Business Insight Zone

You may remember that last week I pointed to an interview on social media and competitive intelligence that I did for a Frost & Sullivan newsletter. Shortly after that, I saw a nice note about the interview on Twitter, and thus did I make the acquaintance of the note’s author, Emily C. Rushing of the Haynes and Boone law firm in Dallas. Emily graciously agreed to be interviewed about her work and her ideas on social media. (As a double bonus, she fielded the questions in record time, and in letter-perfect prose.) Here are my questions and her answers:

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Your job centers on competitive intelligence for a law firm. I think a lot of people underestimate the “business” side of law firms, including their efforts in marketing and C.I. Could you give an overview of your professional duties?

I am embedded in the Marketing/Business Development (BD) Department. I report directly to the Director of Business Development and the Chief Marketing Officer. I also support the firm’s BD Managers, who are themselves embedded with the various practice groups, so our department’s organization radiates out into the practice groups. In addition to directly supporting my department, I coordinate with the Managers to provide CI services to all firm leaders, in all practice groups and all offices.

By what career path did you reach your current role?

I must admit that my career did not start out on some well-trod path, but it does make perfect sense in hindsight. I studied sociology and statistics as an undergrad, which I loved, but I couldn’t think of anything to do with it. I got a great legal education at the University of Houston and discovered that my passion was research and writing. I never intended to practice law and instead went straight from law school into the outstanding legal infomatics program at the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences. While completing my MLIS I had the good fortune to work for Greg Lambert (@glambert) at King & Spalding, where I found my direction in information technologies, research, and CI. I worked as a technical services consultant in special libraries prior to accepting my current position in 2008.

You and I met via Twitter when you mentioned a social-media-related post you had seen on my blog. How would you describe your use of social media, personally and professionally?

That’s right! That’s the coolest thing about Twitter — how you can just meet folks via a RT [re-tweet] or a DM [direct message]. What a great resource! I am a huge fan of social media. I am fond of comparing twitter to a non-stop professional conference with all the learning and networking opportunities you’d have previously only found at a formal event or association. I have connected with the most amazing people on twitter. I’m also a big user of the sites LinkedIn, Ning, and JDSupra, among others. I must admit I’m not as active on Facebook, but I see that as a mixed/social site, rather than designed expressly for professional use. In my personal life, I also run an art blog and local events twitter feed, which is a lot of fun and another great opportunity to meet like-minded people.

How do you use Hoover’s in your job?

I rely heavily on Hoover’s for high-quality intelligence on companies that are real or potential clients of my firm. Hoover’s helps us learn more about our clients so that when my attorneys meet with clients we have a great understanding of that client’s situation, corporate strategy, recent activities, and, importantly for our BD strategies, how we can help.

How do you see social media reshaping the work of C.I. professionals?

Social media is, I believe, part of a larger zeitgeist of transparency. The field of CI is still dealing with misconceptions of intel work as related to corporate espionage, and CI professionals still struggle to communicate the real value of ethically-collected intelligence. The very nature of social media, of publicly sharing information about your company and your work and your methods and best practices — all of that — will do nothing but good for the field of CI. Intelligence, and library professionals can all benefit from collaboration and sharing.

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Thanks to Emily for taking the time to answer these questions — and for sharing her great enthusiasm in our correspondence!

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Related posts:

• Hoover’s user spotlight: April Kessler.
• Hoover’s user spotlight: Kara Moore.
• Using social media for competitive intelligence.

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Category: Business information,Legal,Social media