Within the legal industry, the business process improvement goals of corporate law departments are generally understood. Concepts such as collaboration, innovation, cost optimization and mechanization are amongst the pots of gold sitting at the end of the proverbial rainbow. Specific objectives such as automating common legal tasks, defining and maximizing the value derived by legal spend, using advanced technology to efficiently process and glean key elements from documents, and implementing both outside counsel and vendor management programs are just a few of the process improvement goals typically resident within an organization's internal legal function.

But how do you get started? What works well and what does not? And how should one prioritize improvement projects? That's not always so easy to wrap your arms around.

For generations, one approach for new ideas has been connecting with thought leaders to discuss and exchange ideas. Long ago, industry leaders exchanged ideas in the grand meeting rooms or laboratories of venues like Hyde Park, the Edison House or public town halls. More recently, business leaders tend to gather at industry association conferences or rely on advice from experts at professional consulting firms. Human interaction was, of course, a familiar refrain in these types of exchanges.

Our world is increasingly changing. To state the incredibly obvious, it's a more digital place. As sad as is in some ways, electronic interaction is either replacing or supplementing personal interaction, depending on your point of view. Thus, it should be no surprise that this phenomenon also applies to the areas of benchmarking and improvement within the legal industry.

Accordingly, business networking tools like LinkedIn are now significant influencers in the workflow and process improvement arena. Of course, we all have heard of LinkedIn and have a general idea of what it is and what it can do. But how do we apply the same level of business process methodologies to our use of LinkedIn? Here are some tips.

Develop a Plan

We are all used to developing plans. To technologists like myself, coordinated application builds by developing business requirements, writing functional specifications and managing implementation teams. Litigators walk through phases of a case such as case assessment, pre-trial pleadings and motions, discovery, settlement negotiations, trial, etc.. And, more narrowly within the burgeoning area of discovery, there is a model for that function (The Electronic Discovery Reference Model or EDRM) which defines a generally accepted optimized workflow (Identification, Preservation, Collection, Processing).

It stands to reason members of a corporate counsel office need a “LinkedIn” plan as well. Perhaps the first thing to acknowledge is that there is indeed some value of LinkedIn as a business tool. Attorneys, and in fact all processionals, need to commit themselves to the belief that LinkedIn is far more than just “Facebook For Business”. On the contrary, LinkedIn should be considered a valued business tool.

So, what are some ways LinkedIn can be applied to further one's personal objectives?  Like managing a case or discovery project, the first step is developing a plan of attack. One's general goals might include any or all of the following—do a better job, develop better skills, help others around you be better, or even to get a better job. Of course, not unlike creating customized software or managing a legal matter, a LinkedIn strategy plan should be tailored to specific needs. No one can define a plan for another. But do be sure to develop a customized plan for yourself.

Lay the Foundation

Not unlike rebuilding a sports franchise, a properly executed LinkedIn strategy takes time, effort, and vision to implement. Logging in occasionally and clicking the “Like” icon here or there won't cut the mustard. So what should a member of an organization's law department be doing?

One of the first goals is to build and expand your network. There are so many options in this area. Your current colleagues within your corporate law department. Those you worked with in the past. College roommates. Experts in your specific field of law, and others, from academia or the consulting industry. If you happen to be a litigation attorney working in Big Pharma, why not network with some legal experts within your firm in areas like trademark, patent or contractual law.

Don't forget your internal clients, employees in departments like finance, product development and marketing. And your business partners like outside counsel. And, of course, recruiters are another obvious category as well.

Try to be sure you identify those folks best aligned with your overall LinkedIn plan. For example, you have an interest in outside counsel management programs, look for contacts with vendor management experience within the legal vertical. Those folks could serve as valuable thought leaders to you. Building a strong network is vital—clearly one of the major foundational steps within a LinkedIn program.

One quick tip. Executing this plan to expand your contacts should be done with some care. Try to first connect with those you personally know. Ask your contacts for introductions to others.  Send personalized invites indicating why you are interested in connecting whenever possible. Try to make that first interaction a personal one which you can build upon.

The Sill Plate

If this is a new term to you, a sill plate is the first portion of a house frame that sits right on top of the concrete. If your contacts are your LinkedIn foundation, your external content and expertise is your sill plate. Speaking at conferences, writing articles or even sharing interesting thoughts on LinkedIn all make you the type of knowledgeable, introspective professional that others will want to connect with.

Remember, whether you are in the halls of a courthouse, attending an ABA conference and commiserating online, the more insightful you are perceived to be, the more beneficial your interactions will be. LinkedIn really is no different, just an extension of one's personal contacts.

A note of caution however. Don't produce content for content's sake. Just because you can write articles directly on LinkedIn, that does not necessarily mean it is a great idea. Expressing well thought out concepts focused on topics of interest supporting the goals of your LinkedIn program is a good idea. That's where you want to be content wise.

Finishing Touches

Once you have a supporting mechanism in place, that's where the fun begins.  Budget some time for the process. Strive for some thought-provoking two-way engagements. Respond to the content of others and show interest in areas you'd like to learn about. And when you are working in the LinkedIn platform, try to make a few introspective comments rather than just clicking on the “Like” button something on the order of seventeen times per minute. Lastly, be sure to reciprocate to those who read and support your content by showing an interest in their material. That's the way to develop those two-way, mutually beneficial relationships.

Most importantly, don't be shy about reaching out to others to further your goals. That's the whole purpose of LinkedIn, to gain and benefit from the thoughts and experiences of your contacts.

One last tip, and my apologies for repeating this. Try to get into the habit of working in the LinkedIn platform every day. Not hours of work. Perhaps something in the range of 5-10 minutes a day seems about right to me. Like any social media platform, total immersion into LinkedIn is not what you want to do.

Keep this last point in mind. LinkedIn is not Formula 1. Slow and steady—think perhaps a modest goal of adding a 3-5 contacts per week and posting some content or comments a couple times of month—is a sustainable pace which will help you get the most out of your LinkedIn program.

Conclusion

Consider LinkedIn a valuable business tool. Make it part of your overall plan to benefit from the excellent ideas and experiences of others working within the corporate counsel function. Properly administered, LinkedIn can help those in the corporate legal field expand their horizons to develop more strategies for extracting more bang for your legal buck, improving litigation and document review workflows and analyzing spend using business analytical tools and A.I.

There are many great ideas out there, the challenge facing corporate counsel is identifying the best approaches for implementing best-in-breed approaches. LinkedIn can play an important role in that process.

Kenneth Jones is Chief Technologist of Tanenbaum Keale, a boutique litigation law firm, and Chief Operating Officer of the Xerdict Group, a SaaS legal collaboration software company. Xerdict is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tanenbaum Keale.