Twitter is either an indispensable communications tool, perfectly suited to a breathless and urgent age, or akin to ethereal bindweed, adding little or nothing of value and banal in its ubiquity. Take your pick.

What seems clear, though, is that lawyers are going to have to engage with it, if they are not already doing so.

Joshua Rozenberg reflects this week on the Supreme Court’s disconcertingly enthusiastic embrace of Twitter, while pointing out the extent to which social media are filling a space vacated by the mainstream media.

He reflects, meanwhile, that his own deep-seated scepticism about the medium has been banished by his own experience of establishing a Twitter account.

We at the Gazette embraced Twitter cautiously too, partly because it was initially perceived as principally a tool for social interaction. It also gets a bad press.

All you ever read about is footballers saying ungracious things about opponents and how solipsistic celebs are using it to further burnish their egos.

But does it have commercial possibilities? In journalism, probably not, but in legal business the answer may be yes. Rob Illidge of Manchester firm Ralli makes a persuasive case for incorporating Twitter into your firm’s digital marketing toolkit.

We would be interested to hear how your organisation is exploiting social media – though not necessarily in fewer than 140 characters, of course.