LexisNexis this afternoon announced an agreement with the creator of the world’s largest professional network – LinkedIn – that will see an enhancing of the position of the Martindale-Hubbell legal network as a networking destination for lawyers. The intention is to offer users instant visibility between lawyers they are searching on martindale.com and their personal LinkedIn relationships, which can serve as referral sources. The deal follows on from the findings of a survey conducted on behalf of LexisNexis that show attorneys are increasingly looking for online networks that meet their specific business needs. The survey found:• While 54 percent of attorneys say they belong to an online social network, fewer than 10 percent say those sites help them work efficiently or cost effectively.• Meanwhile, 54 percent of corporate counsel and 41 percent of private practice attorneys view linking to other attorneys or expanding their network as the most important feature an online professional network could provide.• And, more than 40 percent of all corporate counsel and private practice attorneys report an interest in joining an online professional network for lawyers.Specifics about the LinkedIn and martindale.com arrangementLinkedIn connections on martindale.comare will be displayed in an easy to see and use fashion. When searching martindale.com for lawyers, users will see LinkedIn icons within the profiles of lawyerss who are members of that network, and within the law firm profiles when lawyers from that firm are LinkedIn members. If the martindale.com user is also a member of LinkedIn, he or she can access the LinkedIn connection with the designated attorney by clicking on the LinkedIn icon. Doing so presents the user with information about the person, as well as common LinkedIn connections between the user and the lawyers. In future updates to LinkedIn, abstracts and links to Martindale-Hubbell articles and other content will be distributed through the LinkedIn network.
