Technola : Public Interest Law & Technology Updates & Commentary : Matthew Burnett & Kate Bladow : Tech Advice for the Non-Profit Legal Sector

I came across a couple of tweets that I wanted to share with Technola readers.

The first is from Andy Carvin. He was tweeting from the PublicMediaCamp held recently in DC.

Andy Carvin's Tweet

Although I suspect Andy was referring to natural disasters, what struck me was how true this is for most types of disasters, including funding cuts and bad publicity. When a disaster hits, you need to act quickly. You don't want to spend most of your time figuring out who your supporters are.

The second is from Ashley Schweitzer, which she tweeted from a Social Media Breakfast in Minnesota.

Ashley Schweitzer's tweet

Yes, we are all trying to keep the lights on today, but social networking should be seen as an investment. You won't get a giant payback immediately. You need to commit to it and use it to connect with other people. It's from the relationships that you build that good and often unexpected opportunities come your way. - K

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The latest buzz on Twitter is about its new list feature. Users can create lists of people and then read the resulting stream of tweets. For example, Niki Black, a Rochester-based lawyer, blogger, and member of the Rochester Advisory Board of Legal Assistance of Western New York, has created several lists, including lists for her family, people in Rochester, and "legal must follows." Glancing at each list lets her quickly see what those people are talking about.

An Example: @accesstojustice's List of Legal Aid and Pro Bono Programs

Twitter's list feature will change your life or is the end of Twitter as we know it, depending on who you talk to. However, given that Twitter just launched the feature fully on October 30, we won't know whether either prediction is true for a while.

What I do know is that many people are building lists. A few interesting ways to use them:

• Group journalists together to see patterns in news coverage. Examples: ABA Journal, NY Times, AnnArbour.com.
• Group employees or affiliates to help people connect with them. Examples: IFRC, Home Depot, Twitter.
• Group people and organizations by interest areas. Examples: Legal Aid and Pro Bono Organizations, Immigrant Rights, Bar Associations.

One nice thing: once someone sets up a list, you don't have to recreate the list. You can follow it. (Greg Lambert of 3 Geeks and a Law Blog was nice enough to document how to add an RSS feed to a Twitter list in case you prefer to use your news reader to follow Twitter.)

If you haven't used Twitter before, look at the Legal Aid and Pro Bono Organizations list. You can quickly see how other organizations are using Twitter. (If I've missed your organization or another that belongs on the list, please let me know.)

And if you need an introduction to Twitter, check out "Twitter 101". - K

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The fall time change came just in time. That extra hour let me catch up on some much needed sleep before launching into a packed November. Did you use your extra hour wisely? If not and you need some help getting ahead, here's the "CliffsNotes" to catch you up on Technola's top October posts:

• Firefox Add-ons for Legal Research
• Delivering the Message with a New Medium: National Pro Bono Celebration Week 2009
• Webinar Today: "Using Social Media to Network with Other Advocates and Promote Your Work
• Thanking the Lawyers Who Go Above and Beyond: National Pro Bono Celebration 2009
• Illinois Legal Aid Online Launches "LiveHelp" Project

And after that, I recommend that you check out a few others:

• Will law firms have no other alternative than to blog? - Real Lawyers Have Blogs
• Ronald Staudt: Web + Law = A2J - ABA Journal's Legal Rebels
• Guest Post by Nedra Weinreich: Fruit Salad - or, Selecting Your Target Audience - Beth's Blog

Happy Reading! - K

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Students in Penn Law School’s Program on Documentaries and the Law have created a series of videos on legal issues impacting immigrants, including notario fraud and the process of hiring and working with a lawyer. The videos are presented in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Fuzhou. –M [Thanks, Will!]

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Aseem Kishore over at Helpdesk Geek offers an impressive list of 99 of the best Windows freeware programs you may not know of. -M  [Thanks, Carol!]

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NTEN is hosting an Ask the Expert session with Beth Kanter and Allison Fine on Wednesday, October 28 at 2 pm Eastern. Beth and Allison will take questions about what social media means for organizations and how organizations can adapt and leverage the tools instead of simply reacting. This session is free for NTEN members. - K

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Yesterday in my post "Thanking the Lawyers Who Go Above and Beyond: National Pro Bono Celebration 2009," I mentioned the message of National Pro Bono Celebration--recognizing volunteers who help increase access to justice and encouraging more legal professionals to participate. (Or in the words of the Montana Justice Foundation: "Recognize, Recruit, Mobilize!")

What I didn't know was that the medium that organizations would be using to deliver this message would be video. (Okay, so I had a hint when I highlighted Maryland's video, but I didn't know how popular video would be.) At least six states have posted videos praising lawyers who provide free legal services and encouraging others to get involved:

• Alabama: Alabama State Bar Pro Bono Week Message
• Arkansas: Perspectives on Pro Bono
• Florida: One Promise Florida
• Illinois: CBA/CBF Pro Bono Week 2009 Kick Off Video with Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke
• Maryland: National Pro Bono Week 2009
• Ohio: Pro Bono Celebration

All are nice examples of how video can be used to promote an event and a cause.

So, am I missing any? Let me know in the comments. - K

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Even the Chief Judge of the Maryland Court Appeals is involved in the National Pro Bono Celebration. He's part of a short video that talks about how providing pro bono legal services is important to ensuring justice. My favorite part, hearing from a lawyer about how he started providing pro bono legal services, starts about 4 minutes in.

For those who don't recognize the city landscapes, they are from around the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore. - K

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The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which is the foundation for the ethical and professional guidelines that lawyers follow in most states, includes a rule that encourages lawyers to provide free legal services to people who cannot afford attorneys:

Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should: provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to: (1) persons of limited means or (2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means . . .

To recognize the many lawyers who provide free legal services,  the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service organized the National Pro Bono Celebration. Together from October 25-31, communities around the United States will celebrate these individuals and the amazing work that they do.

So this week, you'll see a lot of news about activities celebrating legal volunteers. The best part: many of these events are opportunities to provide free legal services. So if you want to get involved, you can. Check out the Celebrate Pro Bono website to see an interactive map of local events. (And if you are reading this post on or after October 31, it's not too late. Help is needed throughout the year, not just this week. Check out the National Pro Bono Opportunities Guide for local pro bono programs that you can work with.)

I promise, you'll feel good about helping others, and you might even have an enjoyable time. I know that I did. On Saturday, I helped out at the Baltimore Pro Bono Day, ushering people to meet with attorneys. Almost everyone came out of their attorney meetings more relaxed, and I even saw a few smiles. A huge thank you to all of the attorneys, law students, and legal aid staff who turned out. In four hours, over 100 people received legal help! - K

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