Formerly Skeptical Lawyers Now Use Twitter in Interesting Ways

From LawyerCasting.com, more info on twitter:

Last month, we looked at some of the ways that attorneys can use Twitter. As follow up, let's consider a few examples of how lawyers are actually using this micro-blogging tool.

This article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer features four lawyers who use Twitter extensively. All were initially skeptical about using Twitter when they first heard of it, but became sold on its benefits after using it for a while.

* Wayne Serra, a partner at the Cleveland, OH firm of Ulmer & Berne, practices patent law. Serra calls Twitter a "very powerful tool" and uses it to network with other patent lawyers and information technology professionals. He has "tweeted" (posted short updates on Twitter) about court cases involving patents, new computer technology, new interpretations of the law of intellectual property, and developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

* Robert Ambrogi, a lawyer, writer, and technology consultant based in Boston, had doubted whether Twitter could be useful because of the service's "high noise ratio." Ambrogi now calls Twitter a "virtual watercooler," and says it helps him monitor the big topics that lawyers are discussing. He explained that attorneys can read Twitter to monitor what people are saying about them, their firms, their clients, or a particular business. Ambrogi also noted lawyers can use Twitter to build their professional brands by placing their name repeatedly in front of potential clients.

* Scott Greenfield, a New York criminal defense attorney and publisher of the Simple Justice blog, also admits to initial reluctance toward using Twitter. Although he's somewhat disappointed because he has observed that the increased use of Twitter has coincided with a decrease in thoughtful conversation on law blogs, Greenfield "tweets" because he finds many of his blawgging friends are now spending more time on Twitter and less on blogging. Simply put, Greenfield uses Twitter because it is now "incredibly mainstream for lawyers" and he doesn't want to miss any of his fellow blawggers' comments.

* Kevin O'Keefe, chief executive of LexBlog, also was a Twitter skeptic. But when breaking news was reported first on Twitter before appearing in the mainstream media, he began to understand the value. He now calls Twitter "networking on steroids," and avers that it's a far more efficient business development tool than joining a country club and playing golf.

For lawyers starting out on Twitter, if you already have a blog, you can feed your posts to Twitter automatically. To find opportunities to share your "two cents," search thousands of tweets to find topics that interest you. Then browse the many third party applications that can help you get the most value from Twitter.

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Please be sure to visit www.hardinglaw.com, the website for the law firm of Harding & Associates, for more information on California family law.