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Lawyers who choose to use social media as a marketing strategy should consider it a job just like any other on their list. Facebook is so popular it is ranked number two of the most used app for local searches, just behind Google Maps. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, there is still time to take advantage of this huge captive audience.

Facebook is great to keep up with friends within your personal life, but having a page for your law firm is a great online legal marketing tool. There are three things you should do to ensure that your Facebook experience is beneficial to your practice:

People constantly misspell my name. All three parts of it. So if I wanted to open the Robyn Hagan Cain Law Firm, I wouldn't just buy the domain name robynhagancainlaw.com. I would probably buy domains with common variations of my name -- Robin and Hagen and Kain/Cane/Kane -- and redirect each of those to the primary site, robynhagancainlaw.com.

Why the extra expense and effort for my hypothetical law firm? I just don't want to waste time fighting cybersquatters in court.

More than a year after the Ninth Circuit initiated a judicial misconduct review at his own request, former Chief District Judge Richard Cebull stepped down from the bench, ending his brief foray into senior status.

For those who missed last year’s scandal, Judge Cebull asked the Ninth Circuit to review whether his forwarding of a racist anti-Obama email amounted to judicial misconduct. According to the Courthouse New Service, the email, which was forwarded from his official work email address during court hours, stated:

Email gaffes are practically a rite of passage. Everyone seems to have an embarrassing reply all story, or a tale of a forgotten attachment for a major client.

While not as commonly lamented as "reply all" and attachment debacles, the blind carbon copy (BCC) lays claim to its own type of office drama. That's why some websites — like SlawTips — suggest that lawyers should never use the BCC.

But is it really so terrible?

It's probably a fair assessment to say that most people are on monthly plans with one of the Big Three carriers. Because of device subsidies and limited competition, the rates for postpaid plans seem to always be increasing. If you are looking to cut costs, the cell phone bill might be a good place to start.

Take a look at your monthly bill. How much are you paying? We tried to find the cheapest reasonable plan (at least 450 minutes, at least 1 GB of data, some texting plan) on each carrier. If your cell phone is your primary work phone, you'll probably need even more minutes.

LinkedIn is an increasingly popular social media tool for professionals like attorneys.

As you may know, a LinkedIn page is essentially an online resume, and it makes connecting with work colleagues, former colleagues, clients, and anyone else really easy.

However, with the connectivity of LinkedIn comes specific dangers for attorneys. Here are three things you should consider when incorporating LinkedIn into your legal marketing strategy:

A new study finds that 28 percent of law firms are going paperless, or plan to do so within five years. So that leaves 72 percent of firms with apparently no plan to go paperless. Would these firms be in violation of their professional ethics by not exploring the paperless option?

Surprisingly, the answer may be "yes." Over the summer, the American Bar Association approved a new commentary to their rules that would make it a professional obligation for lawyers and firms to keep up with technology trends, writes ScanSnap.

As technological trends are pointing towards paperless options, this may mean that lawyers are obligated to start looking into ways to reduce their paper use.

Social media has its risks for attorneys who don't want their private life to affect their professional career. The things you write online can have a negative impact on attorney-client relationships.

Of course unprofessional conduct on social media can be a turn-off to clients. But the real issue is when statements made by an attorney run the risk of violating the rules of professional responsibility. We don't mean in terms of wardrobe or 'conduct unbecoming an attorney.'

It's not about your image as a professional. Comments on social media can also call into question your competence to represent your clients.

Social media has been known to cause problems. It can destroy a client's divorce or lead to a mistrial. But sometimes, attracting media attention is the best way to serve your client.

Social media campaigns have ended legislation; they've influenced death penalty cases; and they've led to renewed criminal investigations. They've even been known to shame businesses into doing the right thing.

So how do you use social media to stir up a public outcry? Here's where you start:

If there's one thing that all high-profile criminal cases have in common, it's that the facts are often played out in the media. No matter what the courts say or the juries do, the defendant's life will be forever altered by popular opinion.

George Zimmerman's new website is therefore no surprise. 

Until now, he has remained silent about the facts leading up to Trayvon Martin's shooting death. But with prosecutors getting closer to a decision, it was time that he spoke out and launched his own media campaign.

That being said, from a legal standpoint is his new website a good idea?