Brian Watkins who handles social media for Adobe commented on Twitter this past week, “Social media policies should do two things. 1. Protect the organization and 2. Empower employees.” It occurs to me that law firms are all about protection- it is the empowerment they have a hard time with.
“If our lawyers use LinkedIn, don’t we run the risk of head-hunters hiring away our best people?” I was recently asked.
The individual brings up a valid concern- greater exposure means a greater risk of employees being hired away. So how do firms increase visibility to bring in more business without increasing visibility that could lead to competitors sniping away their best and brightest?
You can’t.
You see, if you give attorneys the tools to brand themselves and build their own book of business- then you also need to incentivize them to stay once they start growing. This is a problem or an opportunity depending on which way you look at it.
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I completely agree with this; law firms can’t have it both ways. If they want people to be more business savvy they are going to have to work harder at engaging them.
Tough love all round methinks.