• Automobile Accidents and Texting by The Cochran Firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Just how dangerous is texting while driving? This blog entry might give you some idea.
• DUI/OWI Laws and Punishment in Michigan by Jay Trucks & Associates, PC, in Clare, Michigan. Every state has different laws and punishments. Here's how Michigan handles DUI/OWI cases!
• If You Are Convicted of a Crime, What's Next? by Coxwell & Associates, PLLC, in Jackson, Mississippi. This blog entry will help you figure out what to do if you've been convicted of a crime.
• Massive Toyota Recall: Questionable Floorplan Design by John Feroleto, Attorneys at Law in Buffalo, New York. Here's why many Toyota vehicles have been recalled off the market!
• Why Do I Need a Car Accident Attorney? by Lusk, Drasites, Tolisano & Smith, PA, in Cape Coral, Florida. If you've been in a car accident, do you need an attorney? This blog entry might help give you some direction.

Now that we've covered the basics of LinkedIn, I thought that it would be a good idea to share some groups that are beneficial for legal professionals. The following list is just a small sampling of the types of legal groups that you can find on LinkedIn:

• Bisnar's Lawyer Marketing Mastermind Group: "A place for attorneys to ask marketing and management questions and share ideas." (310 members)
• Personal Injury Attorney Network: "This is a professional network for personal injury lawyers." (604 members)
• Lawyer Referral Exchange: "Lawyer-to-lawyer client referral and management system created by lawyers for lawyers." (332 members)
• American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section: "TIPS is unique within the ABA and the legal community because of a focus on balance & diversity, bringing together plaintiffs, defense, corporate & in-house counsel." (675 members)
• ABA Friends: "This group is open to all individuals/groups in the legal profession." (1,163 members)
• Leadership for Lawyers: "If you are interested in the latest trends, best practices, technology, advancements, innovation in the law and leadership, then we invite you to join this group." (3,665 members)
• Legal Blogging: "This group facilitates networking regarding publishing blogs related to the legal profession." (3,282 members)

Again, these are just a few of the hundreds of legal groups that you can find on LinkedIn. There are over 50 million users on the professional networking site, and many of them participate in groups. Use the groups that you join as resources for yourself, to aid with your legal web marketing efforts, and as a means to reach the masses.

And if you think I missed a group, let me know in the comments section and I'll be sure to add it to the list!

• Public Option Health Insurance by Coxwell & Associates in Jackson, Mississippi. A discussion about public option health insurance and how it might help you during a crisis.
• Whistleblower Gets $51.5 Million by Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel, P.C., in Washington D.C. An amazing tale about a man who exposed a major pharmaceutical company and made the company accountable for its dangerous medicines.
• Importance of Estate Planning for Nursing Home Residents by Jay Trucks and Associates in Clare, Michigan. Estate planning not only ensures that your last wishes are met, but prevents against some cases of nursing home abuse.
• Glossary of Truck Accident Terms by Long & Waite Attorneys at Law in Mobile, Alabama. A list of handy terms to know should you be considering a truck accident lawsuit.
• $3.1 Million Awarded in Drunk Driving Accident by Kennedy Hodges, LLP, in Houston, Texas. Another wrong righted when a woman finds retribution after an accident with a careless drunk driver.

With Twitter and Facebook stealing the social media spotlight, it is important for lawyers to remember to utilize LinkedIn. It is the top networking site for professionals and can be incredibly valuable to your legal web marketing strategy. Take the time to connect with colleagues and update your profile often.

But why does it even matter? Try Googling your name. Most likely LinkedIn is one of the top results. It’s important that when people search for you, they find an up-to-date, professional profile. It enhances your online presence and, if done well, your image too.

To get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, join groups and contribute to discussions when you can. Not only will it help you to establish yourself as an expert, but you may also learn a few things from other legal professionals. And be sure to show off as many credentials as possible! This will impress potential clients. Also include links to your practice’s website and any blogs that you contribute to.  In fact, cross-link as many resources as possible. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask your connections to write recommendations for you – and return the favor! LinkedIn can be a great place for testimonials from past clients as well as colleagues.

While LinkedIn can be time consuming at first, once your profile is established it doesn’t take much time at all. And the time you do spend will be well worth it.

Check out Page 1 Solutions' profile:

• Promising New Treatment for Women With Breast Cancer Relapse by Silberstein, Awad & Miklos in New York, New York. A promising new treatment has been released for women who are suffering from a breast cancer relapse.
• Personal Injury Lawyer Workers Compensation Specialist by Anthony Castelli Accident & Injury Law in Cincinnati, Ohio. Learn how to become an expert in personal injury and worker's compensation.
• Patient Dumping Practices by Robbins & Associates, PC, in Atlanta, Georgia. Learn about the practice of "patient dumping," which is more common than you may think!
• EPA Moves One Town, Won't Help Their Neighbor by PersonalInjury.com. The EPA bought out and moved the residents of Picher, Oklahoma, leaving devistating effects on the surrounding areas.
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There have been some great posts in legal news lately. Here are some of our favorites, in no particular order!

• · MRSA Infection Still Present in Some at Hospital Discharge by Silberstein, Awad & Miklos in New York. Learn about MRSA, a strain of staph that is resistant to common antibiotics, and why some people who were supposedly “cured” may still be spreading the infection to their friends and loved ones.

• · What Do I Do if I’m in an Auto Accident? by Polewski & Associates in Dallas, Texas. Some great tips from the pros on what your first steps after an automobile accident should be.

• · Man Paralyzed in Jail Files Lawsuit Against Lee County, Florida Sherriff by PersonalInjury.com, a great resource for those interested in personal injury law. The fascinating story of a man who was had nearly total paraplegia after trying to get an infected wound treated while in jail.

• · Automobile Accident? You May Need An Attorney by Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida. A more in-depth take on how to determine if you need an attorney after an automobile accident.

• · Pickup Truck Side Crash Tests by McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, P.A. in South Carolina. An interesting read about how popular trucks such as the Dodge Ram 1500, the Chevy Silverado 1500 and the Nissan Titan performed in side crash tests in contrast to the protection they were designed to give.

While they are avid supporters of social media, they understand the risks involved for lawyers participating. I highly recommend checking out the Social Media Guidelines section of their website. They discuss issues that surround social networking sites as they pertain to lawyers, and even provide videos that offer insights and tips for legal professionals. You can also subscribe to their YouTube channel to follow their videos, which are always helpful and entertaining.

Internet marketing is a "you get what you pay for" world. The cheaper solutions will mean inexperienced or unreliable people working for you. Or they may do decent work on the front end, but have no follow-through or the follow-through costs extra. More costly solutions typically mean more specialized experience and more reliable service, but even that isn't always true.

So, the first step toward finding an "affordable" Web marketing company is to establish your goals and priorities. What can you feasibly spend, and what do you define as a successful Web marketing campaign. If it's simply to launch a basic website, then you can definitely achieve that goal within your budget. If your goal is to be number one on Google for "New York Injury Lawyer", and you only have $100 per month to spend, then your goal is unrealistic, and you might as well go out to a nice dinner with that money.

In most cases, you want to find a happy medium solution. Accept the fact that Web marketing, at least in metropolitan areas of any sizeable population, is not going to be cheap. But it is "affordable" if it will generate a return on investment. This is critical. Do your shopping and identify firms that not only build a website, or offer basic optimization, but also offer monthly follow-through to do the hard work that will generate results. Ask for examples of their work as well as references. Compare apples-to-apples, and if one firm does not offer a service that another does, take them to task and ask them why not.

In the end, it all comes down to trust, and it may not work out the first go-round. This is not uncommon, and is an unfortunate reality of the industry. That's why it's also important to get some sort of guarantee in writing that the campaign will generate some kind of results. You probably won't be able to get someone to guarantee cases, but they should be able to guarantee search results. Read the fine print, but know that if they offer a guarantee, they're probably more dedicated to the long haul than other companies.

@Legal_Times: Law and Lobbying in the Nation's Capital

@BarrettDavid (same person as @LinkedInLawyer but with better tweets): Boston Business Litigation Attorney - World's Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network

@AdrianDayton: Father, Husband Twitter Lawyer, CEO of Comrad Esq., Writer

@HotLawTopics: The hottest law topics being discussed. Real-time news, useful information and relevant CLE programming

@AmLawDaily: The source for daily legal business news and analysis of leading law firms

@aricpress: The editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer, an Incisive Media Publication

@injurylawyerdir: An online directory of personal injury lawyers and information on personal injury including automotive accidents and pharmaceutical injury

@ABAJournal: Continuous news updates from the United States' most-read and most-respected legal affairs magazine and website

@legallyminded: The online community for all legal professionals. Provided by the ABA, it fuses professional networking with great content.

@thelegalintel: The Legal Intelligencer is the nation's oldest daily legal newspaper

@Legal_Web_Mktg: Award-Winning Internet Marketing for Lawyers | Website Design | SEO | Custom Content | Video Production

Again, this list is short and sweet, but these are users whose updates I look for daily. You can also visit  @Page1Solutions to see a complete list who I follow on Twitter

Know somebody who should be on the list? Please feel free to share your favorite "tweeters" in the comments section below!

• Boy Suffers Serious Head Injury During Sleepover - A child was awarded $850,000 in damages for what was deemed a foreseeable and preventable incident. From The Injury Lawyer Directory.
  
• Actor Dennis Quaid Settles Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Involving Children - Once again, an incident involving celebrity children brings an important issue to the forefront when Dennis Quaid's twins nearly died because they were given lethal doses of Heparin, a blood thinning agent. The hospital recently settled and the twins recieved $500,000. From PersonalInjury.com.
  
• Wrongful Death in West Palm Beach, FL - Craig Goldenfarb, P.A., releases information on what constitutes a wrongful death for his firm. Truck accidents, emergency room medical malpractice and anesthesia malpractice are some examples of how wrongful death can occur.
• What is a Class Action Lawsuit? - A great definition of a commonly misused term from the Findlay Law Offices.
• U.S. Supreme Courts Holds: Lab Reports Are Testimonial - Differing opinions on the use of lab reports and results in Supreme Court proceedings, from Coxwell & Associates, PLLC.