Social Media Tips for BP Oil Spill Litigation
By Margaret Grisdela

Oil spill litigation proliferates in the courts as polluted water coats beaches and breeding grounds with toxic chemicals. The slow but sure movement toward Florida shores is sure to be reflected in increased lawsuit levels.

The plaintiff’s bar has been quick to launch Internet marketing campaigns designed to attract victims of the Gulf oil spill, while defense firms are more cautious in regard to Internet marketing. This article offers suggestions on how both plaintiff and defense firms can use social media to attract new business.

Increased search engine visibility, with its associated ability to attract qualified prospects, is a key benefit for those plaintiff and defense firms with an Internet marketing campaign that includes blogging, online discussions, webinars, and electronic networking.

Five ways to use social media for oil spill business development:

1. Build a blog, or write a series of focused articles for an existing blog.
2. Use the RSS feed from your blog to automatically feed other social media outlets, like LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com)  and Twitter (www.twitter.com).  
3. Use LinkedIn for online networking. Look for existing connections to leading oil spill law firms, with the intention of an introduction for possible overflow or conflict work. Join groups and answer questions relating to the oil spill.
4. Get involved in online discussions on sites like Martindale-Hubbell Connected (www.martindale.com/connected), which offers an “Emerging Issues” forum for the BP oil spill.
5. Self-publish on oil spill topics using legal sites like JD Supra (www.jdsupra.com) or HG.org (www.hg.org) for greater Internet visibility.

Other forms of online marketing include webinars, Internet-based press releases, white papers, and YouTube videos.

An essential first step is to create a strategy for your social media campaign. Identify your goals, objectives, target audience, and success measures. Equally important, create an outline of 10-20 topics related to your area of expertise as it relates to oil spill litigation. This type of an editorial calendar helps you organize your efforts, assign multiple attorneys to assist in writing articles, and plan a publication schedule.

Identifying the legal topics associated with the oil spill that your firm can address merits serious strategic consideration. As a starting point, potential litigation subjects include insurance policy provisions affecting claims, evidence requirements to demonstrate business lost profits, state or federal venue, or the implications of initial payouts relative to additional future claims.

Use your social media communications as part of your on-going marketing campaigns to current clients and your existing referral networks. Your RSS feed and a robust LinkedIn network will help to spread the word.

By way of background, the PACER docket database documents that hundreds of cases have already been filed in federal courts against BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and Cameron International. The most popular oil spill litigation categories in the federal docket include marine contracts, stockholders’ suits, torts to land, personal injury, marine and other product liability, and environmental matters.

Now is the time for law firms to take an early stand in positioning themselves as a credible source in oil spill litigation. Contact the author at 866-417-7025 or by email to discuss ideas for your law firm.