By Joyce Gannon
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Someone surfing the Internet for help on workers' compensation issues could soon stumble on a YouTube video posted by Pittsburgh law firm Rothman Gordon, in which an attorney answers basic questions on how to obtain wages and benefits while you're off the job.
Click on the link, and there is Shelley Elovitz, the partner who heads Rothman's workers' compensation and Social Security department. Seated in an office and wearing a bright blue shirt, yellow tie and dark jacket, Elovitz introduces himself and his "Western Pennsylvania law firm" before he provides two minutes worth of information about payments and medical coverage that injured workers may be eligible for and tips on how to file claims.
"I invite you to call my office or visit our website," Elovitz concludes before Rothman's phone number and Internet address appear in bold letters on the screen.
This is the downtown firm's first foray into marketing using YouTube and it has produced three videos to test the waters, two about workers' compensation and one about Marcellus Shale that is targeted to landowners who may be approached about signing a lease for drilling.
"Our firm is 57 years old, so this is something not in our comfort zone," acknowledged Bill Lestitian, Rothman's managing partner. "But we really want to push ourselves with the latest technology, and YouTube seemed a good way to capitalize and reach out to potential new clients."
Count Rothman among numerous law firms wading into new media to promote their services.
Besides creating videos to tout their expertise, lawyers are now tweeting, posting to Facebook, blogging and updating their profiles on LinkedIn -- all in an effort to get their names out.
"To be competitive in today's market, a firm's marketing strategy has to include podcasts, webinars, blogs, Facebook postings and Twitter accounts," said Jennifer Kuban, director of marketing in the Pittsburgh office of law firm Pepper Hamilton.
A recent podcast on Pepper's website features firm attorneys discussing legal issues for biotechnology firms seeking investment dollars, licenses or partnership deals.
It's no coincidence that Pepper served as counsel for a recent deal in which Pittsburgh-based Knopp Neurosciences signed an $80 million licensing deal with Biogen Idec to commercialize a drug developed to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating condition commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"Our podcasts are absolutely a marketing tool," said Kuban. "Our goal is to leverage content across multiple platforms.
"We understand our buyers are being bombarded with all different types of communication, and their attention spans are getting shorter. You can download our podcasts onto an iPod and listen while you're working out if you want."
Philadelphia-based Pepper also has three blogs on which its attorneys post updates several times a week and a Twitter account so attorneys in its tax group can send out tips, rulings and decisions that impact clients' tax planning, Kuban said.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney recently hired a consultant to train its lawyers on social media tools and established a policy for how to use sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
"We recognize that these are valuable tools that, when used properly and ethically, can be a good thing for our business," said David Gurwin, shareholder and chair of the technology transactions group at Buchanan.
The firm's social media policy "is not designed to be heavy-handed but to remind people when they are posting on social networking sites, they are often viewed as representatives of law firms and to keep that in mind," said Gurwin.
Buchanan expects to use Facebook and Twitter to feed news releases, announcements and advisories, said Tracie Gliozzi, director of communications.
Such Web-based sites also allow the firm to target specific audiences such as those seeking information and legal services about the Marcellus Shale drilling, said Gliozzi.
"I joined a Marcellus Shale group on LinkedIn so I can see what people are talking about in that industry space," she said.
Buchanan isn't abandoning traditional means of marketing. It recently launched an ad campaign that will appear in regional editions of national magazines including Fortune, Money and Entrepreneur, and in some local publications.
"Whether we capture the initial impression via print or over the Web, they're going to redirect to each other," said Gurwin. "Through our print, we'll try to steer people to our online presence .... Very few people get all their information exclusively through print or exclusively over the Internet, and some people still get it from television."
Just as legal advertising is subject to meeting ethical standards in print and traditional broadcast forms, there are ethical issues to consider in cyberspace, said Mark Yochum, professor of law at Duquesne University who teaches ethics courses.
"Internet advertising is really treated much the same: You can't be misleading. You can't promise performance when you can't back it up. You can't take a picture of a handsome guy in an ad and (depict him) as a lawyer when he's not a lawyer.
"So as a consequence, what you'll see are lawyers gathered around a desk or in the reception area. It's the real thing."
He cautioned against seeking legal services through websites that advertise multiple lawyers from multiple firms.
"They can be a bit misleading. They may say they are a national service that can provide bankruptcy service wherever you are, and it sounds like a national law firm. But that's not the case.
"It's a feeder where they hook you up with a local attorney, and you can't find out information about the local attorney until you sign up and give details about your case .... There's no more attorney-client privilege."
At Rothman Gordon, the recently produced YouTube videos were budgeted into the firm's 2010 marketing strategy when it began exploring more ways to use the Internet.
Anne Parys, director of marketing, said the firm planned to promote the videos through its newsletter and LinkedIn posts.
"We're kind of hoping to plant a few seeds and hope it goes viral."
Published: Tue, Oct 26, 2010
