East Anglian law firm Ashton KCJ has won the 2013 Best Use of Social Media award from the national legal profession network LawNet.

Ashton KCJ was also Highly Commended in the Excellence in Risk Management and Compliance category of the awards, as was Sarah Walker of the firm’s French legal services team in the Young Lawyer of the Year category.

LawNet, UK network of more than 60 independent law firms committed to high quality standards and best practice, presented the awards during its annual conference held at Staverton Park, Daventry. The awards are judged not by lawyers but by relevant external specialists.

Over the past 18 months, Ashton KCJ’s business development team has worked to increase its social media presence by improving its reach across Twitter, Linked In, Google +, You Tube and Facebook, including a Facebook advertising campaign.

The team has also been providing training and guidance for lawyers around the firm to increase their own professional social media activity.

This, it says, has helped to raise brand awareness, increase traffic to its website and supported the offline media work carried out by individual lawyers.

Ashton KCJ chief executive Ed O’Rourke, said: “Congratulations to our business development team and to all the staff who have increased their social media presence this year.

“Social media is an effective way of raising our profile, increasing our brand awareness, interacting with our clients and making contacts with potential clients and the media. We are delighted to have been recognised for the initiatives which we have put in place.”

Ashton KCJ employs around 280 people across East Anglia, at offices in Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Felixstowe and Thetford.