Category: Communication Media & Internet

A Tech Industry-Friendly Stance On Cloud Computing Tax

GT Law

In a pleasant surprise, the New Jersey Division of Taxation recently issued guidance announcing that sales tax is not due on most cloud computing services. New Jersey’s position is contrary to a growing national trend in which many states have taken the position that cloud computing is subject to sales tax as the sale of software.

New Jersey demonstrates a pro-information technology industry position. It also comes at the same time that Massachusetts, traditionally an extremely technology-friendly state, appears to have changed its policy direction on taxation of information technology services.

New Jersey Technical Bulletin 72 addresses three types of cloud computing services:

software as a service (SaaS), which offers the use of software on a per transaction basis, through a service contract or by a subscription;

platform as a service (PaaS), which provides access to computing platforms; and

infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which provides hardware, software and other equipment and services necessary to support and manage the content and dataflow of its customers.

The technical bulletin says that software as a service is not subject to New Jersey sales tax as the sale of software because it is not delivered in tangible form, it is not downloaded onto the customer’s computer and title to the software is not transferred to the customer.

However, the bulletin does say that certain types of SaaS may be subject to sales tax as a taxable information service. A taxable information service is defined as:

The furnishing of information of any kind, which has been collected, compiled or analyzed by the seller and provided through any means or method, other than personal or individual information which is not incorporated into reports furnished to other people.

The bulletin then cites examples of taxable information services such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, Commerce Clearing House (CCH) and Rich Internet Application (RIA). But it would appear that most other classes of

SaaS that do not involve compiling or analyzing information should not fall into the taxable information service category. This is a fact-based determination, which would require analysis on a case-by-case basis.

The bulletin states that platform as a service and infrastructure as a service would not be subject to sales tax because they do not represent the sale of tangible personal property, but merely access to the software. The bulletin states that IaaS arrangements that show billing for the rental of hardware (e.g., servers) are not taxable because the customer does not have title or possession of the equipment.

Finally, the bulletin says that web hosting and data hosting services are not subject to New Jersey sales tax.

The position taken by the New Jersey Division of Taxation is quite favorable to providers and customers of cloud computing services, as other states have been taking the opposite approach, saying that many of these services are taxable, including states such as New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

Companies that provide cloud-based computing services should determine the states in which they might have a sales tax collection obligation, and whether the services they provide are subject to that state’s sales tax.

To see the full text of this new technical bulletin, please follow this link and click on TB-72.

This pro-IT industry move is in contrast to a new Massachusetts law that went into effect on July 31, just a few weeks after the bill being passed by its Legislature. This new Massachusetts law signals a sea change in the Bay State’s pro-technology industry policy.

Massachusetts now imposes sales tax on most software and hardware design, installation and integration services, including the modification, integration, enhancement, installation and configuration of prewritten software.

So, this new tax will include amounts paid in order to customize any prewritten software for the needs of the customer, including macros and plug-ins that operate in conjunction with the software (although there are exemptions for modifications to free open source software, and software that operates industrial machinery).

This expansion of the Massachusetts sales tax will cast a wide net that will tax hardware and software consulting services that have not been taxable in the past, from the biggest, most sophisticated software consulting firms that manage the integration of software for large corporations, down to the high school student who helps non-tech savvy baby boomers set up their home computer for $20 an hour.

This apparent new direction taken by Massachusetts is a huge contrast to the position staked out by the state’s then-Gov. Paul Cellucci in the early years of the Internet boom, when the debate on the taxation of e-commerce sales was just beginning.

A bill had been introduced in Congress to exempt all e-commerce sales from state taxation. Cellucci was quoted in the Feb. 4, 2000, edition of State Tax Notes as being in favor of the measure because it would be bad tax policy to tax the emerging Internet industry:

Arguing that ‘the rapid growth of high-tech in the past five years’ has created 450,000 new jobs in his state, Cellucci said the taxation of remote and electronic commerce is ‘not just a real threat to the economy of Massachusetts, but for the nation as a whole. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, e-commerce ventures are extremely portable, and could easily move their headquarters to an offshore island where they would be immune from any sales tax from this country. (Tax Analysts Document Number: Doc 2000-3441.)

The new Massachusetts law indicates a reversal of the state’s earlier pro-industry policy, while New Jersey, which in prior years has taken an aggressive tax approach to IT taxation, has apparently also reversed course, but in the opposite positive direction.

It is possible that Massachusetts has grown complacent, assuming that its enormous stockpile of human innovation capital will stay put, while New Jersey appears to be recognizing the value of cultivating the IT industry in the Garden State. Time will tell if these shifts in policy toward the IT industry will result in any measurable migration.

This article was previously published by Law360.

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Yelp Wanted: For Law Firm Reviews

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If you are like most businesses, you consider word of mouth your most valuable marketing channel. Increasingly, online reviews are a critical component of Web word of mouth.

Frequently used lawyer review sites include Google+, Citysearch and Yelp. The rise of review sites, and Yelp in particular, has been of significant importance to business owners across the world. For example, Apple iPhone’s Siri application primarily uses Yelp for its reviews. This article will walk you through the basics of leveraging Yelp to improve your word-of-mouth marketing and grow your business.

Getting Started on Yelp

yelp law firm website internet marketingThe first step every law firm should take with Yelp is to activate its business page. The public can see and review your business profile whether or not you activate the page, so proactively filling out your business profile sends a clear message to previous and prospective clients that you care about your online and offline image. Be sure to complete all of the fields, including photos, descriptions, phone numbers and office hours, to create a solid profile. Including photos of co-workers and other employees will communicate a safe and inviting environment.

Many people are intimidated by law firms and research them online before calling or emailing a firm. Meeting those visitors on Yelp with appropriate photos and information will give them a positive impression that your firm is approachable.

Once your firm’s Yelp account is active, the real benefits can begin and you can start leveraging your online reviews.

Respond to Your Law Firm Reviews

At some point, if you haven’t already, you will start to receive reviews. Some will be glowing testimonials of your professionalism and competence. Others may ask questions or express concern. It is vital that you respond to your reviewers. If someone had a less-than-ideal experience, follow up with that individual and ensure that his or her concerns are addressed. In many cases, your follow-up will prompt your client to edit or add a new review, which may help your online image. Learn more about responding to existing online reviews here.

Leverage Yelp Offline

Post a sign or sticker in your office letting clients know they can find and review you on Yelp. Most law firms send out some sort of direct mail or newsletter. Add the Yelp logo to these mailings to encourage recipients to leave a review. You can also notify Yelp next time you host a community event or fundraiser. Posting these events online will spread your offline positive influence even further via the Web.

Display Your Positive Yelp Reviews

Framing awards, articles from local newspapers and other publicity items has long been a standard practice in law firm lobbies. Doing the same for recent positive online reviews is no different. Viewing positive reviews of your law firm will likely cause your clients to think of your firm in a warm light and will encourage them to also leave a glowing review online.

Refer Your Referrers

No advertising operates in a vacuum. Encourage clients to visit you on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other Social Media networks. Likewise, make sure those connected to your Social Media profiles know you are on Yelp. A simple “Check us out on Yelp” can encourage many clients to leave a review.

Live Up to Their Positive Reviews

Finally, and most importantly, you must continue providing excellent service. It is impossible to get away with sub-par service in today’s world. As you know, competition grows stronger every day. If you are not good at serving clients, the word will get out—through Yelp or other types of word-of-mouth. Positive reviews will follow naturally when you provide outstanding service.

Keep Your Review Practices Ethical

Never, ever, ever, under ANY circumstances, purchase positive reviews. Yelp is very strict with its review policies, and suspicious reviews are flagged and dealt with regularly. Just as spamming Google and other search engines can lead to major penalties or even blacklisting, paying for or offering bribes for reviews on Yelp can be detrimental to your business. As with all your marketing efforts, check with your state Bar Association to be sure you are operating within its guidelines when it comes to your online review strategy.

Why Tweeting Doesn't Make You A Twit

The Rainmaker Institute mini logo (1)recently presented at the American Bar Association annual conference in San Francisco on “Why Tweeting Doesn’t Make You a Twit!”
 I was shocked and amazed at the number of attorneys I spoke to who still don’t believe that using social media is an effective way to acquire more clients, establish credibility and get a steady stream of referrals.

More often than not I heard comments such as:

“Social media is for younger generations;”

“People don’t use the Internet to look for attorneys;”

“I know firms that spent money on social media and never saw a return;” or

“The type of people who I want to do business with aren’t on social media”

twitter social media

These statements are categorically not true. In fact, believing these statements can be detrimental to the success of your law firm. Actively and appropriately engaging in social media is no longer a “nice to have” it is a “must have” if you truly want to build a successful firm.

Think about your own experience. If you are considering buying a new product or service, and you go onto the Internet and can’t find information on a website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Amazon or any other number of social media platforms, your enthusiasm and interest in that particular company or product begins to diminish.

You may even find you trust the company less, are more skeptical of the product or service and begin to seek out competitors who offer the same product or service.

When people search for legal help the process is no different. It’s human nature to want to avoid making bad decisions that cause us financial or emotional harm.

Our fears are calmed and our skepticism is lessened when we can read and learn about the product or service we are about to invest in. When we read or watch third-party reviews we feel safer. When we see that a company is actively offering valuable and powerful information to those who may need the product or service, we believe we are mitigating the risk of a bad decision.

You must always remember that people buy emotionally and justify logically.

That’s why Twitter is one of the fastest growing online social media platforms. When used correctly and ethically it is a powerful part of a firm’s overall online marketing strategy.

Some basic and impressive statistics about Twitter easily demonstrate why this platform must be utilized.

  • There are 200 million active users;
  • 20 percent of individuals who “follow” a company on Twitter do so to give feedback and share ideas;
  • 71 percent of individuals who positively review a company on Twitter (with a Tweet, Re-Tweet) go on to suggest the company to his/her peers;
  • 56 percent of consumers would be more likely to encourage friends and family to try new products from a social brand than in person or over the phone;
  • 63 percent of consumers agree that social experiences make them more interested in a brand’s product;
  • 64 percent of consumers have made a purchase decision based on social content;
  • 67 percent of 18-34 year old consumers prefer to do business with social companies;
  • 91 percent of 18-34 year olds using social media are talking about brands.

If the above reasons don’t compel you to jump on Twitter and actively use it to grow your firm, here are three additional reasons to use Twitter.

With Twitter, you can build a massive platform:

A platform helps you effectively grow the number of people who know who you are, know what type of people/companies you are qualified to assist and know how you are different than every other law firm out there.

Twitter helps you establish credibility:

People do business with people they know, like and trust.

Being active on Twitter helps you establish yourself as a thought leader.

You can effectively position yourself as the “go-to” attorney for your practice area and geographical region.

You offer followers powerful, relevant and helpful information that begins to build a relationship and positions you and or the firm as a valuable and credible source of information.

Drive traffic to your website:

You can engage people on Twitter with powerful information and then direct them to your website. It is your website’s job to educate, engage and compel the viewer to take action and call or email the firm and/or set up an appointment with an attorney.

On your website you can showcase who you are and how you are different from other firms. If you do not actively display how you are unique and different from all your competitors out there, people will begin to make decisions based on price. This is the single worst position you can find yourself if. You never want to get business because you are the “cheapest attorney out there.”

There you can also give viewers the opportunity to: Learn about you and the firm, hear about others’ interactions with you through testimonials (when permitted by state) and case studies (demonstrate expertise), and discover how you can help them navigate their pressing legal issue.

Twitter of course, must be used effectively and ethically. Marketing is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You must invest either the time or money into these strategies consistently so your efforts can gain traction and eventually give you a return on your investment.

This article originally ran in The Record Reporter, an Arizona newspaper and website that covers legal business news:

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Internet Peeping Toms and The Internet of Things Face New Hurdles: Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Settles with TRENDnet, Inc.

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The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently entered into a settlement agreement with TRENDnet, Inc., a company that sells Internet Protocol (“IP”) cameras that allow customers to monitor their homes remotely over the Internet.  Notably, this is the FTC’s first action against a seller of everyday products that connect to the Internet and other mobile devices, commonly referred to as the “Internet of Things.”

The Complaint

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that, despite representing to its customers that TRENDnet’s IP cameras are “secure,” TRENDnet failed to reasonably secure its IP cameras against unauthorized access by third parties.  According to the FTC, TRENDnet transmitted user login credentials in clear, readable text over the Internet and stored user credentials on a user’s mobile device in clear, readable text, despite the availability of free software to secure the transmissions and the stored credentials.  The FTC Further alleged that TRENDnet failed to employ reasonable and appropriate security in the design and testing of the software that it provided consumers for its IP cameras.

Due to TRENDnet’s inadequate security measures, in January 2012, a hacker exploited the vulnerabilities of the TRENDnet system and posted live feeds for nearly 700 of TRENDnet’s IP cameras, including customers that had not made their video feeds public.  These video feeds displayed people in their homes, including sleeping babies and young children playing.  Once TRENDnet learned of this flaw, it uploaded a software patch and attempted to alert its customers of the need to update their IP cameras through TRENDnet’s website.

The Settlement

Last week, TRENDnet entered into a settlement agreement with the FTC to resolve the FTC’s claims.  Pursuant to the settlement agreement, TRENDnet has agreed that it will not misrepresent:

  • the extent to which its products or services maintain and protect the security of its IP cameras;
  • the security, privacy, confidentiality or integrity of the information that its IP cameras or other devices transmit; or
  • the extent to which a consumer can control the security of the information transmitted by the IP cameras.

What’s more, TRENDnet is required to establish, implement and maintain a comprehensive security program that is reasonably designed to address security risks that could result in unauthorized access to the IP cameras or other devices, and to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of the information that its IP cameras or other devices transmit.  TRENDnet is further required to conduct initial and biennial assessment and reports of such security program by an independent third-party professional every two years for the next twenty years.   Again, some real bottom line costs as a result of these settlements.

Finally, in addition to the measures that TRENDnet must take to protect its customers in the future, TRENDnet must also notify all of its current customers about the flaw in the IP cameras that allowed third parties to access the live feed of TRENDnet customers, and TRENDnet must provide these customers with instructions on how to remove this flaw.

The TRENDnet settlement is the FTC’s first step at regulating data security in the land of the Internet of Things.  Keep a look out to see whether this becomes the FTC’s next hot topic.

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What Works for Business to Business (B2B) Content Marketing

The Rainmaker Institute mini logo (1)he B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn has more than 50,000 members, making it one of the largest groups on the popular business social network. Recently, 815 members of the group responded to a survey about content marketing about what works and what doesn’t for B2B content marketing.

According to the survey results, content marketing is used primarily for lead generation; here are the tactics being employed and their effectiveness rankings:

social media, linkedin, business, marketing

Not surprisingly, LinkedIn tops the list for the most effective social media platforms for content marketing, followed closely by YouTube. Video is becoming increasingly more popular since it is an easily digestible format:

 

social media, linkedin, business, marketing

In addition, the survey uncovered the following trends:

More than 82 percent of B2B marketers are increasing their content production over the next 12 months.

YouTube is gaining popularity as a social media platform to reach and engage B2B audiences – Facebook is losing ground.

Marketing automation is on the rise. 61 percent of marketers use marketing automation platforms, up from 43 percent last year.

You can click on the following link to see a slideshow of the entire survey results: B2B Content Marketing Report 2013.

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Photocopiers – A Recurring Data Security Risk

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In a case that illustrates the data privacy risks associated with modern copiers, the United States Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) has announced a $1,215,780 settlement with Affinity Health Plan, Inc. (Affinity), arising from an investigation of potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

This matter started when Affinity was advised by CBS Evening News that CBS had purchased a photocopier previously leased by Affinity.  CBS explained that the copier’s hard drive contained confidential medical information relating to Affinity patients.  As a result, on August 15, 2010, Affinity self-reported a breach with the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Affinity estimated that the medical records of approximately 344,000 persons may have been affected by this breach.  Moreover, Affinity apparently had returned multiple photocopiers to office equipment vendors in the past without erasing the data contained upon the internal hard drives of those returned copiers.

After investigating this matter, OCR determined that Affinity had failed to incorporate photocopier hard drives into its definition of electronic protected health information (ePHI) in its risk assessments as required by the Security Rule.  Affinity also failed to implement appropriate policies and procedures to scrub internal hard drives when returning photocopiers to its office equipment vendors.  As a result, OCR determined that Affinity also violated the Privacy Rule.

In discussing this issue, Leon Rodriguez, Director of OCR, stated that, “This settlement illustrates an important reminder about equipment designed to retain electronic information: Make sure that all personal information is wiped from hardware before it is recycled, thrown away or sent back to a leasing agent…HIPAA covered entities are required to undertake a careful risk analysis to understand the threats and vulnerabilities to individuals’ data, and have appropriate safeguards in place to protect this information.”

In addition to the agreed upon settlement payment of $1,215,780, the settlement also requires the implementation of a Corrective Action Plan (CAP).  The CAP requires Affinity to use its best efforts to retrieve all hard drives that were contained on photocopiers previously leased by the plan that remain in the possession of the leasing agent, and take protective measures to safeguard all ePHI going forward.

Points to Consider

Affinity’s case demonstrates the risks presented by the modern copier – they are specialized computers that will store data and retain itindefinitely.  Thus, they pose a security risk for any company that processes and/or possesses personally identifiable information or proprietary information, such as trade secrets, research and development records, marketing plans and financial information.  Clearly, this risk applies to businesses regardless of specific business sector.

Therefore, when acquiring a copier, consider all options available to protect the data processed on that machine, typically through encryption or overwriting.  Encryption will scramble the data that remains stored on the copier’s hard drive.  Overwriting (or wiping) will make reconstructing the data initially on the drive very difficult.

Finally, anticipate the copier’s return to the vendor or other disposition.  Make sure that arrangements are made prior to the copier’s departure to effect the hard drive’s removal and secure disposition so as to make any data on it unusable to third parties.  Often vendors will provide such a service as will IT consultants.

Note that protecting sensitive information is a company’s ongoing responsibility.  Make sure that copiers are considered as part of any comprehensive data security or privacy policy (as are PCs, laptops, smart phones, flash drives and other electronic devices) to avoid an avoidable, but costly and embarrassing, data breach.

For additional information from the FTC on safeguarding sensitive data stored on the hard drives of digital copiers, click here.

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LinkedIn (or Left Out) for Lawyers

Until recently, very few lawyers and corporate counsel had even heard of the social media site LinkedIn.  In fact, it surprises many to learn that LinkedIn was launched ten years ago.  How quickly things have changed!

Ninety-five percent of ABA members indicate that they have posted their profiles on LinkedIn. Seventy percent of corporate counsel indicate that they use LinkedIn regularly as a tool to find and vet outside counsel.  These statistics come from a 2012 ABA survey.

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LinkedIn is now one of the world’s most popular websites.  If you would like to be found by potential clients, your LinkedIn profile has become even more important than your website biography.  If you are looking for networking opportunities, your LinkedIn presence and activity have become just as important as your face-to-face networking.

LinkedIn launched in May 2003.  “From the very start, LinkedIn differentiated itself as a site for business, business development and recruitment rather than a social site,” said Phil Nugent.

“In just ten years, LinkedIn has gained 225 million users around the world, including 80 million users in the United States,” said Nugent.  “More than 173,000 people join LinkedIn each day.  It is a great place for many attorneys, because the demographics of LinkedIn skew older, wealthier and more-educated than any of the other top social media sites.”

Nugent discussed effective use of LinkedIn by lawyers and law firms at the monthly educational meeting of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association, held July 9 at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in LoDo Denver.  Nugent is a non-practicing attorney and principal at NCG Strategic Marketing.

“Successful use of LinkedIn as a business development tool has three steps,” said Nugent.  “First, you must post a complete and compelling profile.  All too many lawyers and law firms leave it at that, however, and then wonder why LinkedIn is not working as well as they had hoped.

“To achieve success on LinkedIn, you must build a strong network of connections in terms of both quality and quantity,” said Nugent.  “With this accomplished, you can leverage LinkedIn as a business development tool to find others, to get found and to conduct market research.”

Getting Started on LinkedIn

The creation and posting of a good profile is step one of a solid LinkedIn presence.  However, it should not be the same as a lawyer’s website bio.  Instead, it should be designed to satisfy the unique needs of LinkedIn’s search algorithm.

“LinkedIn’s algorithm uses a metric to quantify profile strength, which has a huge effect on search results,” said Nugent.  “Different areas of your LinkedIn profile carry different weights.  You should aim for a profile-strength of “all-star,” or as close to 100 percent as possible.”

Nugent discussed and gave specific recommendations regarding the algorithm’s weights.

Name and title (25 percent) — Do not make the mistake of simply listing a generic job title in this very important space.  It should include carefully selected keywords – the keywords that those searching for someone like you are likely to use.  The title category can be as long as 120 characters, or about 18 words.

Photo (5 percent) – A profile that includes a photo is seven times more likely to be viewed than one without a photo. Be sure that the photo is both professional and recent.

Summary (10 percent) – Use your summary to tell a compelling story about how you help clients solve their legal problems.  This section should include plenty of keywords.  It can include up to 2,000 characters, or about 350 words.  Spell check is always recommended.

Education (15 percent)

Previous two jobs (30 percent)

Three recommendations (15 percent) 

Another smart tactic for promotion of your LinkedIn presence is to customize your profile’s URL.  LinkedIn automatically generates a random URL, but this easily can be changed to a much shorter version featuring your name.  Additionally, you should be sure to add links to your website and blog.

On the “Edit Profile” page you can add content modules that include projects, publications, honors and awards, patents, certifications and languages.

“Throughout your LinkedIn profile, remember that content is king,” said Nugent.  “The copy should be compelling and should include plain-English keywords that are the same words that will be used by your target market or your ideal clients.  These keywords should indicate who you are and what you do.  Avoid ‘legalese’ — unless your clients use it, too.”

Once you have prepared and posted a strong LinkedIn profile, you want to make sure that people can actually gain access to it.  Go to the “privacy controls” section of your profile and choose the settings that allow “everyone” to view your profile photo and visibility.

Creating a LinkedIn Network

To support a strong LinkedIn profile, you need a strong network.  When it comes to building a network, you can pitch as well as catch.  This means that you shouldn’t rely only upon the invitations that you receive; you should proactively send invitations to those with whom you would like to be connected.

A LinkedIn network works like a big circle, with you in the middle.  First-degree connections are direct connections.  These are the people you have accepted and who have accepted you.  Second-degree connections are friends of these friends.  Third-degree connections are friends of second-degree connections.  Your level of visibility into third-degree connections is limited, and a request to connect must be routed through the second-degree connection that controls the relationship.

“The quality of your network is important,” said Nugent.  “If you accept too many random invitations, your network, although large, may not be sufficiently useful.  If you accept (and send) too few invitations, you won’t be able to use the database as it was designed.

“Before accepting any invitation,” said Nugent, “ask yourself if this person is potentially a client or a source for the kind of work you really want to do. Strive for balance between the quantity and the quality of the invitations you accept.”

When vetting an invitation, check out the inviter’s profile.  Is the invitation from a real and (apparently) respectable individual?  Does the inviter have quality contacts that might prove valuable?  Does the inviter have a large number of contacts?  Did the inviter include a personal note with the invitation?  “Rely on these factors to determine if it makes good sense to connect,” said Nugent.

When sending out your own invitations, start with your existing contact list.  Include your firm’s partners, associates and staff; members of professional, business and industry groups that you belong to; and referral sources, clients and friends.

“Never allow your network to stagnate,” said Nugent.  “It should grow continuously.  When you meet a new contact, follow up within 48 hours with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn instead of (or in addition to) an email or a written note.  To facilitate this tactic among those you meet, consider including your LinkedIn address on your business card.”

Using LinkedIn for Research

“A well-crafted LinkedIn network is like a finely tuned sports car,” said Nugent.  “It’s really a waste if you just let it sit in the garage.  You should take it out for a spin as often as possible.  The more you ‘drive’ LinkedIn, the more you’ll discover its usefulness — and the more you’ll realize what a powerful tool it can be on a daily basis.”

Your LinkedIn network is essential when conducting pre-interaction due diligence.  “You can search your network in order to find out useful information about prospects, their companies, clients, competitors, consultants, referral partners, media sources and employees,” said Nugent.  “The quality of your results will be determined by the quality of your contacts and the size of your network.

“LinkedIn can help provide answers to many important questions,” said Nugent.  “These include who is the right person to talk to in a particular organization?  What can I discover about this person prior to our meeting?  Who else is on their team?  Who might be able to provide me with background or an introduction?”

LinkedIn’s “advanced search” capability allows you to refine a search by relationship, location, current company, industry, past company, school and language.  Search can be further narrowed by groups, years of experience, function, seniority level, interests, company size, Fortune ranking and date joined.

Lawyers who want expanded search capabilities and additional functionality can try a premium membership on a monthly basis rather than sticking with the basic free membership.  However, the free membership provides plenty of power for most LinkedIn users.

“In just ten years, LinkedIn has gone from being a novelty embraced by techies to a must-have marketing tool for all professionals who hope to compete in today’s marketplace,” said Nugent.  “By creating a strong profile and a robust network, and by being an active user, any lawyer can vastly enhance his or her online visibility and reputation.”

Determining Which Social Media Platforms Work Best for Your Law Firm [INFOGRAPHIC]

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When you consider the overwhelming number of people who are now using social media, the question you should be asking is not, are my prospects, clients, and referral sources using social media? The question you should be asking is, which network are they using most often?

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are your client.  Just because you don’t actively participate on Facebook or other social media platforms don’t mean your clients and prospects aren’t.   Very few law firms are aggressively going after these platforms; it’s an opportunity to get ahead of the curve. Plus, search engines now rank social media pages, so it’s very important for SEO.

Depending on the demographic of your clientele, you may have more success with one social media platform compared to another. The infographic below, based on the latest social media usage data from the Pew Research Center, can help you determine which platforms can work better for you, depending on the profile of your ideal target market:

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Working with 3rd Party Providers to Make Dodd Frank Conflict Mineral Compliance Easy

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At your firm or within your company dealing with conflict minerals, you might have recently heard the buzz about the latest Dodd Frank Conflict Mineral Compliance requirements. If these requirements affect the way law firms or companies do business, then working towards compliance initiatives remains a priority.

Regulatory Assessment and Scope Analysis

This involves examining the law firm’s client or company seeking compliance product portfolio and doing an analysis of whether the product are affected by the law and therefore must be in compliance, or “in scope” Vs “out of scope.” It can also include:

  • Examining corporate obligations
  • Determination of key regulatory compliance decision points
  • Creation of a conflict minerals technical document

Creation of a Compliance Plan

This involves creating an end to end compliance plan and associated processes

  • All activities detailed in chronological order
  • Creation of application of due diligence standards
  • Responsibilities assigned to personnel
  • Determination of compliance communication pathways

Software Set Up

Industry standard to date for the majority of companies in scope of this regulation involve using a software platform to manage the large amount of data and suppliers that will be surveyed.Vendor Selection

  • Vendor Selection
  • Decisions to integrate with Enterprise Resource Planning system  (ERP), which is used to design and manage resources within a company, as well as Product Lifecyle Management (PLM), used to design, manufacture and plan the development of products
  • Methodology of supplier communication

Supplier Engagement

This portion of the process involves communication and data collection from the supply chain. Includes:

  • Data collection methodology
  • Reporting and analytics of the data collected
  • Corrective action and addressing problem suppliers

Reporting

Once data has been collected firms enter the reporting phase to complete the process for the first year. This process is then replicated year over year. With the infrastructure in place firms enter the “maintenance” phase of compliance.

Standard practise in the compliance industry has also seen that Law firms or the company seeking Dodd Frank compliance are engaging 3-4 outside service providers.

They are usually:

1.       Law firms: To determine exact requirements and legal requirements.

2.       Software: To provide the platform for data collection, management and analytics.

3.    Accounting: To audit the data collected and ensure strong data backing the program.

4.    Consulting: To develop the processes, work with /train suppliers and help with data collection.

Assisting your clients with Dodd Frank Conflict Mineral Compliance does not have to be complicated. Working through the 5 step process above and working with other 3rd party providers makes compliance at any level easy.

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Discovery from Data Storage Providers: Building a Silver Lining into Your Cloud Storage Contract

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Many companies use cloud technology, especially cloud storage providers, to reduce IT management costs and rid themselves of the headache of overseeing the software and hardware needed to perform certain services internally, while gaining the ability to expand quickly. Indeed, it is estimated that by 2014 cloud storage will be a $148.8 billion industry and people will process over 50 percent of computing workloads in the cloud constituting one third of all internet traffic.

See Cindy Pham, “E-Discovery in the Cloud Era: What’s a Litigant to do?” 5 Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 139 (2013); David D. Cross and Emily Kuwahara, “E-Discovery and Cloud Computing: Control of ESI in the Cloud.”

But, handing your data over to a third-party does not come without a price. Savvy litigants are beginning to head straight to these third-party cloud providers to subpoena corporate records during discovery. This can pose serious problems for the data owners including:

  • Vendors can produce your records without reviewing and withholding for privileged, work product protected, trade secret, or otherwise confidential information and designations.
  • Vendors with no vested interest in the litigation will likely respond to all the requests without an eye toward what is relevant or required under the rules resulting in mass overproduction.
  • Vendors may charge you, their customer, a high price for collecting and producing the data they are storing for you.
  • Vendors may not have maintained the metadata for each set of data, exposing you to a claim of spoliation.
  • A vendor’s deletion or backup schedule may have erased responsive data, exposing you to a claim of spoliation.
  • Differences in the productions you and your vendor make in response to the same requests can lead to claims of spoliation or concealment.

See Ashish S. Prasad, “Cloud Computing and Social Media: Electronic Discovery Considerations and Best Practices,” The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, February 2012 Volume 20, No. 2.

The Silver Lining: The remedy, of course, for most of these potential problems is negotiating your contract with cloud computing providers with an eye toward discovery. First, make sure your contract contains express commitments regarding the storage and retention of your data. You and your provider should be on the same page regarding how long data is to be maintained and what types of associated file data should be preserved so that you avoid any untimely deletion.

Second, make sure your contract requires immediate notice (within 48 hours) to you of any subpoena or document request received by your provider targeting any of your data.

Third, the contract with a cloud services provider should set forth that you, through your attorneys, have the right to review all documents and data prior to production. Your agreement should also give you the right to require the provider to withhold any documents from production that you designate as either subject to a privilege or not-relevant or not responsive.

Fourth, the cost of collecting and assembling data for review and production from a cloud can be high because of the way in which the data is stored. Therefore, you will want to designate who bears the expense of the collection and production of your data so you aren’t surprised by a large bill later.

Finally, I would also caution you to think carefully about whether the cloud is really the cheaper alternative it appears to be. If your business involves frequent litigation or due-diligence necessitating the documents at issue, the cost of accessing and producing these documents from the cloud may override the initial savings. Similarly, think strategically about low-value data you can store cheaply in the cloud versus potentially privileged, trade secret, and confidential information you may want to designate for local, albeit more expensive, storage which is solely in your control.