Big Law’s TikTok Stars Embrace Industry’s New Social Media Standards

Looking for TikTok content creator, cookbook author and food blogger Joanne Molinaro? Try to reach its publicists. It is reserved 24 hours a day.

Media appearances like the recent spots on CBS News and NBC Chicago aren’t the only thing occupying the Internet personality known as “Korean Vegan.” She is also a partner and litigator at Foley & Lardner, one of the 50 largest law firms in the country.

“The Korean vegan will always take precedence over my clients,” she told Bloomberg Law.

Molinaro is one of at least four Big Law attorneys who moonlight as internet stars on TikTok, a social media platform home to over 100 million US users who create and share short stories. videos.

Some attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis, Morrison & Foerster and other large firms are exploring their interests outside of the legal profession, while others demystify the world of Big Law on the app. Support from their big companies can signal a cultural shift in the midst of a race for talent in a traditionally simple industry.

“Law firms have realized that the younger generation is different and that the difference is not a bad thing,” said Jan Jacobowitz, legal ethics consultant who has written on the influence of millennials on the legal profession.

Pandemic hobby

TikTok was a source of solace in the early months of the pandemic for some Big Law lawyers, as it was for many others. The app was the most downloaded in 2020.

The platform’s diverse content entertained Cecellia Xie, an associate at Morrison & Foerster, as she took shelter in place in hard-hit New York City. Lockdown orders crushed her birthday plans in person in April 2020, so the self-proclaimed extrovert celebrated with her first TikTok post instead.

The video poking fun at the different realities of “working from home” lawyers and marketers was an instant hit, racking up over 900,000 views.

“I was amazed at how the algorithm worked and how discoverable the app was in terms of delivering my content,” Xie said.

The fun hobby became a window into Xie’s New York lawyer lifestyle as she debunked the myths of law school and the legal profession. His page has more than 270,000 subscribers.

“People want to know what is the truth and what are the good and bad sides of the legal profession,” she said.

Food for thought

Molinaro, a bankrupt Chicago litigator who also downloaded the quarantined app, began her TikTok journey with similar videos on the attorney lifestyles and a sprinkling of commentary on the Trump presidency and the mass denial of the pandemic. She wanted to explore territory outside of her food blog, then a four-year-old business.

“It was the opportunity to show another side of myself,” she said.

She couldn’t stay away from the TikTok cooking community, whose members inspired her to try and create video recipes within 60 seconds of the app’s shooting limit.

Each video is accompanied by stories from the girl’s childhood and Korean immigrant family, intended to spread compassion for the immigrant experience in response to the Trump administration’s policy changes, he said. she stated at Salon last year. She now shares these stories with some 2 million followers.

Molinaro’s videos sometimes give life advice as she sits at a table and prepares a meal. His article on managing a breakup is currently the most popular, with 9.7 million views.

Social media figures like Chrissy Teigen and Yashar Ali have circulated Molinaro’s videos. She has also appeared on Food Network and Al Jazeera English to share her recipes and talk about the identity power of immigrant food.

Beyond the law

Chukwufumnanya “Fumnanya” Ekhator, a partner at a large Pennsylvania-based company she asked not to be named, was already an Internet designer before joining TikTok.

The seven-year YouTube veterans channel offers makeup tutorials, dating guides, and tips for law schools, among other videos. Her TikTok, which she created in late 2019, continues many of these themes.

Ekhator’s videos on the app have evolved like those of many of his Big Law peers, from law school jokes to advocating for social justice amid protests last year. Now she is focusing on lifestyle advice, relationship advice, and mental wellness.

The daughter of Nigerian immigrants hopes her videos will change the perception of her 100,000 subscribers about what a Big Law lawyer can look like. She’s more than a Penn Law graduate or young professional at a large global firm, she said.

“I had never seen lawyers that I thought I could relate to, so for me it’s almost about not letting that idea of ​​professionalism or that idea of ​​what a lawyer acts or looks like be a limit. to my online personality, ”she said. mentionned.

“If you are considering this profession and you don’t see yourself reflected in the people you admire, here is someone you might have something in common with. ”

Sam Santopoalo, a Kirkland & Ellis associate who also garnered a large number of followers on TikTok, did not respond to a request for a follow-up interview.

“Dialogue in progress”

The three lawyers say their firms view these platforms as a sphere of personal expression outside the workplace.

“They really supported me to do my own thing, be my own person, and log into my own social media account,” Xie said.

Ekhator says a partner in her firm lit up when they interviewed the 2020 law school graduate last year about her YouTube channel and how she deals with internet trolls. Another associate asked him for shooting and editing advice while making a video for the firm.

This online freedom is due to active transparency and communication with their company management and public relations and marketing teams, the women say.

Molinaro said she agreed to delete a TikTok video in which she defended her work ethic following criticism from a fellow lawyer.

“There was an ongoing dialogue between myself and the company’s PR manager,” she said.

The women say clear social media guidelines, such as omitting membership in her online business, keep them in check. Most political comments are okay if they are shared only as personal opinion, Xie said.

Molinaro says she got approval before writing an op-ed on the Atlantic criticizing lawyers who argued Trump’s election fraud allegations, an experience she recounts in another TikTok article.

“Everything was always decided in advance, where I was in constant communication with the company’s PR to make sure they were okay with whatever I did,” Molinaro said of the Atlantic editorial.

Evolving standards

Firms leniency towards lawyer personalities on social media may be due to the impact millennials have on legal cases, said Jacobowitz, the legal ethics counselor.

She observed culture shock between three generations of lawyers – Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials – in a 2016 article. Jacobowitz explored conflicts between age groups in their perspectives on professionalism, l work-life balance and digital communication.

Today, she observes an increased cultural competence between the generations: “The management of the company has realized that the best way to address these differences is to accept them, understand them and develop guidelines with which everyone can live ”.

But recruiters warn that the cultural change has not reached the entire industry and may be short-lived in some cases.

Companies are desperate to recruit and retain corporate associates as the pandemic subsides and customer demand increases, handing out big bonuses and increasing starting salaries to over $ 200,000 per year.

“There is a dearth of associates, so some of these social media judgments may stand,” said Kay Hoppe, a seasoned Chicago-based legal recruiter.

Jacobowitz said associates will need to assess the culture of the company if they want social media freedom.

“In this context, you just have to find a place where you can do whatever you want, while respecting the general rules of legal ethics,” she says.

—With help from Molly Ward