As you might already know, Allison Shields and I have written a new book called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers,” published by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section.

For Allison and me, the target date for the “official” launch of the book has always been ABA TECHSHOW, and, more specifically, the Meet the Authors session for the book tomorrow (March 29) at 10:00 at TECHSHOW. Unfortunately, I’m not able to join Allison for that session (at least I have a medical excuse for that), but I know that she will do a great fantastic job in introducing the book and answering questions.

The book grew out of the very successful “LinkedIn for Lawyers” webinar Allison, Michelle Golden and I presented last summer. Allison and I took on the book project and some highly-ambitious deadlines to get the book ready for publication at TECHSHOW. It was a great writing collaboration and we already have another book project in the works. Here’s a hint about the topic of that book.

Our LinkedIn book is part of the re-launch of the reasonably-priced “In One Hour” series of books the LPM Section has done in the past. My friend and longtime collaborator Tom Mighell helped successfully re-launch this line with his highly-praised “iPad in One Hour for Lawyers” book. Tom’s excellent (I’ve already read it) new “iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers” and Ben Schorr’s Microsoft OneNote in One Hour for Lawyers” are new books in the series, with more in the pipeline.

Allison and I noticed that when we speak about social media and LinkedIn to lawyers, we consistently hear lawyers saying that while they’ve joined LinkedIn, they really don’t use it or even know how to use it. Interesting, many of them also say that one of their clients invited them to join LinkedIn and connect. That’s an interesting disconnect, when you think about it.

Our book tries to show lawyers how to get started with LinkedIn (the social media platform most commonly used by lawyers and certainly the social media platform lawyers find most comfortable), how to use it better, and, most important, how to integrate LinkedIn with your real world networking efforts in effective ways. The focus is on the practical, with lots of color screen shots, step-by-step instructions and our best practical tips on using LinkedIn.

The book is 128 pages long, divided into two main sections. The core of the book (which you should be able to read in about an hour) is a series of ten “Lessons” designed to walk you through opening an account, putting together an effective profile, adding connections, participating in LinkedIn and monitoring what’s happening in your network. We pack a lot of information into the lessons and have been told that even long-time LinkedIn users have learned some new things to implement right away. You can also think of the Lessons section as something to have at your side while you use LinkedIn. The second section is a group of essays on “Advanced Topics” – ethics, apps, advanced search, 60 tips, resources and more.

The early reaction to the book has been great, as you will see from the comments on the order page. My daughter, Grace, who helped with proofreading and editing, also thought the book would be very valuable to people who aren’t lawyers.

We’d be happy if you would take a look at the book and consider buying a copy. There are some discounts available for the book at TECHSHOW. If you are attending TECHSHOW, please stop by Allison’s Meet the Author session.

I know that there will also be an iBook version, but I don’t have the details on its availability at the moment.

If you haven’t started using LinkedIn or feel that you are using LinkedIn only to a fraction of its potential, this book might be just what you need.

Allison and I have started a LinkedIn Group as a companion group for the book. It’s called “Social Networking for Lawyers.” Simply search for the name fo the Group when you log into LinkedIn. We welcome you to join the Group to discuss LinkedIn, the book and other issues, as well as to get a sense of how LinkedIn Groups work and might work for you.

Details on the book and how to purchase it may be found here.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.