This post was written by Chuck Newton: "I could say, I guess, because you are no good at it, but that would be cruel.

It is the truth, however, when you think in context with how most people starting out approach this task.

First, they treat it like a task. Hence, it tends to be too mechanical, too outwardly aggressive, and not at all that friendly...

Second, when I ran a large marketed law firm that dealt primarily in TV spots, the lesson I learned was that for advertising to work effectively, it takes frequency and saturation of your target audience...

The same is true for relationship building. You cannot generally make a visit or two or attend a meeting or two and expect anything to much happen. It takes involvement. It takes showing up and being seen with a great deal of frequency, and following up, shortly and politely to those you know and have identified with a degree of saturation. You do not sell, as much as you inform. It is what makes them comfortable with you and reminds them to refer you a case or a client...

The point is that you learn and earn people's trust because you are with them, you are reliable, and they see you. You know about them generally and they have learned about you.

Following up in between meetings is simply providing them frequent, short and useful information between your meetings."

The full text of this informative post is available by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Chuck Newton Rides the Third Wave, 7 March 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

In the news: "Networking has become a core success skill for lawyers, whether you are trying to advance your career or find a new one, notes Molly Peckman, Dechert's director of associate development. She discusses some of the basics of networking and also provides a roundup of experts' tips."

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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 3 March 2010. Copyright 2009.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

This post was written by Chuck Newton: "The Real Estate Marking SEO Blog always has some interesting posts.  One is How To Dominate Social Media In Three And Half Minutes.  I am not sure you can actually dominate social media, period, but I think the point of the post is to give you a down and dirty review, in bullet point form, of what you need to do, and that is good practice. Although it is a real estate site, I think it applies to Third Wave lawyers as well. In modifying what is stated in that post, here is what is stated:..."

Continue reading this interesting post and reach the active links by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Chuck Newton Rides the Third Wave, 11 February 2010. Reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Allison Shields: "My last post talked about creating follow up systems to make the most out of your network. Some readers wanted some more 'meat,' so I prepared a more detailed, step by step guide. The permutations of a follow-up plan are almost endless; this example is just meant to give you some ideas to get you started..."

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Source: Lawyerist.com, 5 February 2010, © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.

Written by FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod: "Once upon a time, and actually not that long ago, online social networking truly was the province of high school and college students.  Those days are over, and whether the youth likes it or not, older generations now are rampant on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networking sites like LinkedIn; who manage online social networking while they carry on other daily tasks.

The demand for online social networking has become so ubiquitous that a recent reported outage of severe Internet controls in China was greeted with enthusiasm as usually blocked socially networking platforms briefly opened up.  While social networking does present a number of potential benefits, care must be taken that proper practices are followed, especially in the workplace.

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Related Resources
• 5 Ways Law Firms Can Market With Social Media

Source: FindLaw's The Practice Paper: For Solo & Small Firm Lawyers. 13 January 2010 Copyright © 2010 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe

 <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/> 

Posted by Sam Glover: "My social media strategy is nothing fancy, but it works. If you are looking for social media schemes full of promises and puffery, go talk to a social media "expert." This is what works for me.

I try to make it easy for potential clients and local media to find me. Just as important, I try to establish myself as an authority so potential clients want to hire me before they meet me, and so local media want to quote me as an "expert."

Here is how I do that with social media.

[click to continue...]"

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Source: Lawyerist.com, 14 December 2009

Posted by Julie A. Fleming: "I recently spoke with a lawyer who had tried a variety of business development activities, all to no avail.  She'd written articles, she'd taught seminars, she'd advertised, she'd attended some networking events, she'd posted her profile on various social networking sites, and so on.  But after all of that, she didn't have any results to report at all, and she was about to conclude that she just wasn't meant to be a rainmaker.

That reaction is so common.  It's so discouraging to work at something -- especially something as important as business development -- and to see no results.  But three mistakes often come clear when I talk with someone who has worked hard at rainmaking without meaningful results.

1. The lawyer is measuring the wrong thing.  Sure, new business is the clearest measurement of rainmaking success, but that's like starting a diet and measuring success only by reaching goal weight.  There are all sorts of (Read the rest of the entry...)

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Source: Life at the Bar, 1 December 2009

From the e-newsletter:

 ">>Access to Social Websites in The Legal Environment - Fall 2009 - Part 1: Survey of Law Librarians in Selected Firms, County/State Law Libraries and Law Schools.

http://www.llrx.com/features/accesssocialwebsiteslegalenvironmentpt1.htm

To ascertain the current use of social websites/media in law firms, a survey was conducted among Law Librarians entitled Computer Use in Your Organization. In addition to the responses from law firm Law Librarians, several Law Librarians from law schools and county/state government law libraries also responded as did an independent Law Librarian. The opinions of Law Librarians was sought since they are typically among the first professionals in the legal environment to explore, use and recommend new computer innovations and trends useful to attorneys, judges and legal scholars regarding information gathering, information sharing, electronic legal research and current awareness. Part 1 of the Survey details the responses of fifty-six Law Librarians regarding computer use in their organizations. Part 2 will review the responses and take a close look at the implications of the responses and what, if any, patterns can be predicted for 2010.

>>Strengthening Forensic Science: The Next Wave of Scholarship

http://www.llrx.com/features/forensicscience.htm

Ken Strutin's article focuses on threads of scholarly literature citing and commenting on the recent National Academy of Sciences report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, and highlights discussions where experts and practitioners rethink the merits of a wide range of forensic issues.

>>Bridging the DiGital Divide: A New Vendor in Town? Google Scholar Now Includes Case Law

http://www.llrx.com/featres/googlescholarcaselaw

The November 17, 2009 Google launch of free caselaw searching via Google Scholar is the focus of John J. DiGilio's timely content and resource review.

>>Support for the Research Process - An Academic Library Manifesto

http://www.llrx.com/features/researchprocesslibrarymanifesto.htm

This document by Chris Bourg, Ross Coleman, and Ricky Erway can serve as a pathfinder for those professionals seeking to focuses on roles that academic, law and special librarians could undertake in order to better support the research process.

>>Free Tools and Applications for More Efficient Online Interaction

http://www.llrx.com/features/onlineinteration.htm

Many lawyers understand the importance of networking, but running a law practice takes time and no one ever seems to have enough of it. This factor is one of the main reasons lawyers offer as an excuse to avoid online networking, but Nicole Black proposes how choosing even a few efficient applications from the range of free tools available can streamline and accelerate this marketing process.

>>LLRX Court Rules, Forms and Dockets - updated by law librarian Margaret Berkland

http://www.llrx.com/courtrules"

Source: Pacifici, Sabrina. "New on LLRX.com for November 2009." Copyright © LLRX TM, Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://www.llrx.com/subscribe.htm>.

From the e-newsletter: "Web sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs have quickly opened up a whole new world of networking opportunities for all communities -- the legal community is no different. Lawyers can benefit greatly from networking and enhanced visibility when participating in different types of media. And, the results are often even better than expected; yes, you can obtain new clients as a direct result of authoring or posting a blog."

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Source: FindLaw's The Practice Paper: For Solo & Small Firm Lawyers. 30 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe  <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

In the news: "Consultant Debra L. Bruce says that when she is contacted by laid-off lawyers who are looking for help in augmenting their job search efforts, or attorneys whose business has dropped off, one of her first questions is about what kind of networking they do. The frequent response is that they haven't done much networking because they aren't comfortable with it. For reluctant networkers, Bruce provides four tips to make the essential activity of networking more enjoyable -- or at least less painful."

Tips include:

1. GO WITH THE INTENTION TO HELP...

2. DEVELOP STARTER QUESTIONS...

3. GET INVOLVED STRATEGICALLY...

4. REPEAT...

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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 18 August 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe   <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.