Web 2.0 Opportunities in Marketing for Attorneys?

Should marketing for attorneys include a Web 2.0 strategy?  According to a nationwide survey of 850 U.S. lawyers highlighted in the September 2008 edition of the ABA Journal, only 8% of law firms maintain a law-related blog, and only 2% of lawyers maintain a law-related blog.  The same survey found that 4% of law firms have joined a social network, while 15% of lawyers have joined a social network.  According to the survey, 6% of lawyers listen to podcasts, 10% of lawyers subscribe to RSS fees, 14% watch online videos, and 27% consult blogs daily or at least once a week.

Those interested in internet marketing for attorneys can either be discouraged or encouraged by the ABA survey.  One the one hand, the survey confirms that lawyers are slow adopters of new technologies.  On the other hand, lawyers have historically been prone to embrace and use new technologies - after other businesses have already implemented them.

My opinion is that internet marketing for lawyers using Web 2.0 and new media is on the brink of going mainstream and taking off.  No strategy on marketing for law firms or marketing for lawyers would be complete without an active Web 2.0 component.