online marketing

Friday, April 6th was the 8th Annual Walk to Work Day and GJEL partnered with pedestrian activist group Walk SF to promote the event and bring attention to pedestrian safety throughout the Bay Area. Campaign Goal: The goal of the campaign was to not only encourage people to commute on foot, but also get them…

Over the past year, there has been a lot of discussion about Avvo’s impact on the legal profession. Critics have said that Avvo’s rating system appears arbitrary and fluctuates for no reason. Others, like Jay Fleishman, have praised the web startup for its great web presence and growing community. I’m an unabashed fan of Avvo, both for its innovative platform and its clever discussion of web and legal issues on the Avvo Blog and NakedLaw. For these reasons, among others, I’m growing more and more excited for next week’s Avvocating conference in Orlando, Florida.

No matter what your profession, web culture and social media has become a major force over the past decade and promises to continue it’s influence in the future. But lawyers have been, on average, more resistant to new technologies than professionals in other fields. There are many reasons for this, one of which includes restrictions on legal advertising that have not stayed current with the tech zeitgeist. I spoke with legal ethics expert Diane Karpman about these regulations, the distinction between social media and advertising, and the importance of lawyers interacting with clients online.

The fine folks over at the Avvo Blog are running a guest post I wrote recently about the thin line separating acceptable use of social media and the tendency among some lawyers to go overboard, and appear overbearing online. Though an impressive portion of the legal community has joined the online space through blogs and social media, many remain reluctant, fearing that the new forum could damage the legal profession, the way it has journalism, music, and film. Fortunately, lawyers can avoid this fate by following a few key guidelines.

I just sat in on Avvo’s webinar on “Ethical Issues in Online Advertising and Social Media” and wanted to share some thoughts. I’ve recently been fascinated by the intersection of communication and advertising, which has become increasingly interesting with the rise of social media and online marketing. Here on the GJEL blog, for example, we write about developments in distracted driving legislation, teen drivers, and other issues related to consumer safety because we have a deep interest and want a better market for consumers.