Lawyers frustrated by having to confine their tweets to 140 characters will be free to express themselves in ‘moots’ of up to 500 words on new legal social media site Mootis, launched today.

The brainchild of Manchester QC Bill Braithwaite, chairman of Exchange Chambers, Mootis has warned users that it is “not the place for long, boring essays”.

Mr Braithwaite, a personal injury specialist, said that while Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook were “hugely successful”, the world of legal services was “large enough to warrant its own, bespoke platform”.

He went on: “So many legal professionals – at all levels – understand the need to engage with social media but are not entirely comfortable with the general nature of what is out there at the moment. There’s a lot of clutter.

“We believe existing social media users will welcome the benefits of a site focused entirely on legal services.

“For the thousands of legal professionals yet to engage with social media this is their chance to get in at the beginning of something new and exciting. It’s a brand new platform, a level playing field.”

A spokesman for Mootis said the QC had attracted a number of private individuals to invest in the business, and local tech firm goldsixty7, which developed the site, had also taken a stake.

He said the site would remain free to join, and there were no “immediate plans” to bring in revenue, though this could be done in the future through advertising or payment for premium services.

By allowing lawyers up to 500 words for each ‘moot’, Mootis aims to let them express their opinion with “more authority, weight and substance” than elsewhere.

Users, who can register directly or log in through Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, can also share videos, blogs, documents, images and audio.

They can search and connect with people by name or import existing contacts from other social media networks.

Daily updates will be sent from Mootis to users’ email accounts and they can use the site to create polls and surveys.

Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, social media, Twitter