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

The National Center for State Courts publishes a yearly journal called “Future Trends in State Courts.” Among the topics explored in the 2010 issue is the role of social media/networking in the courts, including “The New Media Project of the Conference of Court Public Information Officers,” by Chris Davey ; “The Role of Social-Networking Tools in Judicial Systems,” by Travis Olson and Christine O’Clock; and “The Changing Media and Its Impact on the Courts,” by Hon. Tom Hodson. Also included in the 2010 issue is an article by Richard Zorza, “Public Libraries and Access to Justice,” and an article by Justice O’Connor that highlights www.ourcourts.org, an educational project that incorporates online games and other interactive media to teach young people about the rule of law. -M  [Thanks, Claudia!]

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How do you use social network sites without negatively impacting your privacy or reputation? What is the return on investment (ROI) for you or your organization? Is it just a waste of time? Not knowing the answers to these questions can be unsettling, and often, an organization's first reaction is to avoid social networking and prevent staff from using these sites at work. (In fact, 45 percent of law firms block access to social network sites.) But before your organization takes that step, I suggest that you consider whether tight corporate social media policies help or hinder. - K

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In July, I pointed out several examples of social networking policies. This post has been hugely popular, so I thought that I'd point out another resource Technola readers might find helpful: the Online Database of Social Media Policies. Currently, it has ninety-nine policies from a variety of industries as well as a list of templates. Visitors can also submit their organizations' policies. - K

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LSNTAP's Executive Roundtable in June focused on developing social networking policies. Featuring Stephanie Kimbro, owner of Kimbro Legal Services, a North Carolina virtual law office, and recent recipient of the ABA James I. Keane Memorial Award for her excellence in delivering legal services online, and Will Hornsby, staff counsel at the American Bar Association, this session was a good introduction to developing policies and provided an excellent starting point for programs thinking about social networking policies.

Since that session, I've found several additional policy resources:

• American Red Cross Social Media Strategy Handbook and American Red Cross Personal Communications Guidelines. Wendy Harman, American Red Cross Social Media Manager, shared her draft handbook with the public. These guides are based on the work of several large organizations, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Sun. (Beth Kanter talks about Wendy's materials here.)
• Social Media Policies and Procedures (Part 1). Daniel Hoang's post discusses policies briefly and then provides a sample policy and extensive list of resources.
• Enterprise: List of 40 Social Media Staff Guidelines and Social Media Policy Examples. Two long lists of social media policies. The Enterprise list also has some nice commentary on what to look at when examining policies. [Thanks to Kevin O'Keefe for pointing these pages out.]

So, does your organization have a policy in place? If so, please share. I know that LSNTAP is looking for more examples. And if your organization is working to put a policy in place, I'd love to hear what you want, or don't want, to see in that policy. - K

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The Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, a nonprofit that connects transactional lawyers with nonprofit organizations in need of pro bono legal services, is hosting a webinar on "Legal Issues of Social Networking" on July 15 at 10 am Eastern. This session will cover the legal risks associated with social networking and look at how organizations can draft and enforce policies that help to minimize these risks.

You can register for this session by July 10, 2009 or tune in to the live webcast at GeorgiaAdvocates.org. - K

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These days it's assumed that you know a lot of basic technology information--how to use a mouse, how to search on Google, and how to turn off your computer--pretty simple actions you need to use a computer effectively.

But it is also assumed that you know a lot of information that is more nuanced. Unfortunately, this information isn't written down in one place, and you have to gather it over time and learn from your mistakes.

Today, I came across a couple of articles that detail some of this information. The first, from the Reader's Digest, reviews 13 Things Your Computer Person Won't Tell You. The second, from the ABA Journal, pointed out Things You Should Never Put in an E-mail. Likely, you know most of it, but a reminder never hurts. And don't you have someone that you'd like to pass it on to? - K

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The American Immigration Law Foundation's Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has just launched a new blog called Immigration Impact. According to the IPC, "Immigration Impact was developed to help reshape the immigration debate in a way that will bring us closer to comprehensive immigration reform. The blog will provide thoughtful and rapid-response commentaries and insights on the latest news and events so that you can be up-to-date with what's going on with the immigration debate." -M

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The ABA Journal reports that a computer technician at Harvard Law School Clinic in Jamaica Plain lost a backup tape in the subway. This tape contains over 8,000 records for legal services clients and 13,000 records for other people, which contained Social Security Numbers and other personal data. - K

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If you haven't seen it yet (it was just featured in this week's LSC update), be sure to read "Who's Putting a Price on Free Legal Aid?" by Terry Carter in the September issue of the ABA Journal, which looks at the problem of legal aid domain cybersquatting. To learn more about how cyber-piracy impacts the legal aid community and how to protect your program, check out these resources available on LSNTAP. -M

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Today is the official launch of the Self-Represented Litigation Network Court Leadership Package, a set of tools that judges, court administrators, self-help facilitators, and others can use to educate their court and state about innovations in self-represented litigation. Topics that are covered include

• Court Self-Diagnosis and Strategies for Getting a Court Moving (Including Funding Issues)
• Establishing and Operating Self Help Centers
• Designing and Modifying Physical Space for Access
• Establishing Justice Corps and Volunteer Programs
• Training and Supporting Clerks for Access
• Developing and Deploying Forms and Instructions
• Deploying Automated Forms for Access
• Setting Up Case Management for the Self-Represented
• Working with Judicial Leadership
• Courtroom Staffing and Services for Access
• The Court Role in Establishing and Supporting Discrete Task Representation
• Supporting and Integrating Law Library Services
• Distance Service Technology
• The Limited English Proficiency Challenge
• Developing Systems to Facilitate and Ensure Compliance with Court Orders

These tools are being launched at the National Center for State Courts' Court Solutions Conference. People who are attending the Self-Represented Litigation Track will be trained to use these tools and have the opportunity to interact with experts and learn more about each of the areas.

For those of you who won't be in Baltimore at the conference, the materials will be posted on the SelfHelpSupport.org website in the next couple of months. If you will be at the conference, find me. I'll be there and helping out in a variety of roles. - K

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As was mentioned on technola in April, the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services is holding hearings on technology and delivery of legal services. The next hearing will be held during the ABA Annual Meeting on August 8, 2008.

For those of you who weren't able to attend the hearing that took place at the 2008 Equal Justice Conference, you can now listen to the testimony online. - K

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Typically we use Free Friday as an opportunity to share free online tools and technology resources. However, given that this particular Free Friday happens to land on the 4th of July, it seems apt to use it as an opportunity to honor an organization that has contributed a great deal to digital freedom: the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Founded in 1990, the EFF defends digital rights, from free speech to privacy and innovation to consumer rights. Among its many cases, the EFF has successfully challenged the constitutionality of internet censorship laws, kept corporations from spying on consumers, defended the confidentiality of online journalists, and established that computer code is speech and deserves First Amendment protection. So, as you celebrate the 4th of July today, why not join the EFF today and make a lasting contribution to digital freedom. -M & K

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Challenge number one of placing novice attorneys in remote offices - supervision. And what you've been doing to supervise those attorneys may not being cutting it, according to the Maryland Court of Appeals. E-mail and phone are not enough according to Chief Judge Robert Bell. He says, "You don't rely simply on the electronic record. You must check the docket." To read more about this case, check out the ABA Journal or The Daily Record.

So what does this mean for your organization? How do you supervise advocates in remote offices? How does technology play a role in that supervision? Leave a comment below and let us know. - K

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There are a lot of ethical questions surrounding the practice of law, so it shouldn't be a shock that a lawyer reads the questions on The Ethicist podcast. But I was surprised when I heard that it was Robin Steinberg, the Executive Director of the Bronx Defenders, reading this week's questions. Among the great projects at Bronx Defenders is Reentry.net/NY, an online clearinghouse and support network that focuses on prisoner rentry issues developed in partnership with Pro Bono Net.

So yea! Congratulations on your newfound fame, Robin. You can check out the podcast here. - K

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Today Robert Ambrogi wrote an interesting post about a new ethics opinion from the New York County Lawyers' Association that concludes that mining metadata in documents from opposing counsel is unethical (siding with the New York State Bar and conflicting with a 2006 ABA Ethics Committee opinion).

For more on metadata and other areas where technology intersects with legal ethics, check out the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center's Technology and Ethics Overview and LegalEthics.com, a blog that focuses on the ethical issues associated with the use of technology by legal professionals. -M

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The ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, which focuses on increasing access-to-justice for moderate-income people, is holding hearings on technology and delivery of legal services. They will look at who is providing services using technology, how these services have benefited or harmed recipients, what technologies are being used, and what policies and rules exist.

The Committee is looking for people who want to testify or submit materials. If you are one of those people, check out the Committee's announcement for more information. - K

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