Law Times

Page 12 June 6, 2016 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com focus Law firms navigate Twitter humour, sensitivity BY MICHAEL MCKIERNAN For Law Times W hat do the NBA playoffs and Ontario appeal court decisions have in common? Very little, except that they both featured heavily in the Twitter feed of Robert Centa over the last month. The managing partner at liti- gation boutique Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP was a relatively early adopter on the social media platform, joining back in April 2009, but he spent his early days on the site in a purely observational role. His role models then and now are Tony Clement, the former federal cabinet minister, Lorne Sossin, the dean at Osgoode Hall Law School, and Julia Hanigs- berg, the president and CEO at the Holland Bloorview Kids Re- habilitation Hospital. "I think each of them has a very deft touch in how they use Twitter. They're comfortable in the professional mode, but also manage to be somewhat fun," Centa says. "My feed is partly about the law and decisions that interest me, but what I learned from watching is that it's impor- tant to have a personal aspect to your account, so that it doesn't just sound like you're issuing press releases in 140 characters." At Paliare Roland, the firm's policy on Twitter ref lects the spontaneity and free-f lowing nature of the site. "We don't have one," Centa says. "Ultimately, that's because no matter what a policy says, unless it's a categorical ban — which is a bad idea by the way — it all comes down to a million judgment calls made every time you tweet or re-tweet. Instead, we take the approach that we can trust our people. We know they have great judgment; that's why they're here." Jana Schilder, the co-founder of marketing company The Le- gal A Team, encourages firms to develop a policy, but she says they should be short and easily un- derstood, stressing the personal responsibility of each poster. "You don't want to make it really onerous, but I think it's something that lawyers and professional staff should be re- minded about and required to sign every year," she says. According to Sandra Bekhor, a marketing consultant for law- yers and other professionals, a light touch approach to Twitter policies can be a good marketing ploy if it encourages lawyers to relax and be themselves online. "Good marketing is all about revealing your true strength and true values; all the kind of stuff that usually happens in meet- ings. It comes through more nat- urally on Twitter than on other sites, because the culture is dif- ferent, and a little bit more fun," says Bekhor, president of Bekhor Management in Toronto. However, she says lawyers still need to be careful they don't let themselves become too relaxed. "The same thing goes for a meeting. You wouldn't show up and sit in a slouchy way with jeans on and your shirt pulled out," Bekhor says. "You need to figure out a balance." According to Schilder, Twit- ter's informal atmosphere can be a double-edged sword. "If people don't know your sense of humour, it can be hard to get it across in 140 characters. Twitter doesn't always lend itself well to irony," she says. Horror stories are not in short supply, says Schilder, recalling the case of Justine Sacco, a New York-based communications director who tweeted an ill- advised joke about AIDS in Af- rica before jumping on a plane to the continent, only to find out she had gone viral and lost her job by the time she landed. Centa has had his own f lirta- tions with the cheekier side of Twitter, bantering in the past with the notorious Bad Legal LLP, an anonymous account that parodies the life of an un- scrupulous Bay Street lawyer. Bad Legal LLP sums up its ap- proach to the law in this way: "We offer three kinds of legal services: bad, slow or expensive. You can pick any two." "I do engage sometimes, but I try to be careful, because when you're tweeting with an anony- mous account, it's easy for them to have the last word," Centa says. At employment law firm Wil- liams HR Law, the firm's found- er and principal Laura Williams got a close-up look at a Twitter storm when a senior employee at one of her clients got into an argument over the government's refugee policy. The first the cli- ent knew about it was when complaints started coming in to the CEO. "It got quite ugly," Williams says. Despite the dangers, avoiding Twitter altogether simply isn't an option, according to Williams. "There are huge benefits to firms who leverage social media; this is how people communicate these days," she says. "It can be really a great way of enhancing the firm's profile, which trans- lates into business and clients." Williams' own firm central- izes its Twitter feed, vetting posts internally according to its guidelines, before sending them to followers. "If there are going to be indi- viduals tweeting, that has to be a little more regulated, in terms of what's on brand, and giving guidance on risks. A policy will have to set up those require- ments, and there have to be con- sequences if someone steps out of line," Williams says. Schilder has some specific suggestions, like not mention- ing a client in a Tweet unless you have permission in writing, or fooling yourself into thinking Twitter is private. "Don't use a hashtag without checking to make sure it's not being used for something that could make you look foolish or get you into trouble," she says. LT Jana Schilder says law firms should develop Twitter policies, but she says they should be short and easily understood. When you're working, Grow your business and acquire new clients with a full-service online marketing solution. 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