TechHit Will (Message)Save You Time

Awful title. I’m sorry. I’m not Jared; my titles aren’t witty, and my jokes aren’t funny. But, he will be back next week. Until then…

. . .

Back in my first year of law school, my roommates and I had a Halloween party. One of my roommates (also my best friend, Kate) and I were in charge of buying candy. We went overboard, and we had a good amount leftover. Now, in the short two months leading up to Halloween, Kate and I found out that our third roommate, Dave, although perfectly tolerable as I knew him in undergrad (for a few hours each week, in class and at the weekly meetings of our Politics Thesis Support Group, held in the campus pub), was much less tolerable on an all-day basis. So, Kate and I, mature creatures that we are, didn’t want Dave to have any of the extra candy. (Yes, I am aware that it literally sounds like we were five years-old.) And, worse… Kate and I don’t even eat candy. So, we hid the candy-filled bowls under our bed (yes, our bed: we shared a room in our luxurious – ha – Hartford apartment, which was not large enough to fit both of our queen-sized beds; so, we shared a bed, for a year). Naturally, the candy attracted a mouse, who ended up living (and, sadly, dying) in our kitchen. Let this be a lesson to you: If you are going to save something, even if you don’t know why you’re saving it, do save it in the right place. Otherwise, you could end up arguing with your best friend over who should dispose of a dead mouse corpse. No one wants to end up there.

And, that’s where TechHit’s MessageSave comes in. This program allows you to save your Outlook messages (as well as tasks, contacts, and calendared events) in ".msg" format. Sure, Outlook allows you to save a file in this format, too. But, relying on Outlook to do this, instead of MessageSave, would be like trading Manning for Rivers in 2004 (albeit for very different reasons): You forego a few additional capabilities, which ultimately may make a pretty significant difference.

MessageSave has two features that, alone, make it a worthwhile program. The first is so simple that its time-saving value can easily be overlooked and undervalued: MessageSave allows you to save multiple emails as .msg files at once. The second could be so indispensible that you might be sold immediately: MessageSave preserves time stamps and displays added metadata (author, recipient, attachment indication) for convenient viewing in Windows Explorer.

Accordingly, MessageSave is obviously helpful for organizing and maintaining message files saved on your computer drive. (This is obvious, right? – You know, filing correspondence along with the project or case to which it relates…)

But, if you are using some type of case management software, this level of organization and maintenance is nothing new. Presumably, if that software is configured to record client communication records, time stamps will be preserved (and author, recipient, and attachment indication will also be displayed in its file listings). However, those files are saved within the program, and not in your file directory.

So, your preferred method of operating, i.e. using Windows’ file directory or using a case management program, will determine whether you find MessageSave to be a valuable tool, or a redundant one. Similarly, whether or not you utilize a shared workspace program would also influence how essential or duplicative you would find MessageSave to be.

Some other, self-explanatory, conveniences worth mentioning are the auto-renaming options (found under Options > File Naming), and expedient integration with QuickJump, a program which Jared has reviewed.

There is a free 30-day trial, and installation and set-up are as easy as it gets.

. . .

This post is dedicated, in somewhat fond memory, to Kitchen Mouse. May he (or she) rest peacefully.

Hits or Misses: A Review of TechHit’s TwInbox and FBLook

Jared is on vacation. For some reason, he doesn’t want to write any posts during this time. I can’t figure it out. So, I volunteered to review some TechHit programs. But, I know I am no substitute for Jared, and you miss him. So, you can just reread one of his old blog posts. He reviewed TechHit’s QuickJump a while ago.


. . .


TwInbox: TechHit, indeed. TwInbox is a plug-in that allows you to incorporate Twitter into Microsoft Outlook.

Installation and set-up are quick and easy. There’s practically nothing to it, configuration takes seconds. And, the program is small and free: This is a good start.

I have been operating in HootSuite, and I have found that I prefer the interface of TwInbox. I realize that it isn’t as fancy (visually, that is) as HootSuite; but, I don’t find the image, location, or order of the buttons in HootSuite to be particularly intuitive. I find myself initially clicking ‘reply’ when I mean to retweet, ‘save’ when I mean to schedule, etc. TwInbox’s appearance, navigation, and management (of the multi-account capability, too!) are all straightforward. I don’t mind looking at boring graphics, if it means shaving a few seconds off of a task.

Once installed and configured, a subfolder for TwInbox is created in your Inbox. With your TwInbox folder as your new tweeting platform, each account that you authorize will have its own subfolder. Then, under each account subfolder, are subfolders for your home stream, direct messages, mentions, and sent tweets. Note that there is no subfolder for pending tweets. That is because we have no option to schedule tweets. I am told that this feature is on a list of candidates for a future release. Don’t worry. TechHit received my vote for said candidate. It should be just a matter of days before they incorporate it into a new version and release it. I am that important. But, in the meantime, scheduling tweets is pretty important from an efficiency standpoint, if you are trying to maximize your Twitter presence. This is the main reason that I’m unsure if I'm on board with TwInbox.

Two other functions that TwInbox lacks, in comparison to other tweeting-platforms: automatic truncation (although it does provide the “new style” of retweeting as an option), and integration with other social media platforms (e.g., HootSuite allows you to incorporate some aspects of Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, PingFM, WordPress, and Foursquare).

TwInbox does include the ability to post pictures and shorten url’s, with speed and ease.

Operating within Outlook means there is no way to set up columns to view streams side-by-side. I thought this would be a deal-breaker for me. I was wrong. It's better that I'm not tempted to scan across mentions and direct messages, every time I choose to view my home stream. I’ve found no drawbacks to making a point to check and respond to those separately.

Let us move onto TwInbox’s distinct advantages. I find the following Outlook functions to be particularly useful when applied to the world of tweeting, perhaps even more so than functions designed specifically for tweeting, like those seen in HootSuite:

The ‘Reply’ button works as another way to direct message; ‘Reply All’ is another way of replying (i.e., in the public tweet format).

Because each tweet in your newsfeed is the equivalent of an incoming email, you can sort them the same way (i.e. by date, by sender, etc.).

Similarly, you can flag tweets! I’m not sure how practical this is. But, I like it.

You can also search tweets. Again, I haven’t found the occasion to utilize this feature, yet. But, there have been times when I’ve found myself scrolling continuously through my HootSuite home stream in search of a tweet that I’d sworn I’d seen.

Creating a rule is a very convenient way of making a group. You just create a subfolder for it, and then set up as many rules as you want to filter into it tweets from specific users, or containing certain topics.

I have also appreciated the inclusion of the tweet-sender’s profile with each tweet. And, TwInbox’s window for creating a new tweet (or retweet) contains two helpful buttons: one (@), which opens a list of all those you follow, and another (#) which opens a list of hashtags used by those you follow.

Finally, I have a small issue with the format of the home stream. In, Outlook, I am partial to having the preview pane on the right. This causes an incomplete subject line to be displayed, which means that only partial tweets are visible in my feed view. However, if you are a bottom-preview-pane kind of person, this is a non-issue for you. But, if you are like me, you will find that this will slow you down, because you can no longer eyeball your list to survey content, and to decide what to retweet. Your options are to arrow-down the list, reading them one by one, or, you can simply peruse the list to determine which are worth a click to view in full. Either way, given the volume of individual tweets, this produces a significant time loss.


. . .


FBLook: TechMiss. I couldn’t resist. It’s not really a miss; but I wouldn’t call it a hit, either. As you may have guessed, FBLook incorporates Facebook into Outlook.

If all you want to do is update your status, check on your friends' statuses, and reply to messages, then you might very well enjoy FBLook. It is, like TwInbox, easy to install, perfectly intuitive to navigate, small, and free.

However, when managing a wicked awesome business page, you need many more functions, that FBLook does not offer. So, for me, FBLook just sat there on my Outlook toolbar, and I continued to rely on the actual Facebook page, for all my account management-related tasks.

It really is that simple.


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The Rachel-equivalent of Jared’s Liner Notes.

Since we here at LOMAP are getting our team together for this awesome 4k trail run in September, I thought I’d share the playlist I’m planning to use. Why? Because you’ll need one, too. Why? Because you want to run it with us, of course. Just holler, so that we can get you signed up with us. Can you really say no to exercise and charity? Really?

"Bring ‘Em Out" by TI. You can’t beat that beat (ha, ha...) to get your heart pumping right at the start of a race. This is Rodney's favorite song. (I'm just kidding; but, I wanted to link to his Twitter profile somewhere in here.)

"Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" by Shakira. This has to be the best trail running song EVER. I am perfectly aware that I have terrible taste in music, but I promise you’ll love this. It makes you think you're running with gazelles across an African plain, particularly if you wear Vibram FiveFingers, as I do. So, the song sounds familiar? Yes, it was the World Cup theme. Perhaps you didn’t immediately recognize it as such; but, you must have figured it out upon hearing the lyric When you fall, get up…, since we all know what soccer players to best. Or, maybe the video gave it away.

"Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" by A. R. Rahman f/ Nicole Scherzinger. Also amazing. I’ve had this one on my past 12 running playlists, and can’t imagine I’ll ever cut it.

"Power" by Kanye West. Strong lyrics, strong bpm: perfect for a push, since I imagine this will be the point in the race when I am about to die, if I’m doing things correctly.

That’s the end of my goal time. And when I say “goal time”, I mean “goal-I’ll-almost-certainly-never-reach time”.

Cypher Sell: Email Encryption, for the Security of the Well-Traveling Private Data

I know what you’re thinking: Geez, guys, really . . . another post on data privacy. Well, yeah. I mean, remember how we always talk about finding a niche, and marketing the hades out of said niche until it becomes a specialty. Well, now this is happening.

If a regular reader of this blog, you, as I’ve alluded to previously, are aware that the Massachusetts data privacy law became effective on March 1, 2010, such that you (Mr. Business Owner, I am looking at you now, actually) are charged with settled responsibilities respecting the maintenance and disposal of certain statutorily-described information sets. Among other new charges, you must have created a written information security program (a “WISP”), and, under that WISP, you must have determined methods for protecting statutorily-implicated data sets traveling wirelessly. (If you wish more of our take on Massachusetts data privacy, you can find all of our posts on the topic aggregated within our recent coverage of the release of LOMAP’s three-part data privacy series, now available through the Massachusetts Bar Association’s “Lawyers Journal”; that referenced main post is accessible here.) One of the most common, or, at least, one of the most recognizable, ways in which information travels wirelessly is via email. Under the Massachusetts data privacy law, if you are emailing statutorily-covered resident information, that information, or that email (containing that information), must be encrypted. But, how do you go about encrypting email information, messages and attachments? Well, that is the question, isn’t it.

Practically speaking, you can encrypt the data document (containing implicated resident information), then send that encrypted document as an attachment via email, with encrypting the email per se. And, we’ve previously alluded to methods for encrypting documents (for example, by using Microsoft Word, and Adobe Acrobat, and even TrueCrypt--see the informational “Encryption Documentation” (previously released) available at this drop site); but, the encryption of individual documents, or even of document sets, can be time-consuming, and administratively inefficient. If you are looking after a time-saving solution, or for a built-in tool, encryption of your email, generally, may be the most effective option for you and your business.

Attorneys rely on a number of email programs, most popularly, probably, Microsoft Outlook, a traditional Office application; although, many attorneys are moving to web-based email solutions, like the ubiquitous GMail. Whether you use a software application, or a web-based service, there is an email encryption program for you. Tread carefully, however, when you are setting up an email encryption service for your email, whether you are using a built-in program , or applying the service program of a third party vendor. Every email encryption system works off of a private key sort of functionality, meaning that you will assign, or will be assigned, a key, or code, that will unlock emails (whether a series of emails to a recipient, or more generally). It is important that you protect this information, and that you do not inadvertently release that key, or code. The release or disclosure of your key, or code, means that your information, then, is as safe as it once was, meaning, not very. (Of course, you can understand why a key, or code, system is required: the recipient must have a way to access his emails, as against all others. Given the necessity of a key for a lock, there really is no nearly perfect email encryption system, since a key, or code, is always capable of being discovered; however, rather than causing your disgruntlement, this should only steel within you your desire to protect your passwords for secure information as diligently as you endeavor to protect your secure information.)

That general, common (sense) caveat aside, let’s take a look at some specific solutions:

Microsoft Outlook (2003 and 2007), probably the most-used email system by attorneys, features built-in encryption functionality. Setting up encryption within Outlook 2007 will take the technology-savvy attorney roughly two hours, from soup to nuts: or, from determining system requirements to sending your first encrypted email. Here’s how you do it: Select the “Tools” drop down menu, and choose “Trust Center” > “Email Security”. At the “Email Security” dialog box, select the option to encrypt email message content and/or attachments. Outlook 2007 applies a key/code system, as well, for the encoding and decoding of messages; for the Outlook key system, you’ll need to utilize a digital identification certificate. The digital identification certificate must be obtained from a third party. Verisign represents one option for the purchase of a digital identification certificate usable with Outlook; the purchase of a Verisign digital signature runs $20/year. Outlook will require both you and your recipient to utilize digital signatures in email transmission; an encrypted email will not be delivered via Outlook unless the recipient also has a digital signature. When you’re the recipient of an encrypted email, you need only (assuming you have your own digital signature) add the sender (and so download his digital signature information) to your contacts, in order to view the encrypted email, and to exchange emails going forward. Microsoft offers this step-by-step guide for encrypting email messages through Outlook. In January, GMail made https:// encryption standard; that news release, as well as links to other tips for protecting your privacy in GMail, are all available here, via the official GMail Blog. Instructables offers a step-by-step guide for encrypting your GMail account.

Of course, some email systems do not feature built-in encryption. And, you may find what is offered in the way of built-in encryption through your existing program to be not robust enough for you. In either case, you’re looking at grafting on to your email system a third party encryption solution. There are a number of vendors and products in this space, including: ZixCorp, which works within Outlook, and which, when properly configured, allows senders to encrypt messages merely by typing a simple codeword (like: “Encrypt”) into the subject line of an email. Simple. Encrypted messages are held in a secure environment while the recipient is notified that the message is being held; once the recipient’s email address is confirmed, the message is released to the recipient for viewing. ZixCorp is an affordable solution, and presents with ease-of-use. The product is available locally through reseller, Stencrypt, an arm of Catuogno Court Reporting. Reflexion offers a product that is similar to ZixCorp’s solution. BunkerMail offers one-click encryption through Outlook, and through web-based email systems, as well. ArmaCrypt and Windows eCipher also offer products that can be grafted onto web-based email systems. ArmaCrypt adds a toolbar (in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox), through which one-click encryption can be accomplished. MirraMail offers a standalone email system (with one-click encryption for Outlook available through its MirraCrypt program). If you wish a free email encryption system, your wish is granted: HushMail is a web-based email provider that encrypts every email sent through its system. (There is an enterprise edition, which will cost you some money to employ.) There is, however, a not insignificant drawback to the use of HushMail: You can only send HushMail emails to other HushMail users. (Yikes. Yeah, I know as many Hushmail users as you do. Wait, was that Hotmail? No. Yeah, I don’t know anyone who uses HushMail.) Such limitations are not uncommon to freeware programs, though, which such programs are oftentimes more difficult to set up, and to use, than paid programs.

When you are vetting these third party vendors, be those third party vendors email providers, with built-in encryption functionality, or email encryption solution services, you must consider your choice carefully. Think about the utility of the program for the end-user: whether the system will be easy to access for the recipient of your encrypted emails. Consider whether you transmit information that is implicated by the data privacy statute, and how often: that will help you to determine whether you need an email encryption system, or whether it may be easier (and potentially cheaper) for you to encrypt documents piecemeal, as attachments to send. Finally, realize that you must take reasonable steps to ensure, in vetting any third party service providers that will have access to private information implicated by the Massachusetts data privacy statute, that those providers will, in their engagements with your data, comply with the Massachusetts laws on data privacy; this agreement must be memorialized by contract between you and the third party vendor. Third party vendors having access to statutorily-covered resident information would include email service providers (like Microsoft and Google) and email encryption service providers (like Zixcorp and Reflexion). (Sound like it might be a bit difficult to wrangle a contract like that out of Google? Um, Yeah. You may find further, practical suggestions on this head within a prior post at this blog, covering post-effective date matters related to data privacy in Massachusetts; that post is accessible, directly, here.)

For more information on email encryption, you can listen to the latest release of my podcast, the “Legal Toolkit”; in that freshest episode, I interview ZixCorp General Counsel Jim Brashear about all things email encryption.

LOMAP wishes to thank Amanda Senske for her research assistance on the topic of email encryption. Amanda’s foundational research was invaluable to the creation of this blog post.

. . .

Liner Notes

Last week, through a discussion board established at our new Facebook page, I opened up “Liner Notes” for requests. All the requests were for Justin Bieber songs, or for further, irksome Justin Bieber cover songs (like this and like, even more wretchedly, these). I am about as likely to dedicate a “Liner Notes” to Justin Bieber as I am to dedicate one to Miley Cyrus . . . actually, that’s far more likely, even probable . . . anyway. How about: You’d have a better chance of seeing the Pope issue a papal bull recognizing the preeminence of Satan. Yes, That was better. Before you ask, I hate Justin Bieber because he sucks. (Am I turning into Larry David, or something? Are my extremest pet peeves that obviously accessible?)

While I wait for legitimate song requests to come in, let’s get to the real deal: Since we’re blogging about encryption today, let’s keep things thematic (kind of) and cover secret songs. “Secret songs”, alternatively known as “hidden songs”, “ghost tracks” and “easter eggs”, are songs not listed in tracklists, or songs that appear within the tracks of other songs. Finding secret songs was much more fun on cassette tape, where you couldn’t skip to tracks, or fast forward effectively within tracks. But, there goes iTunes, the CD and technology, ruining things again. Stupid technology.

I indicate below: song (with a title of my own, or someone’s else’s, invention, when no title is listed), artist and album (and sometimes preceding song, if the secret song follows the preceding song within the same track), for my favorite secret songs:

“Money/Hangnail” by James Taylor (appearing as the last track on “Hourglass”)

“All By Myself” by Green Day (appearing as the last track on “Dookie”, after “F.O.D.”)

“Subway Ride” by Sheryl Crow (appearing as the last track on “The Globe Sessions”, after “Crash and Burn”)

“Treetop Flyer” by Jimmy Buffett (a Stephen Stills cover (here’s the original), appearing as the last track on “Banana Wind”, after “False Echoes (Havana 1921)”, which features James Taylor on backing vocals)

“The Escapist” by Coldplay (appearing as the last track on “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends”, after “Death and All His Friends”)

“Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues” by Eels (truly, “Road Trip” is one of the funniest movies ever, featuring Stifler)(appearing as the last track on “Daisies of the Galaxy”)

“You Are My Life” by John Hiatt (appearing as the last track on “Walk On”, after “Friend of Mine”)

“The Girl in the Corner” by Lyle Lovett (appearing as the last track on “The Road to Ensenada”, after “The Road to Ensenada”)

“Endless, Nameless” by Nirvana (appearing as the last track on “Nevermind”, after “Something In the Way”)

“11” by R.E.M. (appearing as the last track on “Green”)

“I’m Going Crazy” by The Smashing Pumpkins (appearing as the last track on “Gish”, after “Daydream”)

If you are digging the whole secret song concept as much as I, clearly, am, you can find more results elsewhere. For an alphabetical listing by artist, check out HiddenSongs.com. The Easter Egg Archive offers hidden entertainment, beyond music, and across platforms. What’s an Easter Egg, you ask? This is an Easter Egg. No, just kidding. This is. Well, that was, too; but, you get the idea . . .

Guest Post: Marketing a Virtual Law Office

This is the middle post in a three-part series on the virtual practice of law authored by Stephanie Kimbro for the LOMAP Blog. The first part in this series provided a basic introduction to the topic of virtual law practice and the unbundling of legal services online. This piece will cover the marketing of a virtual law office. The final installment of the series will cover ethical issues and best practices related to delivering legal services online.

To hear even more of Stephanie’s take on virtual law practice, listen to her appearance on my “Legal Toolkit” podcast, here.

Stephanie is the winner of the ABA’s 2009 James I. Keane Memorial Award, for Excellence in eLawyering. For more information on Stephanie and her practice, visit her blog. And, watch for Stephanie’s book on virtual law practice, to be released by the ABA later this year.

. . .

Marketing a Virtual Law Office

Marketing a virtual law office requires some out-of-the-box thinking. It also requires careful balancing of the application of non-traditional marketing methods with continuing compliance with state bar rules and regulations regarding attorney advertising. Where state bars are silent on specific forms of online advertising or the use of technology, attorneys must interpret existing advertising rules and regulations to fit the context of modern-day practice. (For an in-depth discussion covering the creation of attorney websites and the rules that apply to same, see the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics’ Opinion No. 98-2. More generally, Massachusetts attorneys are essentially asked to extrapolate ethical rules for traditional marketing methods in application to non-traditional, online advertising methods, per Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2 and Comment 3 to that rule. There is also available from the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, at its articles repository, a 2000 piece entitled “Brave New World Wide Web: Ethics Issues and On-Line Legal Services”, which addresses ethical questions related to new modes of online advertising.)

While in many ways the strategy for marketing a virtual law office does not differ substantially from the strategy for marketing a traditional law firm, the methods for advertising a virtual law office are most often online options, and are mostly digital, rather than paper-, or phone-, based. The methods used to market the virtual form of practice must be utilized with consideration as to where the prospective online clients are coming from and as to how the firm will deliver legal services to those clients online. In some cases, the marketing of a virtual law practice may cost less than the marketing of a traditional law firm. However, there are also unique risks associated with marketing unbundled, online legal services. Forms of online marketing and methods of building a brand change rapidly, as the technology underlying the internet and marketing on the internet shift over time. Before you begin to market your virtual law office, you must understand what your firm’s comfort level is with respect to using and keeping up with technology (and that “keeping up” includes addressing prevailing security issues, like those implicated by Massachusetts’ new data privacy regulations); you’ll also need to have a grounded knowledge in your state bar or ethics agency’s stance on attorney advertising and online marketing.

Creating a VLO Marketing Strategy

If you operate a traditional law firm that is integrating a virtual law office into a prevailing practice, consider writing a separate marketing plan for the virtual law office component, which separate marketing plan will fit in with the firm’s overall marketing goals. In establishing that separate plan, you may need to consider marketing to a separate online client base or marketing the virtual law office as an amenity to your existing, in-person clients. If you operate a completely web-based virtual law office, you may want a less traditional marketing plan, that reaches out primarily to online clients, and that spans your jurisdiction(s). Regardless of the type of virtual law office you opt for, don’t rule out in-person, local and community-oriented networking as an adjunct to your online marketing, that has reach beyond your physical location. With either form of virtual law practice, the combination of in-person and virtual reputation-building should help you to derive a steady online client stream, in the long run.

However, you should be realistic in your expectations. Just because you build a client portal into your firm’s website, it does not mean that prospective clients will filter into your virtual law office automatically. As with any business, expect to spend 9 months to a year building an online client base, building the SEO for your site and establishing a strong online presence and reputation within your virtual law office’s jurisdiction(s).

Regardless of the form of virtual law practice you are operating/intend to operate, finding answers to the following questions will help you to establish a marketing strategy:

-What are your prospective clients searching for when they go online seeking legal services?
-What keywords or terms are they searching online to find a virtual law office?
-How do you intend to market the firm’s unbundled legal services online? For example, Will you provide sample fixed fees for legal services packages, or offer unbundled legal services online, in addition to full-service representation? Plan out how you will present these unbundled offerings to prospective online clients.
-What is the age and socio-economic background of your target client base online?
-How do you intend to brand your virtual law office? What image do you want for the online presence of your practice?
-What is your firm’s comfort level in using social media, and other forms of online networking, to market your practice? Does your firm have a social networking policy in place?
-What resources can your firm devote to building an online presence? Will someone in the firm be responsible for monitoring this?

Build a Consistent Online Presence

Build an online presence and reputation for your virtual law practice by being consistent with your marketing methods. Make weekly and monthly marketing to-do lists that remind you to take a proactive role in developing your online presence. Monitor your online reputation regularly by using Google Analytics, Google Alerts and other web-based tools that let you see when your name, or your firm’s name, is mentioned online. Be active on networking sites and comment on blogs where appropriate, while also leaving your digital signature on posts, on listservs and on forums, so that the audiences within those groups can easily travel from that content to your virtual law office site.

Don’t Forget the Human Behind the Virtual

Just because your communications are primarily conducted online does not mean that you should forget to add a human component to the marketing of your virtual practice. Let prospective online clients see who they will be working with online. It may help to instill trust with respect to a process of receiving legal services that may be new to them. At a minimum, you should post your picture on your static website. You can also record a video introduction of yourself, and your practice, and that may also be included on your homepage.

Consider also recording video tutorials that will walk your prospective clients through the registration process for your secure client portal, or that will explain to them how to request legal services from your virtual law office. You might also want to host a free, educational webinar for the public that is related to your practice area. Real-time chat through your website is another option for connecting with prospective clients online. Use technology to create a personal experience for the visitors to your website.

With all of these suggestions, and other similar methods, you must consider the security of the web-based technology that is being used, and what types of confidential information may be transmitted using such methods. In some cases, you may need to limit your prospective clients’ access, or ability to communicate certain information, over unsecure methods, in order to protect them from themselves. You might remind them regularly, on the site and in other ways, that, in order to secure their communications with you regarding their personal legal matters, they must register on your secure client portal.

Social Media

Find ways to use social media to connect with other attorneys, business professionals and prospective clients for your virtual law practice. If you’re comfortable using social media networking, you might want to create profiles on multiple sites; or, if you’re not so comfortable, you might stick to sites where networking is limited to legal professionals. Before engaging in the use of social media as a form of marketing, establish some form of social networking policy for your office. Decide what image and brand you will be conveying, and which audience you will be directing that image to; then, be consistent with the application of that strategy.

Of course, you should, in utilizing social media, keep in mind that there are risks associated with communicating with prospective clients and existing clients online through non-secure social networking sites. So, pay close attention to privacy settings when establishing your profiles, and make sure that your clients understand that communicating with you via these methods is most likely not a secure transmission of confidential information. You will want to educate yourself, and your associates and office staff, about these significant risks before you dive in. One useful resource on social media and lawyers’ marketing can be found in the article, “Social Media: What It Is and Why It Matters” by Niki Black and Carolyn Elefant. There are many state ethics opinions on the topic of online advertising, so check with your state bar or ethics agency before engaging in any of these methods.

Avoid Certain Traditional Methods

There are some traditional advertising methods that are simply not effective for a virtual law office. Some of these include: phone book listings, paper announcements, business cards and print advertisements. Your clients are seeking legal services online, and rarely utilize these paper methods to locate you, even if directly presented with the option. Attorney online directories or registries will often limit a listing to a specific city or zip code; these services may even want to charge you separately for listings in each city that you wish to reach. This may not be cost-effective. There are, however, some online directories cropping up that exclusively list virtual law offices: MyLawyer.com is one example of this sort of site, open to the general public.

Similarly, rather than using traditional paper methods to update your contacts with announcements and news about your virtual law office, instead send regular email blasts to subscribers of your website or blog or to existing clients and contacts. This is not entirely radical, as, in many cases, you’re merely refocusing your efforts on updated, digital versions of the traditional marketing methods that you used to use.

Educate and Provide Quality Content

One of the most effective marketing methods that a virtual law office can engage in is to regularly publish quality content to its website or blog. Not only does quality content help build the SEO for a virtual law office site, but it also provides your prospective clients with a basic introduction to their legal needs, or to the practice area that you focus in. Create a blog for your practice that is geared towards prospective clients, or towards other attorneys in your practice area. Consider providing other educational resources on your site, as well, like: video tutorials on different subjects; web-based calendars or calculators; or, links to other legal resources or sites related to topics reflecting your clients’ legal needs.

What Makes Your VLO Unique?

As more virtual law offices open up, many of them will come to offer unbundled services and state-specific legal documents that may be similar to the offerings of your own virtual law practice. The ability of a firm to differentiate its virtual law office from the others will depend on how well that firm develops a unique brand for their online delivery of legal services. You must, then, find a unique way to identify with your prospective clients, so that enough of a connection is made via your virtual law office website that they will be prompted to think of your firm’s online offerings when their legal need does arise. Create a brand that the firm projects online, and be consistent with this image as your reputation becomes established.

In general, your firm’s marketing strategies should erase the concept that the law and the legal profession are intimidating, and that collaborative legal help is impossible to obtain. Make the convenient and affordable online access to justice a key focus of your practice’s marketing methods, and it will pay off in the long term.

Tips for a "Fan"-tastic Facebook Fan Page

I'll promise you one thing. The content of this post will be better than that sad attempt at a witty title.

Customized Facebook Fan Pages are about more than just “the Wall” .

I kind of don’t want to admit all of what I am about to admit, but Jared is making me, I guess since we’re a non-profit, or something: The truth is that you really only need to know two things to make up a pretty neatly-customized fan page on Facebook. (Just don’t tell Rodney, okay, because he was impressed by my work; I’d like to keep it that way.)

Before I reveal the big secret, let me offer some general tips, while also expanding upon some of Jared’s earlier points.

Before you do anything, you’ll have to have, or set up, a personal Facebook account; you’ll need a personal account to administer a fan page. (I don’t get the impression that they’re calling them Fan Pages anymore, either; but, referring to them as such is just my throwback. Now, you’ll also note that the name you choose for your fan page cannot be changed. Of course, you could delete it and make a new one, if you’re just starting out, and haven’t created a significant branding impression; but, once you’ve put time into the creation of a page, published that page, and accumulated fans, starting over may be out of the question.

After you’ve created your page, you’ll use Account > Manage Pages, to get back to it, and for making changes.

You should make sure that your page remains “unpublished” until you’re ready to launch; that way, you can work in the background before your page goes live, so that no one will see anything but the finished product. Of course, the default is set to publish immediately. Crazy. Fix this by going to Edit Page (the link just below your page’s picture) > Settings > Edit, which will reveal the dropdown option for published/unpublished status.

Once you do launch, you’ll need only 25 fans in order to claim a vanity url (something like a username for your Facebook fan page, which will look like www.Facebook.com/MassLOMAP), which vanity url is also unchangeable, once you establish it. The vanity url makes referencing your page, and navigating to it, much easier, as Jared explained. To create your vanity url, make sure you are logged in as an administrator. Then, just type "http://www.facebook.com/username/" (exactly that—type “username”; don’t insert your username) into the browser. Under the box with your personal username, you’ll find the option to “Set a username for your Pages.”

And, before I forget to mention, you are not able to make comments from your personal account (i.e. under your personal account, via your personal name) on any other page that you administer; comments will be displayed as coming from that page. (We learned this the hard way, after much talking to ourselves on our own page, to start.) Join the crusade to have this remedied here.

. . .

Onto the bread and butter, then, of the customized Facebook fan page.

The Bread: Static FBML (Facebook Markup Language)

This is a Facebook application that allows you to create customized tabs and/or boxes, and is set up to use HTML. The application is available at http://www.facebook.com/apps/directory.php#%21/apps/application.php?id=4949752878&v=info&ref=appd. From the Static FBML Application Page, click “Add to my Page”, directly below the page’s picture.

Next, go to “Edit Page”, and find “FBML” now in your list of Applications, and click “Edit”. Put your content in there. Simple. Note that you can add more FBML boxes using the link, “Add another FBML box”, appearing at the bottom of this screen.

The (rest is all) Butter: Writing HTML.

It’s surprisingly easy to figure out how to do this, especially with the help of this website.

. . .

Some More Notes: Each application can have a box, a tab, or both. The default settings vary for whether an application will show with a box, a tab, or both. To change this setting on any given application, start, once again, at “Edit Page”, find the relevant application, and click its “Application Settings”, in order to reveal options. To change the order of your boxes and tabs, it’s just a drag and drop mechanism.

Assuming you’ve made a “Welcome” tab, as we have, you’ll want new visitors to land there, rather than to land at your wall. To change your landing tab, head back to “Edit Page” and then Wall Settings > Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else (dropdown). Note: this is the landing tab for everyone else. That means that, as a page administrator, you will still default on entry to your page’s wall (that’s supposed to happen). While you’re here (here being: Edit Page > Wall Settings > Edit), you can change the “Default View for Wall”, if you’d like wall posts from others to show as the default display (versus your wall posts only). Also, if you get fancy with promotions at any point, you may want to temporarily set your landing page to an FBML box that advertises such promotion.

Another thing you’ll definitely want to do is to import your blog to your Facebook fan page through the “Notes” application. Back to “Edit Page”, and then Notes > Edit. “Import a blog” is an option in the “Notes Settings” box in the top, right-hand corner. Click that, and in the web url field that appears, just type your blog’s address, and check the certification box. If that doesn’t work, run your blog through a feed validator, to check for issues.

Throw your Facebook badge on your blog, too: http://www.facebook.com/badges/page.php

To link a live stream of your Twitter feed at your Facebook fan page, grab the Twitter Tab application, and install it (Edit Page > Applications > Twitter Tab > Application Settings, then click “add” for tab and/or box). VIP access allows you to stream up to 9 Twitter accounts. But, check your budget first: this costs a whopping $10 for three years. I was pretty stoked about this feature, so, Rodney appeased me by giving me the green light to go ahead and buy VIP access. . . . But he said that I had to stop Bogarting the office supply of Poland Springs water to offset that huge cost. I’m so thirsty. But, that’s neither here nor there. If you do purchase the VIP membership, go to http://apps.facebook.com/twittab/accounts.php to set up additional feeds.

Google Analytics. Here: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-add-google-analytics-to-your-facebook-fan-page/. That’s all I know.

Finally, and probably most importantly (because, if no one reads your content, Did a tree really fall in the forest?), you’ll want to grow your Facebook fan (page) base. No one wants to be a one-man wolf pack. So, you’ll probably want tips for that, too, right? Or maybe you don’t need any, because you think you’re cooler than me. If you’re not, though, just read these ideas. I can’t offer much else here, either, especially as the growth of your personal brand is very much a personal thing, and must be in agreement with your personality and skills.

Incidentally, after I created our page, I discovered the following helpful articles (how timely!):

-“How to Create the Perfect Facebook Fan Page”
-“How to Customize Your Facebook Page Using Static FBML”
-“Build a Facebook Landing Page”