Social Media. Credit: Twin Design/Shutterstock.com

AXS Law Group's social media accounts show attorneys at lunch outings, hosting artists and looking glamorous at social events. But every post is carefully weighed and discussed at weekly meetings for highly curated accounts.

Still, partner Morgan Ben-David is an ardent defender of social media. In an era when online platforms are falling under scrutiny for a litany of ills — hijacking elections, alienating millennials, stealing data — Ben-David is enthusiastic about using Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to promote the firm.

Morgan Ben-David, partner with AXS Law Group in Miami. Courtesy photo

“Nowadays every business should have some presence on (social) media,” she said. As a founding attorney at the Wynwood-based AXS Law Group, Ben-David has used her perch of influence to encourage other attorneys to share more, not less.

“With Instagram, it's a great opportunity to make people excited about the firm and what we're doing,” she said. Due in part to its chic location, AXS hosts a variety of events, ranging from cocktail socials to artist spotlights and charitable events — all opportunities to showcase the firm online.

“You can't do those things the way you would in a newsletter,” Ben-David said.

Not everyone in the legal community shares Ben-David's passion for publicizing law firm activities. Adam Handfinger, a co-managing partner at Peckar & Abramson's Miami office, has spearheaded his firm's efforts to propagate its message and marketing through social media. However, Handfinger admits he's been met with some resistance along the way.

“It's a real struggle in the organization in between the generations and those who actively use social media and those who don't,” he said.

Both Ben-David and Handfinger say reconciling the proliferation of social media with the prestige of the legal field has required some deft maneuvering on their part.

“It's hard to strike the right balance between being professional and serious and exuding the most important message,” Handfinger said. Among the biggest concerns: Peckar & Abramson's online voice “needs to be consistent first and foremost.”

Adam P. Handfinger, co-managing partner with Peckar & Abramson, in Miami.

“We've been through the education and growing pains of training our internal people about what's appropriate on Facebook and what's not,” Handfinger said. “If you're going to connect with clients … there's an internal process we had to — and are still going through — to determine what's personal, what's professional, and what the voice of the firm is.”

At AXS, Ben-David and the firm gather in weekly meetings to discuss the direction of the firm's marketing and branding.

“Whenever there's something going on in the media about our firm or our case, we talk about it and our message,” she said. “Our firm is involved in a high-profile matter representing the owners of Ball & Chain against Joe Carollo. In this day and age when politics can trigger people, we spoke about it. … We don't need to make [the lawsuit] about politics.”

Ben-David added it helps having a public relations company “to guide the firm and how the message is portrayed.”

Fowler White Burnett shareholder Alice Sum agreed, noting the importance of having dedicated marketing specialists on hand.

Alice K. Sum, Fowler White Burnett. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM

“Even though it may be free using Instagram, Facebook or other social media, [law firms] need to treat it as if they hired an outside marketing company that they're working with and give it the same level of seriousness,” Sum said.

Her advice: Avoid situations where a staffer “logged in on their iPhone and simply dashed off a photo with a caption without giving it further thought.”

Attorneys say as social media changes, litigators have to be as nimble online as they are in the courtroom to keep pace with the demands of the field and, perhaps most importantly, the expectations of clients.

“Social media is like a first date: If you only talk about yourself you're never going to have a second,” Ben-David said, sharing a piece of wisdom given to her by someone in the social media field. “We look at marketing not as a way to target consumers for business, but more so building a brand. And that's something you can really do today you couldn't do 10 years ago.”

Read More:

Clickbait — or Caught in the Trap? When Social Media Posts Go Wrong

Marketing Today's Law Firms: Why an Integrated Campaign Is Essential

'You Don't Look Like a Judge': Female Jurists, Lawyers Mistaken for Assistants