click basis – and Twitter.

After he worked for a large firm in Indianapolis, he moved to San Francisco, then moved back to Indianapolis where he started his own firm in January.

He said it’s because of social networking that he’s been able to get “good, interesting work from clients” for much less than it would cost to have an ad on television or in the phone book, something he investigated when he decided to become a solo practitioner.

So far, most of the other attorneys on Facebook and Twitter he is connected to practice outside of Indiana. Those connections have resulted in business when lawyers in other states need local counsel or know someone who does.

Farrell also goes to networking events – “tweetups” – of others on Twitter. While he doesn’t think other attorneys have attended those meetings, he has met a number of business owners of various ages and experience.

Because business owners are on sites like Twitter, he said, it’s likely attorneys could benefit from connecting with them.

Twitter has also linked him to experts, and to large conferences where he was unable to attend but people in the conference were posting status updates.

While it’s not exactly the same, it can get the message out. For speakers, it can share their information with potentially hundreds or thousands of people beyond those in the room for the presentation.

While Farrell said he felt like “the only guy in the goldmine” by using Facebook and Twitter, he recommended it for all attorneys regardless of experience level for the benefits he has seen.

Click the images below to read the full article.

Source: Indiana Lawyer, Vol. 20, No. 11