Uneasy companions: social media and the law Lawyers and law firms across many jurisdictions struggle with using social media. This is not because lawyers are ‘old-fashioned’. Instead, lawyers are naturally cautious around social media’s ‘Wild West’ rules, medium-to-large law firms can lack the agility to respond in ‘real time’ and sometimes, where you are based can be a help or hindrance. Given these restrictions, many lawyers choose to ignore social media, or use it half-heartedly. This panel session will: • define the benefits that lawyers can gain from engagement with social media; • include insights into the different social media platforms suitable for lawyers; • debate ways to cope with the pitfalls of engagement; • examine ways to measure social media effectiveness; and • look at what should be in a social media ‘strategy’. The panel will include a marketing and public relations professional, a lawyer who promotes/uses his or her profile on social media, an in-house professional charged with managing a law firm’s corporate social media presence and a journalist who will outline ways in which the business and legal press use and reference social media.