Day: December 11, 2015

Making a change in diversity in the legal profession

December 11, 2015 Joyce Varghese Leave a comment Opinion

When it comes to diversity in the law, the status quo is the reigning champion. At the start of the millennium, 88.1% of lawyers were Caucasian. 10 years later, 88.8% were white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in the year 2000 and 2010, respectively. In other words, minorities in this profession have increased by less than 1% percent.

Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk discussion about America’s social justice system gained about 2 million views and a standing ovation. He hit 4 key points that are required for social change:

  1. We need to get proximate to injustice. “The only solutions that work are the ones that are developed when one has an up-close view of a problem.”
  2. Change the point of view. “What is really going on when, say, a 14-year-old black boy lashes out and throws a book at a teacher? Is the solution to incarcerate that child or to ask what happens to a child who has lived for 14 years surrounded by violence?”
  3.  Continue to be hopeful. “We give up on issues that we believe are hopeless, wrongs that we tell ourselves simply cannot be righted. ‘Injustice prevails when hopelessness persists.’”
  4. Get out of your comfort zone. “Whether it is the people who led or joined the civil rights movement (or any other movement that created large-scale change), each and every person made a decision at a critical juncture that they were willing to be uncomfortable and put themselves on the line.”

With diversity being the issue to address in the coming years, people should know that it is not self-executing. The solution is to create advocates and mentors to motivate people from all backgrounds to enter the legal profession. Recruiters should diversify their campus searches and seek intelligent people regardless of economic background. No law school hopeful should be turned away because of financial issues.

Without change, the statistics may stay the same. The next three graduating classes will contribute only about 1% more diversity to the profession. However, the generation of Millennials can breathe life into this homogeneity.

Article via Above the Law, December 11, 2015

Photo: Ceremonial Courtroom, Alfonse D’Amato Courthouse, Central Islip via Douglas Palmer [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

How social media can help your legal business

December 11, 2015 Astrid Countee Leave a comment How-to

Recently President Obama got a Facebook page. The reason he stated was to make it easier for the public to have access to the president. He also wanted to have more conversations with real people. Using social media to make connections and grow relationships is a  great way to harness the power of a social media presence. For a lawyer, social media can be a way to be more visible and to reach more clients.

The goal of social media is to get noticed. In the social media world, it means being at the forefront of people’s mind. You can achieve that by making posts that stand out in people’s feeds. The trick is to say things that are interesting to  your followers so that they repost your content. In this post, we will look at ways that social media can help your business.

  1. Social media is an easy way to learn your audience. No matter the industry, it is always beneficial to have insight into who is interested in your product or service. Using social media will allow you to build an audience. As this audience builds you can use tools like google analytics. This allows you to see information about your audience like their age, location, and what posts are being read the most.
  2. Social media can help increase traffic to your website. Many law firms have a site showcasing their business. Having active social media accounts with good content can help drive people to your website. In addition to helping drive new customers to your site, it will also increase your rank in search engines making it easier for other new clients to find you.
  3. Social media helps generate leads for one third the cost. Outside of creating content in the form of posts and picture, you can use social media to advertise your business. Facebook ads and twitter ads allow a firm to easily reach a large audience for a very low price. Advertising starts on some platforms at just 5 dollars. Analytics associated with advertising can be reviewed with known data about your audience so that ads can be targeted to specific audiences.

Social media is fast and delivers news and updates at a record pace. It is also a great way to build your brand and make your clients aware that your firm exists. Don’t over look using social media as a means of improving your relationships with current and future clients.

Photo: social media class via mkhmarketing [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]