Social media influencers: Social circles

Back in the spring, Legal Business asked whether a professional social media presence is now a ‘must-have’ for the modern lawyer, in a feature which also acknowledged that ‘what is trending one week can be quickly forgotten the next’.

And while the post-Covid return to the office has since gathered pace, lawyers’ love for LinkedIn shows no sign of slowing up. Autumn is of course the season when the platform comes alive with the hum of humbled and delighted lawyers posting their Legal 500 endorsements, a process which is now more compulsory than ever (not least due to the requirement to make your charitable #humblebrag donation to Save The Children – get involved if you haven’t done so yet).

However, at the same time, social media evangelists are also coming to terms with the slow demise of the site formerly known as Twitter, following its questionable rebrand as ‘X’ and Elon Musk’s trollish tinkering with a platform many once viewed as the social media site of choice for forward-thinking lawyers.

With many now falling out of love with that platform, the legal community which once coalesced around Twitter has splintered away, and while LinkedIn has become the default for many, it is perhaps harder than ever before to know where to look online for valuable legal content and community.

So with that in mind, we went back to canvass opinion from some of the people we featured in our earlier article, to ask who they follow online, with the intention of compiling a list of ‘recommended by the recommended’.

Those individuals, who feature in the following pages, are drawn from all corners of the legal profession, from solicitor-apprentices to the new president of the Law Society, and showcase a wide range of approaches to social media success, from podcasts to video, TikToks and technical content delivered with just the right amount of personality.

We’re also shining a spotlight on five lawyers who have made a professional success of social media:

James Bremen, the chair of Quinn Emanuel’s construction and engineering practice, whose LinkedIn ‘explainer’ videos have attracted thousands of views, and were credited for keeping one general counsel sane during the pandemic.

Emma Lilley, UK and Ireland head of legal at HR and payroll company SD Worx, who used her Instagram profile to successfully lobby for the Law Society to hold its first-ever regional admissions ceremony.

Former DWF and DAC Beachcroft barrister Sahar Farooqi, who has built a huge following online which has helped him attract instructions and get involved with mentoring the next generation of lawyers.

Chrissie Wolfe, who has leveraged her social media presence to build a thriving consultancy business since leaving Irwin Mitchell.

Former barristers’ clerk Jeremy Hopkins, whose successful early adoption of Twitter led to media interest, job opportunities and helped him to build one of the most varied CVs in law.

We’re aware that there are plenty of stories of lawyers making a success of social media, so if you have a tale to tell, please get in touch – we’d love to hear more.