The Legal Intelligencer Blog

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story in today’s Legal is the state Superior Court reviving a $500 million malpractice claim against K&L Gates. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, K&L Gates and accounting firm Pascarella & Wiker are being sued for allegedly failing to detect fraudulent activity at the now bankrupt Le-Nature’s when they conducted an internal investigation years before the bankruptcy.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Gina Passarella writes that Cozen O’Connor is seeking to reopen a discontinued lawsuit filed against it by former Wolf Block lawyers.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a case regarding whether attorney-client privilege protects clients’ identities from being made public.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Jeff Mordock writes that Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott has added nine attorneys to its Wilmington, Del., office.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In a Professional Conduct column on Page 5, David B. Picker writes about a potential new duty to preserve pre-closing transaction documents.

In an Environmental Law column on Page 7, Thomas J. Farnan writes that a case regarding the definition of “mineral” could have a big impact on shale.

Today’s lead story in PLW is the state Supreme Court holding oral arguments last week in a case balancing the Coroner’s Act with the Right-to-Know Law. As reporter Ben Present writes, a media company was prohibited from immediately looking at a coroner’s autopsy reporter to find out the manner in which a Pennsylvania college student died and was appealing the issue.

Below the fold on Page 1, Ben Present writes that the Supreme Court will take up will-contest proceeds in a divorce case in a case of first impression.

On Page 3, Ben Present writes that the Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments regarding whether retirement packages block unemployment benefits.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he writes that veteran lawyers often face more disciplinary action than younger ones; William F. Kerry Jr.’s Municipal Law commentary, in which he writes that the Pa. real estate tax structure presents dilemmas for municipal officials; and Jeff Jubelirer’s Public Relations commentary, in which he writes that PR should be done by your employees, not just outside assistants.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Wednesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Today’s top story is a split en banc state Superior Court panel barring a venue change from Philadelphia to Dauphin County in a suit against Harrisburg law firm Keefer Wood Allen & Rahal and other defendants. As reporter Zack Needles writes, the panel ruled 6-3 to reverse a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas ruling that had granted the defendants’ petition to change venues for forum non conveniens, a ruling that was then upheld 2-1 by a three-judge Superior Court panel.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes on yesterday’s events from the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia priest sex-abuse trial. Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said she would not prospectively rule on whether prosecutors could introduce defrocked priest Edward V. Avery’s guilty plea to sexually abusing D.G., who is set to testify today, until after cross-examination is conducted.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes that a federal judge has denied a $926,000 referral fee to an attorney who referred cases to a class action RICO suit that settled for hundreds of millions of dollars in 2009.

In more Regional News on Page 3, David Gialanella of Legal affiliate New Jersey Law Journal writes about a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruling that the government does not need to send a lawyer or other representative to administrative or litigation proceedings for a successful adversary to win attorney fees incurred in fighting the government’s action.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In this week’s GC Mid-Atlantic column on Page 5, Steven D. Usdin and Nella M. Bloom write about identifying signs that a company is in financial distress.

In a Media Law column on Page 7, Gayle C. Sproul and Michael Berry write that the press and public should be free to tweet from court.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to email any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Foot-in-Mouth Media Interviews by Clients in High-Profile Cases

By Gina F. Rubel
Special to the Legal

What do divorce, homicide and sexually deviant behavior have in common in today’s media? It all makes for hot news but bad media interviews for clients in high-profile cases. That’s the bottom line.

Gary Giordano, Kris Humphries and Jerry Sandusky are three men who are all currently involved in unrelated, high-profile court cases. Giordano is the sole suspect in the high-profile disappearance case of American Robyn Gardner in Aruba. Humphries is involved in a public divorce battle with reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Sandusky, as the world knows, is the former Penn State University assistant football coach involved in the highly publicized child sex abuse case. All three have come under criticism for their alleged deviant and criminal behavior, not to mention their recent media interviews that appeared stiff, insincere and all-around unconvincing.

Giordano appeared twice on “Good Morning America” to defend himself with Jose Baez, the famous Casey Anthony attorney, by his side. He seemed unable to clearly answer questions as to why he and Gardner were snorkeling when Gardner was known to hate swimming, why he became suddenly distressed in the water and swam for shore, and why he waited over an hour to report Gardner as a missing person to the local authorities. Giordano has been criticized for coming off as unemotional and heartless in his interviews. However, a possible defense tactic was made public to create doubt that perhaps Gardner was abducted by human traffickers from Venezuela, which is only a 30-minute boat ride away. Hmmm. I wonder.

From a media relations perspective, when a high-profile individual answers questions with the same answer verbatim, over and over again, it becomes clear that the person isn’t speaking for himself. It’s an issue of credibility. We saw this with the recent Kris Humphries interview on “Good Morning America.” He repeated the same statement over and over again when asked pointed questions regarding his divorce from Kim Kardashian. Humphries appeared unnatural and stiff with unemotional body language. He repeated a canned statement that, in my opinion, diminished his credibility.

The most baffling media interview is that of Jerry Sandusky regarding the various counts of child molestation he is facing. From a public relations perspective it’s hard to understand why Sandusky’s attorney, Joseph L. Amendola, would allow him to speak in public.

During a telephone interview on NBC's "Rock Center" on Nov. 14 with Bob Costas, Sandusky said he was not guilty of the criminal charges against him, but recognized that he did engage in inappropriate behavior with children, including taking showers with boys. Later, in a partially videotaped interview with the New York Times, it is clear that Amendola was directing Sandusky’s comments for clarification.

While Amendola has a long-standing reputation as a well-known criminal defense attorney, he, too, has been caught up in media firestorms in the past. It is going to be interesting to see how the Sandusky case plays out in the end. At least they made one very smart decision: to waive Sandusky’s preliminary hearing Tuesday.

It is important for attorneys to learn how to manage the media message. Sometimes it is better just to say that while the matter remains in the courts, you are going to refrain from “trying the case in the court of public opinion.” At least that’s better than saying, “no comment.” In these cases, even I might say “no comment” would have been better than the statements made by Gary Giordano, Kris Humphries and Jerry Sandusky.

Gina F. Rubel is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications Inc., a public relations and marketing agency with a niche in legal communications. A former Philadelphia trial attorney, public relations and marketing expert, she is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. She and her PR and marketing firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, web and graphic design, strategic planning and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com, is a contributor to National Law Review, The Legal Intelligencer Blog and The Huffington Post. You can find her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter. 

New Online-Only Story Package: 'Mega-Verdicts'

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the homepage of The Legal, you'll see a section marked "Online Only." This is an area that we're going to be building up in the future months, but first we want to make sure you know what it is!

The Online Only section is comprised of packages of stories that have appeared in the paper about a common topic. There's one, for example, that includes all of our coverage of the Marcellus Shale play called "The Big Play," and another called "Firm Footprints," dedicated to stories our staff has written about firm office openings (including Saul Ewing's recent foray into the Boston legal market). Past packages dealt with law firm financial reports and the Luzerne County scandal.

The idea is to take these trend stories and condense them into an easily accessible package so that with one click, you can see all of the content at once. As for the name -- you can only find these trend-related packages online!

The reason I'm directing your attention there today is because there is a brand-new Online-Only package for you to check out. We called it "Mega-Verdicts: Eight Figures and Up," and those are exactly the stories you'll find included there: verdicts and settlements of $10 million and over. These are the biggest numbers that we have written about since the beginning of the year, ranging from the May 25 $10 million Motrin award to the $177 million oil-spill defense verdict we reported on in April.

We hope that you'll take a look, and if you have ideas of your own for trend-related Online Only packages, let me know!

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal. Follow her on Twitter at @JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail [email protected].

NBA Sideline Chatter, Twitter and a Defamation Claim

By Joshua D. Wolson
Special to the Legal

With the NCAA tournament upon us, we will no doubt see images of coaches' demonstrative reactions to referees’ calls. All of this will take place under an intense microscope of press and public scrutiny, just as it always has. But now, a new dynamic adds to the mix.  Members of the press are expected not only to write their articles, but also to "Tweet" interesting tidbits in something approximating real time. However, a lawsuit filed this week highlights the difficulties of doing so. 

NBA referee Bill Spooner filed suit this week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (also home to Brady v. NFL) against the Associated Press and AP reporter Jon Krawczynski over a Tweet from Krawczynski during an NBA game. During the game, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis complained about a call that gave the Houston Rockets free throws. After an exchange, Rambis reportedly asked Spooner how the Timberwolves would get the points back. Krawczynski tweeted about Spooner’s response: "Ref Bill Spooner told Rambis he'd 'get it back' after a bad call. Then he made an even worse call on Rockets. That's NBA officiating folks." Spooner denies promising a makeup call. 

The case raises two interesting legal issues. First, can what happens on an NBA court can ever be a private matter? Can an NBA referee ever conduct his activities outside of issues of public controversy? Or are major sporting events -- which are, after all, nothing more than a public exhibition -- inherently matters of public concern? 

The answer to that question, of course, determines whether a plaintiff must show "actual malice," meaning knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. Spooner claims to conduct his activities "outside of, and uninvolved with, any issues of public controversy."

At first blush, it seems Spooner will have a hard time avoiding the conclusion that the Tweet in question touched on an issue of public concern. In his complaint, Spooner claims the Tweet accused him of making a false call -- a form of game fixing. And, according to Spooner, the issue of game fixing is highly sensitive for NBA referees because the public still remembers Tim Donaghy's admission two years ago that as a referee, he bet on games and made calls that affected the margin of victory. Donaghy pled guilty to federal criminal charges as a result -- surely an issue of public concern.

Spooner's claim that he is a private figure seems fundamentally in tension with his allegations that the influence of the Donaghy affair makes Krawczynski's Tweet particularly sensitive.

The suit also raises a second issue: are defamation standards different for Tweets than for other forms of speech? Twitter is, by its nature, a constrained form of speech. Some might argue that Tweets are inherently less reliable than other forms of communication, and Twitter users understand that to be the case. Certainly, Twitter lends itself to a speak-now-and-ask-questions-later mentality. Those quick hits make it difficult to do proper research, but they also might make it difficult to make a statement knowing its falsity, or even with reckless disregard of the truth. 

Thus, while the Twitterverse might not have its own standard, its fundamental nature -- at this time of year, one might say its "madness" -- will be important to evaluating Spooner's suit and other claims of defamatory Tweets. 

Joshua D. Wolson is a partner in the litigation department at Dilworth Paxson. He can be reached at 215-575-7295 or [email protected].

Law Firm Confidential: What Do You Wish Your Colleagues Knew?

By Stephanie Baum
Of the Legal Staff

Earlier this month, the Legal published an article titled, "What Do Attorneys Wish Their Paralegals Knew?"
The article, an informal survey of a handful of lawyers contributed by Kim Walker, senior litigation paralegal with Berger & Montague, generated a long list of desires both practical and not so much.

Some of the items on the "wish list" ranged from practical knowledge, like proofreading and researching, to behavioral issues like dressing professionally and getting along with others in the firm. One attorney said, "I wish my paralegal knew that I don't like to work on the weekends either, but sometimes it's just necessary."

The point of the article wasn't just for attorneys to vent, though. As Walker wrote, "Some of the wishes seem to be common sense, but all too often paralegals get complacent, especially if they've worked for a firm for a long time. Take the time to look at the list and highlight some of the areas where you may be weak."

But why stop there? We'd like to open this up to other positions with a law firm. What do attorneys wish their associates knew? What about your managing partners? And by the way, paralegals, what do you wish your attorneys knew?

We're inviting your comments! Send us your own "wish list" for your colleagues, either by e-mailing me or leaving a comment below.

Meet the Legal Blawgers: #Blawger Hashtag Allows Attendees to Share Thoughts in Real Time on Twitter

By Gina F. Rubel

I recently had the pleasure to moderate a media panel, “Meet the Legal Blawgers: An Insiders' Perspective on Connecting with the Legal Blogosphere” presented by the Bar-News Media Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, which I chair. We had with us a very distinguished panel of Philadelphia-area journalists.

Before getting into the specifics, and for those unfamiliar with Twitter, please keep in mind that wherever you see the @ symbol below, it indicates a person’s Twitter handle (or Twitter name) so you can use the full name to find them on Twitter. For example, on Twitter, I go by @ginarubel.

Among the panelists were Jeff Blumenthal, (@jeffdblumenthal) Staff Writer, Philadelphia Business Journal; Chris Brennan (@CloutDailyNews), Political Writer, Philadelphia Daily News and Co-Writer, PhillyClout; HughE Dillon (@iPhillyChitChat), Editor, PhillyChitChat.com; Hank Grezlak, Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Legal Intelligencer (@thelegalintel); Catherine Lucey, Staff Reporter, Philadelphia Daily News and Co-Writer, PhillyClout (@PhillyClout); and Saul Segan, Esq. (@saulesq), Contributor, The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com). Also in attendance as special guests were Craig Ey (@PBJeditor), the new editor of the Philadelphia Business Journal and Janine Clingenpeel, the editor of SmartCEO Magazine (www.smartceo.com) who was in town for the launch of the magazine’s Philadelphia edition.

By using wthashtag.com, I was able to capture the Twitter stream from the media panel program. Although there is sometimes redundancy because people re-tweet what has been said, wthashtag captures the transcript and converts it to chronological order, which makes it much easier to read. Read on to see what the panelists had to say from the perspective of the attendees. 

Transcript from Sept. 16 to Sept. 17: wthashtag.com/blawgers using hashtag #blawgers

@PhilaBar:  Today's presenting #blawgers: HughE Dillon, Chris Brennan, Jeff Blumenthal, Hank Grezlak, Saul Segan & Catherine Lucey 

@PhilaBar:  Bar News Media Comm Chair Gina Furia Rubel (@ginarubel) welcomes packed room to #blawgers event #fb 

@PhilaBar:  Furia Rubel (@furiarubel): How has blogging changed the media landscape? #blawgers 

@PhilaBar:  Grezlak: Provide a lot of flexibility but also increases competition; have to be aware of misinformation as well #blawgers 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers Tweeting about Philly legal media and bloggers today: PBJ, Legal Intelligencer, PhillyChitChat, PhillyClout and more! 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers @iphillychitchat says "I keep a factual blog and moderate comments closely, I respond to emails directly" regarding his blog's... 

@msbruschetta:  Some attendees are, like me, posting about this panel to social media. One's using hashtag #blawgers (given the legal focus of the talk!). 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers @jeffdblumenthal uses Twitter frequently and uses DM to engage and dialog with readers 

@PhilaBar:  Blumenthal: Providing links in blogs to related stories valuable #blawgers 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers Blogs are a great tactic for news stories that might not fit into traditional media 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers The Legal Intel "We use the blog as a way to make quick updates to stories and as a follow up to other stories in real-time" 

@lizcies:  Blogs used to post stories that didn't fit in paper, or for guest posts #blawgers 

@lizcies RT @PhilaBar: Grezlak: Blogs enable readers to "get inside a reporter's notebook" #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  "Some of the best blogs ever written are the things you stumble over." Story about use of @Phillies seats, fun nuggets of info. #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Thanks for hosting today, @PhilaBar! #blawgers (@PRSAPhilly) 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers @phillyclout says "We're not lawyers" so it helps to have the details of new cases ready for them if you reach out

@LPPowers:  #blawgers @iphillychitchat blogs on events with a focus in Philly but is always interested in news within 50 miles outside Philly 

@msbruschetta:  Emphasizing the importance of attending events, networking. Your biz should support you! Helpful in economic recovery. #blawgers 

@PhilaBar: Furia Rubel: Being photographed at events helps you get hits on search engines if name tagged to photo; gives you more exposure #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Blogging allows you to share passions, let off steam & meet similarly-minded folks. "It's much more mainstream than you think." #blawgers 

@lizcies:  1st read every day? One panelist reads his competitors 1st. #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Panelists sharing their daily must-reads. Multiple mentions for @politico. #blawgers 

@LPPowers:  politicspa.com is a good warehouse for politics across the state #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Prefer creative or straightforward pitches? #blawgers #PR 

@lizcies:  What pitches grab attn? Charities, straightforward, on topic, specific. #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Tailor to what the reporter covers! Follow-up calls = time suck. Get to the point fast. #PR #pitching #tips #blawgers 

@lizcies:  Get to the point fast in pitches. Offended if you're not reading what  their writing. #blawgers 

@PhilaBar:  Best pitches? Lucey: Creative but understand what I cover; Brennan: "The follow-up phone call is a drag"; Grezlak: Straightforward #blawgers 

@lizcies:  One complained about follow up calls. Said he'll respond to email if interested. #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Finding story sources: Googling & finding people's blogs. Interesting! #blawgers #blogging #PR 

@lizcies:  Try to find sources outside of story for perspective. Google for sources, call universities, look @ authors on amazon #blawgers 

@msbruschetta:  Don't just start blogging about anything. Make sure you have something to say, to set yourself apart from others! #blawgers 

@LPPowers:  #blawgers @phillyclout @saulesq @iphillychitchat @jeffdblumenthal @thelegalintel @ginarubel Thanks for a great panel @PhilaBar today! 

@dianeorganized RT @msbruschetta: Don't just start blogging about anything. Make sure you have something to say, to set yourself apart from others! #blawgers 

@Shelikesruffles RT @msbruschetta: Blogging allows you to share passions, let off steam & meet similarly-minded folks. "It's much more mainstream than you think." #blawgers 

@msbruschetta: Great job today @FuriaRubel & all the #blawgers panelists! (@PRSAPhilly) #PR #blogging #mediarelations 

Thanks to Twitter, and platforms like whashtag.com, it is possible for people to participate in programs such as this, both in person and virtually. Simply designate a hashtag at the outset of the program and people can Tweet about program takeaways in real time. And if you enjoyed the tips provided through the twitter-stream, you’ll definitely enjoy the podcast provided by The Philadelphia Bar Association: A panel of journalists on connecting with the legal blogosphere at the Sept. 16, 2010 meeting of the Bar-News Media Committee.

Gina F. Rubel is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications Inc., a public relations and marketing agency (www.furiarubel.com) with a niche in legal communications. (http://www.furiarubel.com/services.php) A former Philadelphia trial attorney and public relations expert, Gina is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers (http://www.furiarubel.com/everyday-public-relations-for-lawyers.php). Gina and her PR and marketing firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com, is a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer’s blog and blogs for The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-furia-rubel). You can find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ginafuriarubel or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ginarubel.  For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com.

Social Media for Lawyers: Legal Updates on LinkedIn Expands JD Supra Reach

By Gina F. Rubel

A few weeks ago, the social networking site LinkedIn and legal content distributor JD Supra announced a new partnership that helps legal professionals to increase marketing exposure. The idea is that by posting and sharing their legal writings on JD Supra, the posts also get shared directly on the 70-million-member LinkedIn.

I wrote about LinkedIn and JD Supra  last year in my “Social Media for Lawyers” series on this very blog. I have recommended that lawyers use both platforms to increase their visibility online. That recommendation still stands. In fact, even more so.

LinkedIn is no longer just a professional profile-resume that does well in Google when people search your name. Although that is still a huge benefit, the days of the website being used only for human resources purposes are long gone. Daily, LinkedIn grows as a source of relevant business news and information from within your network and, increasingly, beyond your network. In fact, this new partnership received a good amount of positive coverage at time of launch – with Robert Ambrogi on his Lawsites blog , going so far as to call it a potential game changer for lawyers on LinkedIn.

But I want to focus on one particular aspect of the collaboration. This partnership is especially valuable for lawyers who are using written materials to showcase their professional skill and promote their services online.

A Targeted Audience of Professionals on LinkedIn

JD Supra has always allowed any lawyer or law firm to post and distribute their written work online: a great online vehicle for public relations. Covering many industries, information on JD Supra includes everything from analysis of the latest legislative developments, to guidance and legal commentary for business owners and consumers, to favorable court decisions, and marketing for lawyers (something I am quite passionate about). The core of the service is targeted delivery which is exactly why I think the partnership is such an exciting development.

According to Adrian Lurssen, vice president of strategic development at JD Supra, “We have real estate content for real estate professionals, employment law updates for anyone needing to stay informed about workplace legal issues, banking and finance content with its own audience – insurance, IP, tax law, the list goes on.” Lurssen added, “The partnership was a no-brainer.” They are now able to deliver content to subscribers/readers in the very fields their contributors are writing about.

The basis of the partnership is a new application called Legal Updates, (freely available to anyone in LinkedIn’s directory.

(Kudos to JD Supra for the exclusivity of this deal; there are only 16 applications on the LinkedIn platform.)

The application allows lawyers to include a portfolio of their content directly on their LinkedIn profile and to be found in the site’s first and only searchable, browsable collection of legal information — a new development. But what really sets Legal Updates apart is that anyone on LinkedIn who installs the application now receives a custom feed of legal information matched to their professional interests and needs.

“We provide legal content to a person based on the industry noted on their LinkedIn profile,” said Lurssen. “Insurance professionals get insurance work, financial services professionals get banking and finance work, etc. And beyond that, Legal Updates can be customized with any subjects the user wants.”

This is a significant offering for any lawyer who is looking for an audience of people in the industry (or industries) they serve. Legal Updates has been created not just as another “app” for lawyers looking to promote themselves online. It is has been created, and is being marketed, as something valuable to all professionals.

The offering is in line with what we hear from LinkedIn these days about the company’s role as a “dashboard for business intelligence” for everyone on the site. (For more on this subject, listen to veteran journalist Kara Swisher’s recent interview with LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.)

Every document in Legal Updates includes the ability to add the lawyer who wrote or uploaded it to your own LinkedIn network, with the click of a link. What starts as a legal update continues as a new network connection, the beginning of a relationship.

But, with the arrival of Legal Updates as a means for lawyers to connect with people in the industries they serve, what’s more important are the segments such as insurance, real estate, tech  and  financial services. JD Supra appears to understand the value of targeted delivery. One month into launch, the job over the long haul will be to get professionals to install the application. The social network’s sheer size and exclusivity are bound to help.

Gina F. Rubel, Esq., is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., apublic relations and marketing agency with a niche in legal communications. A former Philadelphia trial attorney and public relations expert, Rubel is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers . Rubel and her PR and marketing firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com, is a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer Blog and blogs for The Huffington Post . You can find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ginafuriarubel or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ginarubel.  For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com .

Where Are All the Women- and Minority-Owned Firms??

By Jaime Bochet

Of the Legal Staff

Every year, The Legal Intelligencer publishes a magazine called "PALaw: Annual Report on the Legal Profession," which provides hard data and analysis on PA's legal landscape, including our Managing Partners Survey (an anonymous survey currently accessible online at www.tlisurvey.com, password palaw),  and the 100 Largest Law Firms in PA.

One of the key sections we're looking to improve is the "Women- and Minority-Owned Firms." We believe there are a number of such firms that go unreported, and we want to collect more data and list more firms.

Maybe you're a woman who started her own solo or small firm, or you know someone who did. Maybe you work for a minority attorney who runs his or her own firm. Maybe you have a friend who knows someone ... see where I'm going with this? We want to include those firms, and it will help them to get their names out there and in front of the thousands of lawyers who use the PaLAW all year. 

And being included couldn't be easier. All you have to do is get in touch with me by e-mail or phone, and fill out a simple, one-page survey. That's it. And no, we don't charge anyone to be included in the magazine. 

In addition to giving greater exposure to the firms in the magazine, we'll get to know these firms better. This creates opportunities for them to be called for comment on stories we're working on, and to pitch articles for the paper and our special supplements.

I hope that you'll take a moment to get in touch with me, or tell someone else to give me a call. We want to know you're out there, and we want to make sure you're getting the recognition you deserve. Call me at 215-557-2368, or e-mail me now!

Tips for Lawyers From Legal Marketing Experts Part 5: Ethics of Marketing and Public Relations

Back in March of this year, I started a series of postings from the Legal Marketing Association’s national conference.

During the conference, I had the pleasure to present, along with various colleagues, during the Just JDs: Business Development Strategies for Lawyers program for marketing-oriented lawyers and law firm administrators at firms of all sizes, organized by Ross Fishman. For most of the recaps, I have shared my Twitter feed from the programs. For the "Ethics of Law Firm Marketing and Public Relations" program, for which I presented along with John Hellerman, I’m going to share various tips from our presentation (as I was not Tweeting and speaking at the same time).

There is a difference between law firm marketing and law firm public relations, but they both equal communications.

There are many ethical considerations of law firm communications.

Start with learning the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, if they apply in your state. The main ABA Rules that are implicated in law firm communications include:

Rule 3.6 Trial Publicity

Rule 4.2 Communication with Person Represented by Counsel

Rule 4.3 Dealing with Unrepresented Person

Rule 7.1 Communication Concerning a Lawyer's Services

Rule 7.2 Advertising

Rule 7.3 Direct Contact with Prospective Clients

Rule 7.4 Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization

Rule 7.5 Firm Names and Letterhead

Rule 8.5 Disciplinary Authority; Choice of Law

Legal Communication Do's:

Establish policies and compliance procedures

Adhere to rules of all states where you do business or seek clients

Keep records/copies

Steer clear of testimonials

Avoid subjectivity

Incorporate all necessary language

Use disclaimers

Legal Communication Don'ts:

Overtly solicit business

Give legal advice

Use subjective language referring to attorney or firm

Create unjustified expectations

Compare attorneys or firms

Talk about pending cases (material prejudice)

Ignore your state’s rules of conduct or multi-jurisdictional considerations

It is important to understand what news really is. Here are some rules to follow:

Proximity: Does the news affect the outlet’s audience?

Impact: How much does the news affect the outlet’s audience? More impact = Higher news value

Uniqueness: Is the news different from the ordinary? More unusual = Great news potential

Timeliness: How current is the news?

Prominence: Who is involved?

Conflict: Tension = News

The principles of a great news story include:

Remember your reporter’s audience

Tell a story

Simplicity (not too long — get to the core ASAP)

Unexpectedness

Concreteness (explain ideas in terms of sensory information, paint a picture)

Credibility (statistics, proof, quotes from experts)

Emotions (elicit feeling from your reader, listener or viewer)

If you are interested in legal marketing and social media, I also encourage you to check out experts across the country including: Heather Morse Milligan(The Legal Water Cooler blogger) who shares a great perspective from the LMA conference; Jayne Navarre, Rebecca Wissler, Lindsay Griffiths, Laura Gutierrez, Nancy Myrland,Lance Godard, Gail Lamarche, and Lydia Bednerik.

To learn how the use of Twitter shaped my conference experience, you can also read The PR Lawyer blog: Confessions from a Social Networker: How Twitter Shaped My #LMA10 Experience.

Stay tuned for future posts on law firm business development, marketing, public relations, and measuring return on investment, or ROI.

Gina F. Rubel, Esq.,

is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., a public relations and marketing agencywith a niche in legal communications. A former Philadelphia trial attorney and public relations expert, Gina is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Gina and her PR and marketing firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com, is a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer Blog and blogs for The Huffington Post. You can find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ginafuriarubelor follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ginarubel. For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com.