[CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT]

Last week, we had the opportunity to participate in MyLegal's inaugural social media conference "The Case for Social Media" that focused on helping attorneys establish and manage their online presence and social media profile. The well crafted agenda included a mix of social media 101 and practical how-tos and showcased several well established speakers spanning social media, eDiscovery compliance and solo lawyering. Lisa DiMonte, the event's brainchild and 32 year court reporting/litigation support industry veteran, pulled off a great 'first time' event by putting her own social media prowess to work – it turns out many of the session speakers first linked up with Lisa online and via various social media avenues. 

The 7 sessions were definitely assembled with much thought to how a lawyer looking for guidance and answers on social media could get the most out of the day. Many of the attendees we talked to made the trip to DC's Georgetown University Hotel & Conference Center specifically to gather tips and tools to execute their very own social media strategy. While we managed to catch snippets of the first few speakers (Avvo's Conrad Saam and Carolyn Elefant and Nicole Black) via the online remote stream, our first full onsite session was Sharon Nelson and John Simek's expert take on the ethical, compliance and eDiscovery implications of social media. This session was in our opinion the most dynamic, eye-opening and practical lecture of the day thanks to the many 'no way' examples of social media litigation pitfalls presented by the very charismatic and knowledgeable Sharon Nelson and John Simek of Sensei Enterprises, a Fairfax, VA-based computer forensics/IT/IS Security consulting firm. While many of the presented social media usage facts indicate that corporate America especially, can no longer ignore employees use (and abuse) of social networks, the biggest 'a-ha' moment for us was the discussion around social media data preservation and archiving. Per Nelson's insight, social media archiving – basically locking down all the historical data generated by Facebook, websites, Twitter, company blogs, etc.) is increasingly becoming a major corporate concern and action item warranting consideration for any social media compliance policy. Nelson and Simek recently discussed the topic on their popular Ride the Lightning electronic evidence blog and are hosting an invite-only, C-level-focused product demo and discussion seminar for UK web archiver Hanzo Archives early next month. After being scared (hopefully not scared off) with these social media compliance and regulatory realities, attendees settled into an afternoon focused on what many consider the sole purpose of effective social media … business and client development.

While legal business development advisor Larry Bodine focused on LinkedIn and how the 1 million lawyers already using it can get more out of their profiles, connections and recommendations, Adrian Dayton, author of "Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition" and legal social media marketer, zeroed in on broader marketing and business strategies leveraging Twitter, blogs and content. Designed to appeal to social media newbies, Dayton's session covered Twitter basics but also made the connection of how stellar content (via blogs and websites) and strategic distribution (via Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks) can lead to direct sales leads and new business. Other sessions covered the use of trademarks in social media marketing (speaker-Matthew Asbell, Associate at Ladas & Parry LLP) and attorney Steve Crandall wrapped-up the busy day with his 'Social Media and the Law' session. Editors note: We spoke to Steve earlier in the day but we were unable to attend his session so we encourage readers to look for his streaming video on MyLegal.com.

All in all, Lisa DiMonte and her crew deserve a hand for giving attendees a taste of the ever expanding social media pie and staying true to the seminar title "Making the Case for Social Media". Mission accomplished!