The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Why Lawyers Should Use Twitter

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    Ruth Carter

    I have a friend who has been a personal injury lawyer for decades.  He’s a solo practitioner with enough cases to keep him comfortably in business.  He was my lawyer after I was involved in a car accident and he did a wonderful job settling my case.  He has a great reputation and gets the majority of his business through word-of-mouth.  He has a website and occasionally writes a blog.  He recently asked me why he should be on Twitter if he doesn’t need it to drum up business.

    Free twitter badge
    Image via Wikipedia

    I think my friend doesn’t see any value in sitting on Twitter all day reading and responding to others’ tweets.  I think he’s right on that point, but I don’t think he sees some of the other benefits of having a Twitter account.  I’ve been pondering his question for a few weeks and I’ve come up with the top three reasons why a lawyer in his position would want to have a Twitter presence.

    1. Promote Your Blog – I love that my friend writes a blog, but if no one knows when he has something new posted, who is going to read it?  I have a lawyer friend who mostly uses his Twitter account to announce when he has posted a new blog.  I love when he writes, but he doesn’t publish on a set schedule.  I appreciate the notice when he has something new for us to read.
    2. Stay On The Radar – By using a Twitter account, a solo practitioner remind others that they exist in a non-intrusive way.  It also makes it easier for people who promote you within the Twitterverse.   For example, I recently had a friend ask me for a recommendation for a real estate lawyer in Arizona.  I didn’t know any lawyers who practice in this area, so I put the question out on Twitter.  (Note – I only put the question out on Twitter.)  I received two recommendations within 24 hours.  I appreciated the response that provided a name, a Twitter handle, and a website more than the response that just gave me a name.  It gives people a way to get to know you before they initiate a conversation with you.  If you saw a tweet where someone mentioned you, you could post a thank-you tweet and continue to build goodwill for your firm.
    3. Stay Abreast of Legal News – I get multiple legal magazines every month and I don’t have time to flip through them all.  Instead, I follow various entities on Twitter who post links to articles and blogs on the latest legal news.  It’s a more efficient way to know what’s going on in the legal world.

    When it comes to social media like Facebook and Twitter, it’s important for lawyers (and any professional) to look at it as a tool, and evaluate it whether it can assist them in their business.  With Twitter, it’s about having public conversations in an online community and people can engage where they are comfortable.  In the big picture, I think it’s better to be partially involved and engage a little bit, than not to be involved at all.

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  • So I Have A Gun . . .

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    Ruth Carter

    There is a time and place for guns.  I live in Arizona – a big pro-gun state.  We love guns so much that the state legislature is in the process of having the Colt revolver declared as the official state gun.  When you go shopping, some stores have signs that say “No handguns” because we can carry our guns just about everywhere unless they specifically tell us we can’t.  My school is even considering allowing guns on campus.  They’ve tried  to outlaw cigarettes on campus but guns are ok.

    I moved to Phoenix shortly after my grandmother died.  Since I didn’t have a job yet, I was the one who was responsible for being on site for the cleaning out and selling of her house.   When I was doing my final walk-through to make sure that we had everything out of house, I discovered an oddly shaped fabric case on a high shelf in her closet.  It was my father’s hunting rifle.  I never knew he had a gun.  I took it to my house and it has been in my closet ever since.  It’s a beautiful weapon, but I don’t fire it.

    guns and ammo
    Image by darkly_seen via Flickr

    Now, I am all for responsible gun ownership.  I have shot a number of guns: rifles, handguns, and an M-16.  People laughed very hard at me when I learned the hard way that I didn’t have my gun pulled all the way into my shoulder before firing it.  I have had my fair share of gun-related bruises.

    I heard that a friend of a friend always opens her door holding her gun.  It was handy for making solicitors go away.  I don’t like being bothered at home, so I decided to try it.  The next time the doorbell rang, I opened the door with my dad’s gun in my hands (just holding it, not pointing it at anyone).  There was a little Hispanic man going door-to-door offering to help with my lawn (and I don’t have a lawn).  He was so surprised to see a person with a gun.  He looked so scared.  I realized at that point that I don’t want to live in a world where people answer their doors holding guns.

    I think one of the problems with the U.S. is that we’re conditioned to believe that the unfamiliar is scary and that people inherently want to hurt each other.  It lends itself to always being on guard and looking for the bad instead of being rational and enjoying the good in life.

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  • SALK Day 74: Pursuing Passions

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    Ruth Carter

    Let’s talk about passion.  It’s a powerful feeling.  It drives you to stay up until 3am, working on a project for fun.  It’s that gut feeling that you’re doing something that you were meant to do, and it’s so powerful that you can’t explain why you feel this way.  It just is.

    Ignite the moment...
    Image by ViaMoi via Flickr

    It can take time to figure out what you’re passionate about.  You have to try different things, encounter different people and situations.  I never know when I’ll find something that ignites my passion, but when it happens, I get a burst energy that can overcome the power of sleep deprivation or a bad day.

    This past year I’ve had to ask myself what ignites my professional passion.  I love it when I’m working on a legal project, determining a viable answer, and being frustrated that I can’t give legal advice yet.  That’s usually followed by the blaring thought, “Why aren’t I a lawyer yet?!”  When I feel that burst of passionate energy, I’ve tried to slow my brain down enough to identify what was driving that feeling.  It led me to learn that two things make me exceptionally happy – being a helpful reassuring source of knowledge and being a performer.   I am grateful that I have opportunities to be both of these things.

    I’m graduating in 60 days, and I don’t have a job lined up yet.  One of my reasons for going to law school was the fact that I didn’t like my job anymore.  I’m being somewhat selective about where I’m applying for jobs because I decided I’m going to pay over $60,000 for a career change that’s going make me miserable.

    It’s a joy to watch other people sharing or engaging in their passions.  Today’s sponsor and my friend, Stefi, is such a person who embraces her passions.  It’s not something she consciously thinks about; it’s just what she does.  Sometimes she gets so excited that she literally bounces up and down when she talks.  If you say something that she really likes, she might express her happiness by proposing marriage.  It’s very cute to turn around and see that she’s holding a ring out to me because of something I’ve said.  I love that she risks being seen as weird.  I’m so pleased to see that I’m not the only one who came to law school to find and follow a passion.

    Happy Birthday Stefi!

    Sponsor A Law Kid is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school. Today’s sponsor is Stephanie Green.  For more information about Sponsor A Law Kid or to see what days are still available for sponsorship, visit my Sponsor A Law Kid page.

     

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