Why Twitter Shouldn’t Scare Lawyers

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Black-necked stilt, AKA "lawyer bird"*

It’s fair to say Twitter has taken the social media world by storm. In less than five years, Twitter has become one of the go-to media outlets for bloggers, newspapers, companies, and the everyday Internet user. I won’t go into a long discourse on what Twitter is, what it can do, or how it works. Other people have done a much better job at describing it than I could have.  (Consider checking out About.com’s “What is Twitter” article or viewing Common Craft’s “Twitter in Plain English” video. Also, Twitter has its own about page.)

I’ve discovered through casual conversations (with law school classmates, lawyers, businesspeople, and family and friends) that there are three basic reactions to Twitter. A) “I don’t get it. What’s the point?”, B) “That would never work for me,” or C) “Awesome. Sign me up.” The links in the previous paragraph address the first reaction, and the third reaction needs no additional encouragement, so my message today is directed at the second: don’t be afraid of Twitter. As law students, lawyers, or professors, Twitter offers something for each of us.

The basic benefit of Twitter as a lawyer (either as a solo practitioner or a member of a law firm) is in providing information to current or potential clients and to other lawyers. But it’s about more than just “tweet”ing firm news releases or updates. Indeed, as an individual lawyer, any specific updates you could provide would likely breach attorney-client confidentiality or violate state ethics codes. Twitter is, instead, a useful tool in keeping your followers up-to-date about legal news. That news could be about important decisions in courts around the country, news about legislation, or a story about how the law operates in practice.

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Lincoln Foreword and Painting

The just-released issue of the Marquette Law Review includes nine articles and essays growing out of (and comprising the written version of) last fall’s “Legacies of Lincoln Conference.” It was a great privilege for Professor Daniel D. Blinka and me to work with Marvin C. Bynum III, the editor-in-chief of Volume 93 of the journal, and his (our) colleagues to present this symposium. Some time ago we posted one of the papers from the symposium, the remarkable Klement Lecture delivered by Gettysburg College’s Allen C. Guelzo, which led off the conference. The Foreword of the symposium describes briefly each of the contributions and contains as well an observation on the substantive link that the Lincoln Conference provided from Sensenbrenner Hall, our historic home where the bulk of the conference occurred, to Eckstein Hall and its Aitken Reading Room, whose impressive commissioned painting, Laying the Foundation by Don Pollack, the conference helped to inspire; it also includes a reflection of sorts on broader matters. A link to the Foreword, which includes an image of Pollack’s painting, can be found here. Posts in the near future will describe and contain links to the individual articles and essays.

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A Spontaneous International Law Week at MULS

This week, you will notice, is chock-full of talks and events related to international law and human rights, thanks to the efforts and interest of MULS student organizations.

Today  (Monday, October 4th) the National Lawyers Guild student chapter hosted human rights attorney Eric Sirotkin to give a talk on “Lawyering for Human Rights in the 21st Century:  Journey from Soweto to Pyongyang.” Mr. Sirotkin’s inspiring talk about his own work in Latin America, Africa, and Asia communicated the important role of lawyers in peacemaking around the globe.   As Executive Director of the Ubuntuworks Peace Education Project, he was able to offer students practical advice on how to use their legal skills to be compassionate advocates.   Mr Sirotkin will be dining with MULS students this evening to continue the dialogue on how to work with and for people around the world seeking peace.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, October 5, at noon)  the Dispute Resolution Society & the Association for Women in Law will host Lucy Reed, a partner at the international law firm Freshfields Bruckaus Deringer and head of their international arbitration group, to hear her talk “Women & Negotiation:  Lessons Learned From Around the World.”

Finally, on Wednesday (October 6, also at noon), the International Law Society will host Bertha Oliva, General Coordinator of the Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), who will be sharing her story of three decades of searching for truth and justice following the disappearance of her husband.

In many ways this spontaneous ordering of events amounts to a thematic international law week, with the fortunate result of the world coming to MULS.

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