Newcastle News June 2017

The JLD Edition
What does your online profile say about you?
Social media is a well-established part of our everyday lives and is
available at the touch of a button. But are we all using it and if we are,
are we using it to its full extent?
Most people by now are familiar with the ‘Big Three’ social media
platforms: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Different people will utilise
social media in different ways. Facebook is a great way to stay in touch
with old school friends, post photos and update your status on what you
are doing at any point in time. However, from a professional point of view,
is it the best platform to promote yourself on? For example, do you want
your colleagues or potential clients to see photos from when you were at
university, or to know what you got up to last weekend?
You should be mindful that anything posted online may not just be
viewed by your ‘friends’, but by a much wider audience than you may
necessarily want. With Facebook, like all social media platforms, it is
important to regularly check your privacy settings to ensure they are
appropriate.
As a networking and micro-blogging platform, Twitter allows you to
comment on topics that interest you, stay up to date on news alerts,
expand your knowledge of both the law, and other areas of interest, and
of course ‘follow’ people you know or those you simply want to hear more
from. But the tendency is of course to follow people who may not
necessarily be involved in the legal system, and may include celebrities,
comedians, politicians, places you’ve been or TV shows you’ve watched.
Proper consideration must always be given as to how your use of social
media reflects on you as an individual i.e. what do the people you follow
say about you? If someone looked through your Twitter feed, does it
create the image of a professional you would want to engage and do
business with? If there is anything on your feed that you feel reflects
negatively on you, remove it, unfollow that person, or maybe you should
review your privacy settings again.
To network online on a professional basis, most lawyers are now using
LinkedIn as it is widely considered to be the easiest way to network not
just with your colleagues and professional contacts, but also to connect
with people around the country and across the world. However the
opportunities created through the effective use of LinkedIn go beyond
simple networking. For example, you can publish your own articles, share
articles written by other people who interest you, promote your firm and
the work being done and even reach out to potential clients. Of course,
reaching out and building relationships with a client online will not
always be appropriate and it is important to remember that the SRA
Principles must be adhered to, especially in relation to confidentiality and
disclosure. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t discuss a client’s
case on a public forum, but even mentioning a previous case whilst
involved in a discussion about current legal issues will breach client
confidentiality.
LinkedIn also provides a great way to promote yourself online by
updating your profile regularly, updating the skills you have acquired and
what your interests and hobbies may be. If you regularly post updates,
these will pop up on other users’ news feeds and in turn, more people
will view your profile so it’s an easy way to get yourself noticed.
Using social media to its full extent is now about so much more than
networking and the image you portray online is becoming more
important than ever. It is good practice to try to review your social media
accounts at least once a week to ensure that the image being portrayed
is one that you’re happy with. If anything has been posted or shared that
you feel negatively impacts upon you and/or your professional and
working life, delete it. You are no longer just being judged by your peers
or clients within the office environment, and your online profile says a lot
about you. Make sure it’s saying the right thing!
Sophie Moss
Local Law Society Representative
for the Newcastle and North East
JLD and Solicitor at Hay & Kilner
Interesting Fact:
Sophie zip-wired from the top of the
Baltic Flour Mill to the Sage,
Gateshead, in aid of charity.