Top ten Twitterers for innovative lawyers

There's no denying that Twitter has gone from a mere internet fad with a quirky name to a legitimate innovation in today's business world. There are more than six million users, and more than a few of them are lawyers. And within this group of twittering lawyers, there are a bunch of lawyers and friends of lawyers (yes, such an animal exists) who are committed to innovation. If you have a free Twitter account and have any interest in innovative lawyering, you could do worse than to follow them (that is, read their tweets). To help get you started, I've come up with a top ten list.

Here they are with their Twitter handles (plus real names if they're different) and Twitter bios. The order is arbitrary, but you really can't do a top ten without numbers. Just click on their links to follow them. They will help you innovate.

1. @kevinokeefe Lawyer, dad to 5, husband to saint, Cubs-Packer fan. CEO of LexBlog, provider of professional blogs to law firms & operator of LexTweet & LexMonitor.


2. @matthomann Legal Thinker. Innovational Speaker. Creative Facilitator. Dad.


3. @lancegodard International legal business development and marketing consultant. I help law firms grow and prosper.


4. @nikiblack Legal technology consultant (www.lawtechtalk.com) & crim. def. attorney trying to drag the legal profession into the 21st Century while enjoying good food & wine.


5. @riskin (Gerry Riskin) Lawyer/Consultant, http://www.gerryriskin.com/cat-about-gerry.html


6. @carolynelefant Practicing lawyer, marine renewables expert, avid blogger, Solo by Choice author, CEO (MyShingle.com), mom.


7. @alexisneely Mom, Family Financial and Legal Expert on TV, Changing the Way Lawyers Think And You Think About Lawyers, Wrote a Book For Parents Who Care What Happens. 


8. @karasmamedia (Kara Smith) Principal & Founder Karasma Media the first Harlem based boutique specializing in social media public relations campaigns for the legal marketing industry. 


9. @bobambrogi Lawyer, writer, consultant.


10. @glambert (Greg Lambert) Law Librarian, Blogger, geeklawblog, Competitive Intelligence, Social Media, Knowledge Management (KM), Speaker.

And one up and comer: @ronaldbaker. Ron is the guru of value pricing, and the nemesis of timesheets and billable hours. He's new to Twitter. (His brand-new bio: "Quest: To bury the billable hour and timesheets. Founder of VeraSage Institute.") He's a CPA by trade, but he's forgotten more about legal innovation than any lawyer could hope to learn. Without a doubt, one of the five smartest people I've ever spoken with. 

So there's my list. I've doubtlessly left off many who should be included. Please offer up your own additions in the comments, or send me a tweet (@jayshep). I'll probably have to do another top ten list.

To learn more about Twitter and to get a free, twitterable corporate Twitter policy (that is, a Twitter policy that is exactly 140 characters long — the maximum size of a tweet), head on over to our sister site, Gruntled Employees.

[Updated 2 April 2009 to include Ron Baker's bio.]