Harris County Law Library
"The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten." - President Calvin Coolidge
The Harris County Law Library supports pro bono legal services for veterans. We are grateful to the men and women who have served our country, and we thank you for your service.
A previous post on Ex Libris Juris called attention to the need for qualified interpreters in U.S. courts. (Texas outlines its policies on language access in the courts on the Texas Judicial Branch website.) This issue is getting more attention as the shortage of licensed court interpreters, particularly those who speak an indigenous language, is becoming more of a concern. The State Bar of Texas Access to Justice Commission recently reported on the issue and included legislative history to explain the development of laws that provide translation services for people with Limited English Proficiency. Last week's episode of the Reveal podcast, a project of The Center for Investigative Reporting, covered the story in a program called And Justice for Some. This program details the courtroom experience of an Alabama mother who speaks Mixteco, a language spoken by 750,000 people in Mexico, but by precious few in the United States, especially in U.S. courtrooms. The implications of not having access to a qualified interpreter are great. This podcast explores these implications and calls for better access to justice in U.S. courts, especially with respect to translation services for foreign language speakers.
Legal aid organizations throughout the state are celebrating Veterans Week, which runs from November 6th to the 12th. Many, including TexasLawHelp.org, which is funded by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, are offering resources and pro bono services to our nation's men and women who served in uniform.
Free help for Texas veterans is also provided via the Veterans Legal Aid Portal with links to a number of helpful resources and a free legal assistance hotline (1-800-622-2520). Other organizations, including Lone Star Legal Aid, the Texas Legal Services Center, the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, and the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project, have similar initiatives in place.
The Harris County Law Library is providing access to legal research materials, including federal forms for veterans, the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 38: Veterans Affairs), and a veterans benefits handbook, along with several military law titles, which are available though HeinOnline. Please visit our Veterans' Legal Resources display in the library. It will be available throughout the week.
November is Social Media Law Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library. As the week wraps up, here are a few of the social media stories making news this week.
In a Divorce, Who Gets Custody of Electronic Data? The Lawyers
The use of social media as evidence in divorce cases has increased dramatically over the last three to five years. Lawyers introduce text messages and social media posts into almost all of their hearings and trials. How and what a person communicates via social media can reveal a lot about a person's character and may also offer clues about one's finances or hidden assets. Christine Leatherberry, a family lawyer in Dallas who is quoted in the article, advises her clients to expect that anything shared via email or posted on a social network will be blown up on a poster board and displayed in a courtroom.
According to a recent survey of lobbyists, lawyers, think tank leaders, and other advocacy groups, social media is the fastest-growing communications channel for influencing the political process. Those who aim to persuade policy makers understand the importance of social networks and the power of public opinion. They are increasing their allocation of funds to engage with social media on a larger scale.
Can You Take a Voting Selfie? States Wage Legal Battles Days Before Election
Ballot box selfies are prohibited in 18 states, but challenges to the law have been advanced in Colorado, Michigan, and New York just days before voters head to the polls. Opponents of laws that permit election-day selfies say that photographs taken at the polls compromise the integrity of the election. Supporters dispute this claim, saying that no evidence of voter intimidation exists. Muddled laws in several states are sure to create confusion as voters test the limits of what is prohibited and what is actually enforced.
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.
What’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.
