New research prepared by Leader Networks and commissioned by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® indicate more than half of surveyed lawyers – in corporate legal departments and in private practice — are members of online social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace. However, fewer than ten percent thought current networking solutions helped them work efficiently.

The “2008 Networks for Counsel Survey” is the first survey of its scope to examine the social networking practices of legal professionals.

“Online professional networking is a growing area of importance in the legal industry,” said Ralph Calistri, CEO of Martindale Hubbell and senior vice president of Global Client Development at LexisNexis. “As we develop a global network for the legal community through Martindale-Hubbell, objective research such as this survey by Leader Networks serves as an important way for us to listen to clients and guide our efforts.”

Here at Leader Networks, we think the legal profession is traditionally slow to adopt new technologies, so attorneys’ readiness to use online networking tools represents a significant shift in behavior. We think the survey results show a real need for a private, online network for attorneys.

Get more information on the survey in the full release here.Thank you for reading Building Online Communities for Business by Leader Networks. We are a research and strategy consulting company that helps organizations succeed in social business and B2B online community building.

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