Latest & Greatest: Social Media 101 for Lawyers

To kick off Social Media Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library, we're highlighting a couple of very helpful resources. The first is a Pocket Guide published by the Texas Young Lawyers Association called Social Media 101. The second is a white paper, recently published by Thomson Reuters and FindLaw, called From Novelty to Necessity: Pragmatic Social Media for Law Firms. 

TYLA's Social Media 101 provides an excellent review of electronic communication as regulated speech and the requirements that all attorneys must meet when advertising online. According to the State Bar's Advertising Review Committee (ARC) and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, any content posted to social media for marketing or solicitation purposes must be filed with the ARC. However, according to an exception in Rule 7.07, content that is not "prepared to secure paid professional employment" is exempt. Communications that inform potential clients about the law (such as an article you might write for your firm's blog) and content that is more social in nature (photographs on Facebook of your firm at a charity event, or a link on Twitter to an inspiring TED Talk, for example) need not be submitted. Even so, the TYLA Pocket Guide advises that, when in doubt, it is best to file any electronic content that can be construed as advertising to the ARC. 

From Novelty to Necessity, covers a different aspect of social media, namely the imperative that all lawyers maintain a digital presence. Based on data that show the advantages of using social media to market services and build professional networks, the authors assert that having a digital presence is no longer optional. They also discuss how to use social media effectively. Identify the factors that set your firm apart, they say, and develop a marketing strategy that differentiates your brand. Spell out the qualities that make your firm unique, including the benefits of retaining your services, and present them in ways that resonate with potential clients. Then, communicate the benefits consistently across all social media platforms. Try to achieve a sort of "calculated authenticity" so that clients and potential clients see you as approachable, open, accessible, and willing to interact. Community-based lawyers, in particular, must be willing to share part of themselves before clients are willing to share their personal needs. When executed in accordance with the State Bar's requirements for electronic communication, the benefits can be substantial. 

Latest & Greatest – Texas Bar College Annual Summer School Course

Summer School. Those two words can conjure up feelings of dread in almost all school-age children (and a few parents as well). The last thing we wanted to suffer through as kids was more school, especially during the summer when the rest of the entire world, it seemed, was on vacation and having fun. As adults, our perspectives change, and we realize (maybe) that summer school might not be so bad. Case in point: each summer Texas Bar College, in collaboration with the State Bar of Texas, offers its Texas Bar College Annual Summer School CLE course. It’s an opportunity for lawyers to not only get those CLE credits that they might desperately need as their birthday month approaches but also an opportunity to be exposed to varied and timely legal topics. Unlike the more focused Advanced Family Law or Advanced Real Estate Law courses, the Texas Bar College CLEs cover the latest developments in such areas as criminal law, immigration law, business law, and employment law, and emerging issues in technology, like social media and electronic discovery, all in one two- or three-day seminar. The articles can be of great value to general and/or solo practitioners or anyone who is seeking to broaden their legal knowledge.

If you were unable to attend any of these useful courses and want to see what topics were presented, come to the Harris County Law Library. The library acquires the coursebooks from these as well as many other State Bar CLE classes and maintains them as part of its CLE collection, providing you with access to all that the State Bar of Texas offers. Check out the library’s online catalog to see what coursebooks are available.

For those of you who are interested, the next Texas Bar College Summer School is scheduled for July 13-15, 2017. See the website from Texas Bar College for more information.

Latest & Greatest – Paperless in One Hour for Lawyers

By Sheila M. Blackford & Donna S. M. Neff

Published by American Bar Association Law Practice Division (2014)

KF 318 .B53 2014

Joining the other titles in this series, Paperless in One Hour for Lawyers introduces the solo or small-firm attorney to the art of becoming less dependent on paper and becoming more comfortable with the idea of going paperless. Organized as a series of lessons, this book guides the lawyer through the process of transitioning to a digital office. The authors discuss the hardware and software needed to better enable the change, cloud-based storage, and useful apps that will make it easier for lawyers to go paperless. In addition, the authors offer some suggestions on procedures and protocols that allow attorneys to manage the documents that are now stored digitally. They even explain how to create an electronic signature and an authenticated digital signature. (Yes, there is a difference. Check out Lesson 7 for the explanation). Also, because client information will most likely be involved in the transition to go paperless, there is a lesson devoted to ethical considerations. In the back of the book, there is a listing of many useful books, blogs, publications, and websites that could help in the quest to dig yourself out from under all of those paper piles.

So, what are you waiting for? Why drown in all of the paper? Learn to ditch the paper in 60 minutes with Paperless in One Hour for Lawyers.

Latest & Greatest – Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers

By David G. Ries, Sharon D. Nelson, and John W. Simek

Published by ABA Law Practice Division

QA 76.9 .A25 N455 2015

Seeking to take the fear out of encryption and what it entails, the authors of Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers set upon the task of proving that encrypting information is not as complicated and difficult as it may seem to those not fully versed in the language of “techspeak”. From its earliest forms, e.g. ciphers and secret decoder rings, encryption has been used to make communications secret and secure, and in this age of cyberterrorism and data breaches, understanding how to encrypt confidential information has taken on even greater importance. The authors begin by explaining, in simple terms, the basics of encryption technology, such as the Data Encryption Standard algorithm, digital certificates, and symmetric and asymmetric encryption before discussing the nuances of encrypting laptops and desktops, smartphones, and portable drives. The authors also stress the need to protect data as it travels through various networks or into the cloud as well as the practicality of securing individual documents.

If you don’t think that you need to encrypt or further secure your documents, you may be mistaken. As the authors readily point out: lawyers have an ethical obligation to keep communications confidential. Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers can help you perform that duty or, at a minimum, convince you that you need to obtain the services of a qualified professional. Don’t wait until a data breach to take action.

Immigration Law Resource Month

In October, we at the Harris County Law Library are continuing to highlight our collection of immigration law resources. Throughout the month, we will feature materials, in the library an online, to assist you in conducting research and learning about immigration law in the United States.

Several new immigration law resources are now on our shelves, including the 15th edition of Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook, and the 17th edition of U.S. Immigration Made Easy, published by Nolo Press. On Westlaw, you can access the latest immigration news and analysis, as well as immigration law treatises, and official immigration forms. Lexis provides additional access to popular immigration titles, including Benders Immigration Law Bulletin and Benders Immigration Case Reporter. Both Westlaw and Lexis can be accessed on our computers in the Law Library.

These titles are just a few of the immigration law items in our collection. Additional resources will be featured throughout the month in the Law Library and on our blog.