Practice Notes: Some Lawyers Find Entertainment Clients on MySpace

Many artists believe that setting up a personal page on the mega-popular MySpace.com Web site is a key prong today in attracting attention to themselves. At the same time, some entertainment attorneys use MySpace to attract clients. The article that follows examines the experiences of Texas lawyers who have MySpace pages.

When Missouri City, TX, entertainment lawyer Leslie Warren Cross launched a MySpace.com page in 2006, he wanted a way to provide up-and-coming musicians with basic information about the legalities of music contracts. But Cross says that as he acquired 'friends' on his MySpace page, he realized the Internet social-networking site is a great marketing tool for his firm, Les Cross & Associates, and a way to stay in contact with his vagabond musician clients.

Cross, who opened his entertainment firm in 1997 and counts Paul Wall and Snoop Dogg among his clients, says he has landed a few clients through MySpace contacts, but he also spends a lot of time answering basic questions about music contracts from prospective clients who send him e-mails after seeing his MySpace page. He calls himself Music Attorney Cross (The Street Fighter) on his MySpace page, which features the music of client Jai Mike.

Cross and other Texas lawyers with MySpace pages that advertise their firms say it's a legitimate way to reach prospective clients, particularly younger people who aren't likely to look in newspapers or in telephone directories for a lawyer. On MySpace, people can build a network of 'friends' by giving other members permission to post on their sites. 'Most of my business is by word of mouth, either traditionally or through MySpace,' Cross says. Cross is preparing to launch a traditional Web site for his firm and expects most of his marketing to occur from that site. He notes, 'MySpace is just to show them I do exist.'

Many Do It in Texas

Cross isn't the only Texas lawyer who promotes his practice on a MySpace page, but he practices in one of the more common areas lawyers tout on MySpace. A search for 'Texas lawyer' on MySpace brings up mostly entertainment lawyers and criminal defense attorneys. But a search for MySpace pages for a number of large firms in Texas was fruitless. Deborah McMurray, chief executive officer of Content Pilot in Dallas, who gives marketing advice to firms, says she wouldn't recommend MySpace to the large Texas firms. 'It might be appealing to the 20-something, the Gen X, Gen Y group, in terms of connecting with their friends or keeping in touch with law-school classmates and that kind of thing, but I don't envision major law firms ' major business-to-business law firms ' thinking that would be a new source of new business,' McMurray says.

While Murray sees opportunity for entertainment lawyers and some others on MySpace, she is fearful that some of the prospective clients who find a lawyer on MySpace may not have the money to pay for one. 'If any person is using MySpace as [his] sole advertising medium for new business, I can't imagine it's going to pay off,' she says.

McMurray's assessment doesn't faze lawyers such as Catherine Tabor of Austin, who says she has been pleasantly surprised at how much her MySpace page has helped her practice. Tabor, an entertainment lawyer and singer who goes by the name of Torchsinger/Entertainment Lawyer in Austin on her MySpace page, says she opened a MySpace account in 2006 simply to be a 'friend' to a client, Austin saxophone-player Carlos Sosa. Tabor says she then started receiving inquiries from prospective clients who found her MySpace page, so she decided it made sense for her firm, Tabor Law Firm. She has picked up a few clients from MySpace and she has nearly 3,400 friends on the page. Many are musicians promoting their albums, and some are current or prospective clients, Tabor says.

Tabor says MySpace works for her practice, because musicians use MySpace to communicate with each other. 'This wouldn't work for many industries, but for this one it does,' says Tabor, whose site features numerous pictures of Tabor with musicians.

What MySpace Says

According to MySpace, which is owned by Fox Interactive Media, more than 3 million artists and bands use the site to promote albums and interact with fans. Each month, more than 106 million people from around the world visit MySpace, according to statistics from comScore Media Metrics.

MySpace is also helping entertainment lawyer and singer Amy Mitchell of Austin build her part-time practice. Mitchell, a 2004 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, says she gets one or two messages a day from people who see her MySpace page and may want to hire her. Mitchell says she has a page because MySpace is such a band-heavy networking site. 'The problem is the vast majority who contact me are not in Texas,' she says. She says she's careful not to give any legal advice on her Music Lawyer MySpace page, but she has landed a few clients who located her on the networking site. She has also received referrals from Texas lawyers who saw her MySpace page.

State Bar Weighs In

Kim Davey, a spokeswoman for the State Bar of Texas, says no Texas lawyer has asked the Advertising Review Committee to approve a MySpace page. Kathy R. Kelly, a lawyer in Fort Worth who is chairwoman of the Advertising Review Committee, says lawyers have an affirmative obligation under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct to ask the committee to review their public advertisements. A 2005 revision of the rules related to lawyer advertising requires lawyers to seek review of all Web sites. Kelly says lawyers need to be careful to follow the state's Rule 7.02, which states that lawyers may not make false or misleading communications about their qualifications or services.

But Davey says technology may be moving faster than the rules. She notes, 'The advent of MySpace, which may seem more like an online directory than a lawyer's Web site, might fall in a gray area that I don't believe we have directly considered.'

Brenda Sapino Jeffreys is a reporter for The Texas Lawyer, a sibling publication of Entertainment Law & Finance.

Many artists believe that setting up a personal page on the mega-popular MySpace.com Web site is a key prong today in attracting attention to themselves. At the same time, some entertainment attorneys use MySpace to attract clients. The article that follows examines the experiences of Texas lawyers who have MySpace pages.

When Missouri City, TX, entertainment lawyer Leslie Warren Cross launched a MySpace.com page in 2006, he wanted a way to provide up-and-coming musicians with basic information about the legalities of music contracts. But Cross says that as he acquired 'friends' on his MySpace page, he realized the Internet social-networking site is a great marketing tool for his firm, Les Cross & Associates, and a way to stay in contact with his vagabond musician clients.

Cross, who opened his entertainment firm in 1997 and counts Paul Wall and Snoop Dogg among his clients, says he has landed a few clients through MySpace contacts, but he also spends a lot of time answering basic questions about music contracts from prospective clients who send him e-mails after seeing his MySpace page. He calls himself Music Attorney Cross (The Street Fighter) on his MySpace page, which features the music of client Jai Mike.

Cross and other Texas lawyers with MySpace pages that advertise their firms say it's a legitimate way to reach prospective clients, particularly younger people who aren't likely to look in newspapers or in telephone directories for a lawyer. On MySpace, people can build a network of 'friends' by giving other members permission to post on their sites. 'Most of my business is by word of mouth, either traditionally or through MySpace,' Cross says. Cross is preparing to launch a traditional Web site for his firm and expects most of his marketing to occur from that site. He notes, 'MySpace is just to show them I do exist.'

Many Do It in Texas

Cross isn't the only Texas lawyer who promotes his practice on a MySpace page, but he practices in one of the more common areas lawyers tout on MySpace. A search for 'Texas lawyer' on MySpace brings up mostly entertainment lawyers and criminal defense attorneys. But a search for MySpace pages for a number of large firms in Texas was fruitless. Deborah McMurray, chief executive officer of Content Pilot in Dallas, who gives marketing advice to firms, says she wouldn't recommend MySpace to the large Texas firms. 'It might be appealing to the 20-something, the Gen X, Gen Y group, in terms of connecting with their friends or keeping in touch with law-school classmates and that kind of thing, but I don't envision major law firms ' major business-to-business law firms ' thinking that would be a new source of new business,' McMurray says.

While Murray sees opportunity for entertainment lawyers and some others on MySpace, she is fearful that some of the prospective clients who find a lawyer on MySpace may not have the money to pay for one. 'If any person is using MySpace as [his] sole advertising medium for new business, I can't imagine it's going to pay off,' she says.

McMurray's assessment doesn't faze lawyers such as Catherine Tabor of Austin, who says she has been pleasantly surprised at how much her MySpace page has helped her practice. Tabor, an entertainment lawyer and singer who goes by the name of Torchsinger/Entertainment Lawyer in Austin on her MySpace page, says she opened a MySpace account in 2006 simply to be a 'friend' to a client, Austin saxophone-player Carlos Sosa. Tabor says she then started receiving inquiries from prospective clients who found her MySpace page, so she decided it made sense for her firm, Tabor Law Firm. She has picked up a few clients from MySpace and she has nearly 3,400 friends on the page. Many are musicians promoting their albums, and some are current or prospective clients, Tabor says.

Tabor says MySpace works for her practice, because musicians use MySpace to communicate with each other. 'This wouldn't work for many industries, but for this one it does,' says Tabor, whose site features numerous pictures of Tabor with musicians.

What MySpace Says

According to MySpace, which is owned by Fox Interactive Media, more than 3 million artists and bands use the site to promote albums and interact with fans. Each month, more than 106 million people from around the world visit MySpace, according to statistics from comScore Media Metrics.

MySpace is also helping entertainment lawyer and singer Amy Mitchell of Austin build her part-time practice. Mitchell, a 2004 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, says she gets one or two messages a day from people who see her MySpace page and may want to hire her. Mitchell says she has a page because MySpace is such a band-heavy networking site. 'The problem is the vast majority who contact me are not in Texas,' she says. She says she's careful not to give any legal advice on her Music Lawyer MySpace page, but she has landed a few clients who located her on the networking site. She has also received referrals from Texas lawyers who saw her MySpace page.

State Bar Weighs In

Kim Davey, a spokeswoman for the State Bar of Texas, says no Texas lawyer has asked the Advertising Review Committee to approve a MySpace page. Kathy R. Kelly, a lawyer in Fort Worth who is chairwoman of the Advertising Review Committee, says lawyers have an affirmative obligation under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct to ask the committee to review their public advertisements. A 2005 revision of the rules related to lawyer advertising requires lawyers to seek review of all Web sites. Kelly says lawyers need to be careful to follow the state's Rule 7.02, which states that lawyers may not make false or misleading communications about their qualifications or services.

But Davey says technology may be moving faster than the rules. She notes, 'The advent of MySpace, which may seem more like an online directory than a lawyer's Web site, might fall in a gray area that I don't believe we have directly considered.'

Brenda Sapino Jeffreys is a reporter for The Texas Lawyer, a sibling publication of Entertainment Law & Finance.