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Guest Posts

Legal Rebel Photoshoot 2012 by Don McPhee

Legal Rebel Photoshoot 2012 by Don McPhee

I love writing. I’m grateful to have been invited to write guest blog posts and articles for a variety of publications. Please contact me if you are interested in having me write an original post or article for your organization.

Here are the posts and articles I have written to date.

In The News

Happy New Year 2010! by Eustaquio Santimano

Happy New Year 2010! by Eustaquio Santimano

I’ve had the pleasure of being a source for a variety of publications and news stories. Please contact me if you want my two cents on a topic, particularly social media law and flash mob law. Here are the publications that have mentioned me or used me as a source to date.

Happy Birthday Carter Law Firm!

January 3, 2013 by 2 Comments
Raul's Birthday Cake by lokate366 from Flickr

Raul’s Birthday Cake by lokate366 from Flickr

January 4, 2013 will mark the 1-year anniversary of Carter Law Firm. It’s been an amazing year. Some much has happened since the day I sent off my paperwork to the Arizona Corporation Commission and opened my firm’s bank accounts. I’ve learned so much about what it takes to be an effective business owner. Here are some of the key lessons I’ve learned.

1. Networking Can Be A Full-Time Job.
As a solo practitioner I am my business, so when I’m not doing work for my clients, I need to be out there promoting my business and networking with other business owners and potential new clients. I can easily attend 2-4 networking events a week. Networking Phoenix is a wonderful resource for networking opportunities in the Phoenix area. I used it a lot in my early days to learn about the chambers of commerce and other business groups in my area.

Early on, I went to every event I could attend. I learned that it takes a while to find my niches and watering holes where I could find clients and referral sources. I was pleased to become a member of Local First Arizona. It is a great group to meet awesome business owners and they have wonderful seminars.

2. Ask for Help.
There’s no reason for anyone in business to feel like they have to tackle any problem alone. I’ve found there are lawyers and business owners who will share their experiences, provide resources, and be a sounding board whenever I needed it. During the early days of my firm, I was on a first name basis with the state bar’s ethics hotline because I wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. I’m glad I’ve been able to pay it forward by sharing my experiences with other lawyers and business owners.

One thing I’ve learned as a business owner is that things are always changing so it’s impossible to know everything. It’s important to stay humble and teachable. And there are always new people to meet and connections to build.

3. Go After What You Want.
I’ve had to learn to be professionally bold as a business owner and to go after the experiences I want. If there’s a conference you want to speak at – apply. If you want to write a book – do it. If there’s someone you want to meet – send them an email or call them up. Just because you’re the new kid in town, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot to offer.

Another thing I’ve learned is you’ll never know how great you can be unless you try. Don’t fear success and don’t sell yourself short just because you have a new business.

I couldn’t be happier about my first year of business. I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make it such a huge success. I’m excited to see what the next year will bring.

You can connect with me via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or you can email me.
Please visit my homepage for more information about Carter Law Firm.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Carter Law Firm is Starting an Email Newsletter

November 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Letters Never Sent by tnarik from Flickr

This has been on my to-do list for months and I’m finally making it a priority – the firm is starting its newsletter this month.

The goals of my firm’s monthly newsletter are to be short, relevant, and useful. Each edition will address one timely topic and provide updates from the blog and my speaking schedule. It may take me a few months to figure out the best days and times to do my mailings, but you should only get one email a month.

Will my newsletter have a shameless plug for my book? Of course! But I promise it will not be the main content. This newsletter is designed to offer helpful tips and suggestions to my subscribers, not to boost my book sales. If that’s a side effect, it’s just a bonus.

So how can you subscribe? It’s easy – you can subscribe to the newsletter here. Please note you have to add yourself to my mailing list. I will not add you without your explicit request and consent. One of my pet peeves is meeting a new person at a networking event, exchanging business cards, and finding myself added to their newsletter mailing list the next day without consent. I promise not to spam you or to sell my mailing list to third parties.

The first edition of the newsletter is scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday, November 28th. Please subscribe now if you’re interested in receiving it.

You can connect with me via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or you can email me.
Please visit my homepage for more information about Carter Law Firm.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Social Media Policies That Every Company Needs

January 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Texting by Joi Ito

Texting by Joi Ito

This post was originally published on The Undeniable Ruth in January 2011. 

Last weekend I attended a talk by Kade Dworkin to business students on social media strategies for companies. Kade seems to have read every book on this topic and knows the heavy hitters in this area. He suggested that every company have two social media policies.

Social Media Policy for Employees
Is an employee allowed to say who their employer is on their blog? What about their Twitter profile? Is there anything wrong with an employee tweeting out, “Grrr…some days I hate my job” or “My clients are making me crazy?” If there are no rules about what employees can and can’t say online when they’re on their own time, you really can’t get mad at them for what they say, unless there is a blatant violation of client confidentiality or a disclosure of a trade secret. It’s disturbing that only 29% of employers have social media policies. Being active on social media sites is part of doing business today, and if you don’t have a social media policy for employees, you’re asking for trouble.

Social Media Crisis Response Policy
I had never heard this before, but it makes perfect sense. In the past, a company had more time before a bad review is disseminated via newspapers and word of mouth. Now, a bad review can be spread across the internet in a matter of minutes. While a company should hope and work towards providing exceptional goods and services all the time, there will always be individuals who are not happy. When that happens, it’s critical that the company has a plan in place on how it will respond. The company should already have action plans for dealing with the worst case scenarios that might occur. Additionally, Kade suggested that whoever is in charge of social media should have a strong relationship with the company’s legal department to avoid any major missteps.

Recall the fiasco that occurred after Amy’s Baking Company got a bad review on Yelp. The main issue wasn’t that a customer was unhappy, but that the owner did a horrible job responding to the bad review. It’s hard for an owner to get a bad review about their staff and service, and it’s critical that the response be one that attempts to resolve the problem privately and show that the company is customer-focused. In this case, the owner’s response caused irreparable harm to their and their restaurant’s reputation. Many people who read the review and the owner’s response said that they will never patronize that restaurant in the future. I have never been to Amy’s and now given the choice, I’ll go somewhere else.

Kade also suggested that companies never let an intern be in charge of social media because it’s important that whoever is in charge is someone who can make decisions on the fly to resolve problems. This should occur within 30 minutes, not in a few days. A fast and effective response can do as much to bolster a company’s reputation as providing exceptional service.

Filed Under: Employment Law Tagged With: , , , , ,
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