A recent Law.com article chronicles the perils of maintaining a positive online reputation as an attorney in a day & age where information spreads quickly and voluminously — but not always accurately. Case in point: attorney Michael T. Pines advised his clients to break into their foreclosed homes; was arrested; and had his Bar license placed on “inactive.” Internet articles were subsequently published. A different Michael Pines, also an attorney, but practicing in a different city, suddenly began getting calls asking whether he was in jail.

For any attorney, the management of an online reputation or presence mostly includes getting one’s name in the public domain, achieving website views, and publicizing big cases. Moreover, attorneys must manage potential Internet defamation on blogs, comment boards, and news sites. This can be very challenging, since almost anything can be said anonymously on the Internet via comment boards, and since attorneys simply don’t have the time to monitor what’s being said about them online. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 imparts further protection to online commenters as it provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an interactive computer service who publish information by others.

Defending against this kind of attack is fraught with complications, and may require the hiring of a special services firm – potentially costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. Creating a “better offense” of sorts may be the solution. Building an online reputation by cultivating positive “hits” – including blogs, reviews, articles, interviews, and social networking profiles – is a good place to start. Additionally, an attorney may decide to pay to improve their SEO position in order to achieve a higher ranking on the Internet. For instance, you might want the article about your most recent big case victory to be the first hit on Google.