2011 saw a profession grounded in tradition embark on a love-hate relationship with new communication tools and, finally, begin to embrace them. It has been a big year for law firms and social media.

Traditionally a sector slow to adopt it, this year we saw numerous firms getting on board and using various social media offerings in a significant way. One firm which embraced social media like no other was Marque Lawyers. In what is believed to be a world first, the firm recruited their summer clerks via Twitter, and in less than a week, the number of Marque “followers” jumped from 70 to 500 as

hopefuls did what they couldto stand out in 140 characters before the firm picked the best tweeters and invited them tosend in applications. In March, Kelly O’Shaughnessy filled Blake Dawson’s newly created dedicated social media role and, after the success of a pilot program in Brisbane, the firm rolled out a Skype clerkship recruitment initiative nationally, enabling candidates to engage one-on-one with a lawyer from the practice group they were interested in.

In May, Mallesons Stephen Jaques launched a social media strategy aimed at luring graduates to the firm via Facebook, and is now using search methodology and professional networks, like LinkedIn, to find the best candidates.

“The traditional and often costly one-dimensional tools of the trade have been joined by the colourful, multi-dimensional and youthful sounding blogs, wikis, podcasts and apps … social media is most definitely the new black, ” wrote Mallesons head of communications Sue Ashe in an opinion piece. Law firms are now giving lawyers and clients iPhones and iPads, and even creating their own apps.

This month, Corrs Chambers Westgarth launched “Corrs Briefcase”, an iPad app which allows lawyers to organise, transport and review thousands of documents outside the office.

Minter Ellison also harnessed the power of social media through its niche ‘TMT’ blog on technology, media and IP, from which the Sydney Morning Herald picked up and ran articles.

“Our clients really want to know that we’re right on top of social media because it’s so integral to their business now,” said Minters IP and technology partner Paul Kallenbach.

But despite the surge to incorporate social media into firm marketing and networking, many lawyers remain disengaged. A Lawyers Weekly poll in April revealed that the majority of the 186 respondents (35 per cent) said social media had nothing to offer their career. Also this month, social media strategists began warning employers that ignoring, let alone banning, social media in the workplace is not an option.