Dan Schwartz: A ‘Legal Rebel’ With Social Networking Skills

Editor's Note: Schwartz is a litigator with the Hartford law firm Pullman & Comley.

According to the ABA Journal, you are a "Legal Rebel," one of 50 attorneys in the U.S. honored for innovative practices that are shaping the future of the legal profession. You're cited for use of social media. Why are you considered a rebel for using social media?

The ABA Journal began its "Legal Rebel" project to look at new practices that are changing the legal profession. I think what the ABA Journal seemed to be getting at was my efforts to bring these new communication tools to the Connecticut Bar Association and the legal community in ways that haven't been done before. But more so than that, I've tried to bring a new approach to using the technology that is out there as a way to build upon the mission of the bar association and of lawyers generally. For example, we're moving towards being able to hold meetings and webinars via the internet, rather than in person. That requires changing the way that we do things, and not simply adopting technology to what we've already been doing. It also requires making sure the technology is easy to use as well. And lastly, I think attorneys, to generalize, fear change and technology; I've tried to make sure that technology is something to be embraced. After all, technology isn't going away anytime soon.

In the American Bar Association article about you as a legal rebel, there is this quotation: "As a member of the ABA's policy-making House of Delegates, Schwartz was the first representative to use his Twitter feed to report on the 555-member body's debates live from the House floor." What made you want to Twitter about the debates and what was the reaction overall?

I think the ABA does a lot of good work and thought I could Twitter to show people what it's doing - rather than merely telling people. And by doing so in real time, people could educate themselves about the policies that were being discussed. Twitter can be a great communications tool and a way to reach out to people who you might otherwise never come across. And by doing so at the ABA meeting, for example, I could help other attorneys in Connecticut find out that its delegation was working hard on issues important to them. The reaction was extraordinarily positive and I've done it again at future meetings. Other attorneys from across the county said that they were thankful they could get information in real time. And other delegates wanted to know how they could do it too. At the last meeting there were several of us and I expect that by February 2010, it'll be even more.

A busy lawyer has time to embrace only one social networking tool and asks you, "What should I use?" What is your answer going to be?

Well, I think the question sort of presents a false choice that an attorney can have time to embrace one social networking tool. I think they work well in combination of each other. But my answer also depends on what the attorney is hoping to accomplish. If all they want to do is build up their online "Rolodex, " LinkedIn is probably the best tool for them. If they want to keep up-to-date on new developments and build connections with people they know and people they'd like to know, Twitter is an excellent tool. Almost all the news organizations, for example, have a twitter "channel" that sends out the latest headlines - in some cases before they even hit their websites. And other people forward on newsworthy cases so it's a lot like having a bunch of concierges all gathering information to share with you. For Twitter, attorneys should use a third-party application to use with it, like Tweetdeck, instead of Twitter's own webpage, which is frankly terrible. Start small; don't try to do too much and set boundaries for its use.

Do you use social networking in your personal life or does Twitter get shut down when you get home?

I've embraced Facebook and think its a terrific site for reconnecting with people I know, but I use it for personal rather than business use. I think sometimes people jump into social networking sites without thinking about why they are using them or how they will use them. So, ultimately, I use Facebook for personal contacts, LinkedIn for business contacts, and Twitter for extending my business contacts. I know there are other sites out there (like Martindale Hubbell Connected) but even a tech-forward attorney like me can't keep up with all of them. Pick two or three and make sure you use them in a way that's going to benefit you the most.