Law Times

Law Times • OcTOber 19, 2009 NEWS PAGE 5 Business conflicts a big concern in social media Continued from page 1 name, e-mail signature tag line or other identifi er that makes a claim about competence, results or fees or would otherwise be a transgres- sion of the rules." It's also vital, according to the guidelines, for lawyers to an- nounce the jurisdiction in which they are licensed to practise when communicating in cyberspace. Th ey are encouraged to give legal advice only to clients who have retained them and have staff ers screen communications to ensure they don't threaten established or future retainers. Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP associate Dan Michaluk has keenly embraced new technologies in marketing his practice and applauds the CBA guidelines. He maintains his own blog, contributes to the legal blog Slaw, and posts updates on Twitter. He also helped shape his fi rm's policies for lawyers ac- tively using such technologies as a former member of its knowl- edge management group. Michaluk has parlayed his ac- tivity online into an expanding contact list that has helped him get advice from colleagues and land work. But he urges lawyers to ease into the online marketing world to avoid headaches. "You develop a sense over time of the very subtle boundar- ies that delineate what is accept- able and what is not," he says, adding that the CBA guidelines hit on the main points. "But un- til you get out and you publish and you think through the pro- cess of critically analyzing what you publish before you do, it will take a while to develop an innate sense for them." For Michaluk, the toughest calls are business confl icts. He notes that some legal issues are extremely sensitive to clients, and it's important to respect that. Even reporting factually on an is- sue that has aff ected a client can be enough to off end, he says. "You have to be hyper-vigi- lant about those. Th ose scare me more than anything. Th e ethical confl icts are much easier to see than some of the subtle business confl icts." Michaluk credits the drafters of the CBA guidelines for encour- aging Canadian lawyers to use new marketing tools. He hopes that gives them some assurance to catch up with the more aggressive tactics of their U.S. counterparts. "Especially some of the larger fi rms are quite conservative about marketing because what it does is it takes control away from the fi rm," he says. Michael Rabinovici, a lawyer and vice president of strategic initiatives with AR Commu- nications Inc., says lawyers can generally avoid problems in on- line communications by focus- ing on providing value to po- tential clients. Overly aggressive web-marketing tactics can back- fi re, he says. "If your social media eff orts are focused on education, as opposed to trying to sell peo- ple on becoming clients, then you're going to encounter a lot less barriers," he says. "In terms of leveraging the web and social media marketing for the legal profession or for lawyers, Marketplace LAWYER WANTED WANTED – Expert in Family Law to proceed with an appeal from taxation of accounts in a malpractice law suit against two lawyers for conspiring and misrepresentation. LawPro needs a "policy holder" to give my case "merit." Contact chalk1up4me@sympatico. ca for details. OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT NORTH YORK accounting firm has a full service executive office for rent. Call Saveria 416-631-9800. OFFICE FOR RENT – in charming Victorian style three-storey house on mature tree-lined street right next door to Yorkville (11 Prince Arthur Ave.) Located at the rear of the third floor, this lovely office is bright with a large window and very quiet (approx. 11' x 12'). Available immediately. 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