ABA Survey Shows Growth in Lawyers' Social Media Use

Overall, the survey showed increases in lawyers' blogging, use of the social networks LinkedIn and Facebook, use of the microblogging site Twitter, and the use of cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) products. Here are some of the findings.

Blogs

Not surprisingly, the survey shows a continued rise in the number of lawyer blogs. Asked whether their firm has a blog, 22% said yes, up from 15% in 2011 and 14% in 2010. The attorneys most likely to say their firm has a blog are those in firms of 100 or more attorneys ' 47% answered yes. By comparison, just 9% of solo lawyers said their firm had a blog.

The survey also asked lawyers whether they personally maintain a professional, legal-topic blog (as opposed to their firm having one). To this question, 9% of lawyers answered yes, up from 5% in both the 2011 and 2010 surveys. This time, the breakdown by firm size of lawyers who said yes was:

• 12%, 2-9 attorneys.
• 8%, 100 or more attorneys.
• 8%, 10-49 attorneys.
• 6%, solos.

A topic of ongoing debate within the legal community is whether blogs generate business. In the ABA survey, 39.1% of lawyers who blog answered yes to the question, “Have you ever had a client retain your legal services directly or via referral as a result of your legal topic blogging for professional purposes?” Among solo lawyers, 53.3% answered yes to that question. Of lawyers in firms of 2-9 members, 50% answered yes.

Another 7% of lawyers said that they maintain a blog, but for personal, non-professional purposes.

Twitter

Lawyers were asked whether their firms maintain a presence on Twitter. Thirteen percent said yes, up from 7% the year before and 5% in 2010. Fully half the lawyers who answered yes to this question were in firms of 100 or more attorneys. By comparison, 10% of solos said their firms use Twitter.

When asked whether they personally use Twitter for professional purposes, 11% of lawyers said yes, up from 6% in 2011. Here, the highest percentage of yes answers came from solos, with 13% saying they personally use Twitter. (I'm not sure how that squares with the number in the prior paragraph ' it would seem that the number of solos who say their firms use Twitter should be the same as the number of solos who say they use Twitter.) See Figure below.

[IMGCAP(1)]

Social Networks

The survey asked lawyers on which social networks their firms maintain a presence. Figure 2 below shows that 88% of lawyers said their firms are on LinkedIn and 55% are on Facebook. Meanwhile, firms reduced their presence on legal-vertical networks such as MH Connected and Legal OnRamp, the survey indicates. Use of Plaxo by firms dropped from 11% in 2011 to 4% in 2012.

[IMGCAP(2)]

Asked about their own use of social networks for professional purposes, 95% of lawyers said that they are on LinkedIn and 38% said they use Facebook. Use of the legal-vertical networks showed little change but indicates that only a fraction of lawyers use these.

When asked why they maintain a presence in these social networks, the most common reason was career development and networking, an answer given by 72% of lawyers. The next most-common reason was case investigation (44%), then client development (42%) and education and current awareness (15%).

Notably, 96% of lawyers answered yes to the question of whether they use a social network or online community for non-professional purposes. Ninety-seven percent of solos answered yes to that.

Web-Based Software

Lawyers' use of Web-based software and services has grown only slightly in recent years, the survey indicates. Growth in use of the cloud is greatest among solos and small firms and lawyers in these firms are more likely than their larger-firm counterparts to use cloud-based applications. See Figure 3 below.

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This year, 21% of lawyers reported having used cloud-based software (also referred to as Software as a Service, or SaaS). That is an increase from last year's 16%, but little difference from the 20% in 2010 who said they'd used the cloud. Solos were most likely to use the cloud, with 29% saying they had, up from 23% in 2011. Lawyers in firms of two to nine were next most likely to have used the cloud, with 26% saying they had, compared to 20% in 2011. Of lawyers in firms of 100 or more, just 11% said they'd used the cloud.

Of lawyers who have used the cloud, the application they are most likely to have used is Google Docs, with 46.2% saying they had used it. The next most commonly used applications were two cloud-based practice management platforms, Clio, with 12% saying they'd used it, and RocketMatter, with 5.1% having used it. Dropbox was used by 3.8%. (The survey listed applications for respondents to choose from so it may not accurately reflect the scope of cloud applications used by lawyers.)

When lawyers who use the cloud were asked why, nearly three-quarters identified the top reason as easy browser access from anywhere. Other reasons for using the cloud included 24/7 availability, low cost of entry and set monthly fees, elimination of IT headaches, robust data back-up and recovery and ease of start-up. See Figure 4 below.

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Asked about their biggest concerns about using the cloud, 66.9% named confidentiality and security. Other top concerns were insufficient control over their data and the possibility of losing access to data.

With regard to cloud-based practice-management platforms, lawyers who had used the cloud were asked about the features and functionality they would most want. Calendering was ranked first (49.3%), followed by centralized matter management (48%), document management (43.9%), time and billing (43.2%), contact management (41.2%) and conflict checking (37.8%).

e-Discovery in the Cloud

The ABA technology survey also included a section on electronic discovery, finding that the use of predictive coding and Internet-based electronic discovery tools rose in 2012.

Of lawyers whose firm had handled an e-discovery case, 44% said they had used Internet-based e-discovery tools, up from 31% in 2011. Thirty-five percent said they had used Internet-based litigation-support software, up from 24% in 2011. Of those same lawyers, 23% said they had used predictive coding to process or review e-discovery materials, up from 15% the prior year.

By comparison, lawyers' use of desktop-based e-discovery tools rose only slightly, from 46% to 48%, and their use of desktop-based litigation support software held steady, at 46%.

Not surprisingly, the use of these types of e-discovery tools is far more common among lawyers in larger firms than among those in solo and small firms. Among lawyers whose firm has handled e-discovery matters, only 5% of solo lawyers and 6% of lawyers in firms of between two and nine lawyers say they've used predictive coding. By contrast, in firms of 500 or more lawyers, 43.5% report having used predictive coding.

A similar but less-dramatic gap exists when lawyers who have handled e-discovery matters were asked if they ever use Internet-based e-discovery tools. Among lawyers in firms of 500 or more, 67.3% say they've used these tools. Among lawyers in solo firms, 33.3% say they have.

In fact, solo and small-firm lawyers are far less likely than their larger-firm counterparts to have ever handled an e-discovery matter. When asked how often they had made an e-discovery request on behalf of a client, 64.2% of solo lawyers said never. At firms of 500 or more, only 31.3% answered never.

Along the same lines, lawyers were asked how often they had received e-discovery requests on behalf of clients. Of solo lawyers, 56.1% said never. At firms of 500 or more, 27.9% said never.

Another question asked whether the lawyer's firm (as opposed to the lawyer directly) had ever been involved in a case that required the processing or review of e-discovery materials. Only 12.8% of solos and 34.3% of lawyers in firms of between two and nine lawyers answered yes. Of lawyers in firms of 500 or more, 71% said yes. Among all respondents in all sized firms, 43.8% said that their firms had been involved in an e-discovery matter.

On the topic of outsourcing, the survey asked lawyers whether they outsource e-discovery processing or review. The results show little change in outsourcing to e-discovery consultants and companies ' 44% in 2012 compared to 45% in 2011. Likewise, the percentage of outsourcing to computer forensics specialists remained steady at 42% from 2011 to 2012.

However, the survey indicates that outsourcing to lawyers outside their own firm is on the rise. Outsourcing to lawyers within the United States rose from 16% in 2011 to 25% in 2012. Outsourcing to lawyers outside the United States rose from 3% in 2011 to 8% in 2012. Here again, the larger the firm, the more likely the lawyer is to outsource.

Something that surprised me in the survey is that there has been virtually no change over the past three years in the number of firms reporting that they have a distinct e-discovery initiative (such as a practice group). In 2012, 25% of respondents said their firms had such an initiative, down from 27% in 2011 and equal with 2010's 25%. Also notable is that, among firms that have such an initiative, fewer of them report having a partner heading it up. Increasingly, the firm's CIO is taking on primary responsibility for its e-discovery initiative.

About the ABA Tech Survey

The 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report consists of six volumes, covering a range of topics from technology basics to mobile lawyering. The social media results are contained in Volume IV, which covers Web and communication technology (http://bit.ly/OLULLy). The cloud computing results are contained in Volume II, which covers law office technology (http://bit.ly/QWdRiS). The e-discovery results are contained in Volume III, which covers litigation and courtroom technology (http://bit.ly/MJ5ASQ). Each Volume is available for purchase from the ABA for $350 (or $300 for ABA members). Abbreviated trend reports are available for each Volume and can be purchased for $55 (or $45 for ABA members).

News flash: More lawyers are using social media!

OK, we all knew that. But it's always nice to see some numbers that give us a sense of where we are. The recently published 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report on Web and communication technology does that.

The survey is based on invitations to participate sent to 12,500 ABA-member lawyers in private practice. Of those, 823 completed the questionnaires, from which the results were tabulated. (One has to wonder whether limiting the survey to ABA members skews the results.)

Overall, the survey showed increases in lawyers' blogging, use of the social networks LinkedIn and Facebook, use of the microblogging site Twitter, and the use of cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) products. Here are some of the findings.

Blogs

Not surprisingly, the survey shows a continued rise in the number of lawyer blogs. Asked whether their firm has a blog, 22% said yes, up from 15% in 2011 and 14% in 2010. The attorneys most likely to say their firm has a blog are those in firms of 100 or more attorneys ' 47% answered yes. By comparison, just 9% of solo lawyers said their firm had a blog.

The survey also asked lawyers whether they personally maintain a professional, legal-topic blog (as opposed to their firm having one). To this question, 9% of lawyers answered yes, up from 5% in both the 2011 and 2010 surveys. This time, the breakdown by firm size of lawyers who said yes was:

• 12%, 2-9 attorneys.
• 8%, 100 or more attorneys.
• 8%, 10-49 attorneys.
• 6%, solos.

A topic of ongoing debate within the legal community is whether blogs generate business. In the ABA survey, 39.1% of lawyers who blog answered yes to the question, “Have you ever had a client retain your legal services directly or via referral as a result of your legal topic blogging for professional purposes?” Among solo lawyers, 53.3% answered yes to that question. Of lawyers in firms of 2-9 members, 50% answered yes.

Another 7% of lawyers said that they maintain a blog, but for personal, non-professional purposes.

Twitter

Lawyers were asked whether their firms maintain a presence on Twitter. Thirteen percent said yes, up from 7% the year before and 5% in 2010. Fully half the lawyers who answered yes to this question were in firms of 100 or more attorneys. By comparison, 10% of solos said their firms use Twitter.

When asked whether they personally use Twitter for professional purposes, 11% of lawyers said yes, up from 6% in 2011. Here, the highest percentage of yes answers came from solos, with 13% saying they personally use Twitter. (I'm not sure how that squares with the number in the prior paragraph ' it would seem that the number of solos who say their firms use Twitter should be the same as the number of solos who say they use Twitter.) See Figure below.

[IMGCAP(1)]

Social Networks

The survey asked lawyers on which social networks their firms maintain a presence. Figure 2 below shows that 88% of lawyers said their firms are on LinkedIn and 55% are on Facebook. Meanwhile, firms reduced their presence on legal-vertical networks such as MH Connected and Legal OnRamp, the survey indicates. Use of Plaxo by firms dropped from 11% in 2011 to 4% in 2012.

[IMGCAP(2)]

Asked about their own use of social networks for professional purposes, 95% of lawyers said that they are on LinkedIn and 38% said they use Facebook. Use of the legal-vertical networks showed little change but indicates that only a fraction of lawyers use these.

When asked why they maintain a presence in these social networks, the most common reason was career development and networking, an answer given by 72% of lawyers. The next most-common reason was case investigation (44%), then client development (42%) and education and current awareness (15%).

Notably, 96% of lawyers answered yes to the question of whether they use a social network or online community for non-professional purposes. Ninety-seven percent of solos answered yes to that.

Web-Based Software

Lawyers' use of Web-based software and services has grown only slightly in recent years, the survey indicates. Growth in use of the cloud is greatest among solos and small firms and lawyers in these firms are more likely than their larger-firm counterparts to use cloud-based applications. See Figure 3 below.

[IMGCAP(3)]

This year, 21% of lawyers reported having used cloud-based software (also referred to as Software as a Service, or SaaS). That is an increase from last year's 16%, but little difference from the 20% in 2010 who said they'd used the cloud. Solos were most likely to use the cloud, with 29% saying they had, up from 23% in 2011. Lawyers in firms of two to nine were next most likely to have used the cloud, with 26% saying they had, compared to 20% in 2011. Of lawyers in firms of 100 or more, just 11% said they'd used the cloud.

Of lawyers who have used the cloud, the application they are most likely to have used is Google Docs, with 46.2% saying they had used it. The next most commonly used applications were two cloud-based practice management platforms, Clio, with 12% saying they'd used it, and RocketMatter, with 5.1% having used it. Dropbox was used by 3.8%. (The survey listed applications for respondents to choose from so it may not accurately reflect the scope of cloud applications used by lawyers.)

When lawyers who use the cloud were asked why, nearly three-quarters identified the top reason as easy browser access from anywhere. Other reasons for using the cloud included 24/7 availability, low cost of entry and set monthly fees, elimination of IT headaches, robust data back-up and recovery and ease of start-up. See Figure 4 below.

[IMGCAP(4)]

Asked about their biggest concerns about using the cloud, 66.9% named confidentiality and security. Other top concerns were insufficient control over their data and the possibility of losing access to data.

With regard to cloud-based practice-management platforms, lawyers who had used the cloud were asked about the features and functionality they would most want. Calendering was ranked first (49.3%), followed by centralized matter management (48%), document management (43.9%), time and billing (43.2%), contact management (41.2%) and conflict checking (37.8%).

e-Discovery in the Cloud

The ABA technology survey also included a section on electronic discovery, finding that the use of predictive coding and Internet-based electronic discovery tools rose in 2012.

Of lawyers whose firm had handled an e-discovery case, 44% said they had used Internet-based e-discovery tools, up from 31% in 2011. Thirty-five percent said they had used Internet-based litigation-support software, up from 24% in 2011. Of those same lawyers, 23% said they had used predictive coding to process or review e-discovery materials, up from 15% the prior year.

By comparison, lawyers' use of desktop-based e-discovery tools rose only slightly, from 46% to 48%, and their use of desktop-based litigation support software held steady, at 46%.

Not surprisingly, the use of these types of e-discovery tools is far more common among lawyers in larger firms than among those in solo and small firms. Among lawyers whose firm has handled e-discovery matters, only 5% of solo lawyers and 6% of lawyers in firms of between two and nine lawyers say they've used predictive coding. By contrast, in firms of 500 or more lawyers, 43.5% report having used predictive coding.

A similar but less-dramatic gap exists when lawyers who have handled e-discovery matters were asked if they ever use Internet-based e-discovery tools. Among lawyers in firms of 500 or more, 67.3% say they've used these tools. Among lawyers in solo firms, 33.3% say they have.

In fact, solo and small-firm lawyers are far less likely than their larger-firm counterparts to have ever handled an e-discovery matter. When asked how often they had made an e-discovery request on behalf of a client, 64.2% of solo lawyers said never. At firms of 500 or more, only 31.3% answered never.

Along the same lines, lawyers were asked how often they had received e-discovery requests on behalf of clients. Of solo lawyers, 56.1% said never. At firms of 500 or more, 27.9% said never.

Another question asked whether the lawyer's firm (as opposed to the lawyer directly) had ever been involved in a case that required the processing or review of e-discovery materials. Only 12.8% of solos and 34.3% of lawyers in firms of between two and nine lawyers answered yes. Of lawyers in firms of 500 or more, 71% said yes. Among all respondents in all sized firms, 43.8% said that their firms had been involved in an e-discovery matter.

On the topic of outsourcing, the survey asked lawyers whether they outsource e-discovery processing or review. The results show little change in outsourcing to e-discovery consultants and companies ' 44% in 2012 compared to 45% in 2011. Likewise, the percentage of outsourcing to computer forensics specialists remained steady at 42% from 2011 to 2012.

However, the survey indicates that outsourcing to lawyers outside their own firm is on the rise. Outsourcing to lawyers within the United States rose from 16% in 2011 to 25% in 2012. Outsourcing to lawyers outside the United States rose from 3% in 2011 to 8% in 2012. Here again, the larger the firm, the more likely the lawyer is to outsource.

Something that surprised me in the survey is that there has been virtually no change over the past three years in the number of firms reporting that they have a distinct e-discovery initiative (such as a practice group). In 2012, 25% of respondents said their firms had such an initiative, down from 27% in 2011 and equal with 2010's 25%. Also notable is that, among firms that have such an initiative, fewer of them report having a partner heading it up. Increasingly, the firm's CIO is taking on primary responsibility for its e-discovery initiative.

About the ABA Tech Survey

The 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report consists of six volumes, covering a range of topics from technology basics to mobile lawyering. The social media results are contained in Volume IV, which covers Web and communication technology (http://bit.ly/OLULLy). The cloud computing results are contained in Volume II, which covers law office technology (http://bit.ly/QWdRiS). The e-discovery results are contained in Volume III, which covers litigation and courtroom technology (http://bit.ly/MJ5ASQ). Each Volume is available for purchase from the ABA for $350 (or $300 for ABA members). Abbreviated trend reports are available for each Volume and can be purchased for $55 (or $45 for ABA members).