In-house lawyers reveal 'invisible' social media usage

Almost three quarters of in-house lawyers use social media as a way to 'listen in' rather than contribute to their companies' online dialogue, a study released last week found.

Social media: in-house lawyers listen in

The InsideCounsel 2013 survey delved into the questions of social media, taking the views of 370 in-house lawyers and revealing some interesting trends.

Listen-only

John Corey, founder and CEO of communications firm Green Target – which helped conduct the survey – said that 74 per cent of responders adhered to the ‘invisible user’ trend where in-house lawyers operate in ‘listen-only’ mode rather than joining in any online discussions.
The National Law Journal reports that the survey found LinkedIn to be the social media platform of choice, with more than 67 per cent of in-house counsel reporting having used it in a week and 60 per cent confirming LinkedIn was used to connect with outside counsel.

Credible source

Meanwhile only seven per cent claimed to use Twitter each week while only two per cent of those surveyed saw Twitter as a credible source of ‘legal, business and industry news and information’. A whopping 72 per cent claimed to never use Twitter at all. Google+, Facebook and even YouTube were more popular with in-house counsel for professional use.
A final controversial finding by the survey was that only two  per cent of in-house lawyers said their decisions were influenced by peer-driven rankings, such as Chambers and US News-Best Lawyers.

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