1. Use the "search" to find people seeking services you or your business provides. If you provide catering or dj services, for example, search wedding, party, event, etc. If you are a lawyer, brainstorm some keywords relating to your practice area and do a similar search. Then use @_____ to reply to posts you find.
2. When people tweet, listen. If you picked the right people to follow, you should be able to click on any link posted to your twitter homepage by those you follow and find something that interests you. If someone you followed consistently leads you astray, feel free to not follow them anymore. Furthermore, don't feel obligated to follow someone that is following you. The point of twitter is to filter out unwanted information, and boost the signal of wanted information.
3. Check out this blog post for a great collection of articles on twitter. http://www.alnyethelawyerguy.com/al_nye_the_lawyer_guy/2009/06/35-valuable-articles-for-lawyers-to-read-about-twitter.html
Good Luck!!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Summer Time and the Law School Is Easy...
This summer I am taking two classes: Entertainment Law and Defamation Privacy and Publicity. Entertainment Law is a very general overview of the business and legal side of the entertainment industry, focusing on such topics as talent contracts. Defamation, on the other hand, is a very focused class on a specific species of tort that balances individual's personal rights with constitutionally protected free speech.
It is great to finally take classes that represent my career interests specifically. While all of law school is a rhizome of overlapping and intertwining subject matter, it feels good to get a little specialization, and to apply what I have learned in other classes ( like contracts and torts) to the area of law I hope to break into in two years.
Southwestern itself is a strange atmosphere during the summer, reminding me of the lazy summer days and casual classes of the summer session of undergrad. It is a nostalgic, if ephemeral, feeling.
It is great to finally take classes that represent my career interests specifically. While all of law school is a rhizome of overlapping and intertwining subject matter, it feels good to get a little specialization, and to apply what I have learned in other classes ( like contracts and torts) to the area of law I hope to break into in two years.
Southwestern itself is a strange atmosphere during the summer, reminding me of the lazy summer days and casual classes of the summer session of undergrad. It is a nostalgic, if ephemeral, feeling.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Judges Say the Darndest Things...
Judges sometimes have a penchant for the dramatic. And sometimes they seem to be a little bit angry. But I suppose this is with good reason, they are supposed to be very wise, and they often have a way with words. Here are some of my favorite Judge quotes and phrases, typically recorded in real cases thus far:
"Braggadocio of a Badass"
"Plaintiff's counsel, apparently laboring under the impression that I am not dealing with a full deck and that my knowledge of diversity requirements is about equal to that of a low-grade moron..." -Judge Lord
"...I can hardly expect any more from a counsel whose familiarity with Title 28 U.S.C. 1332 could be no more than a friendly wave from a distance visible only through a powerful telescope." -Judge Lord
The court has, "no obligation to lead counsel through a jurisdictional paint-by-numbers scheme."
"Braggadocio of a Badass"
"Plaintiff's counsel, apparently laboring under the impression that I am not dealing with a full deck and that my knowledge of diversity requirements is about equal to that of a low-grade moron..." -Judge Lord
"...I can hardly expect any more from a counsel whose familiarity with Title 28 U.S.C. 1332 could be no more than a friendly wave from a distance visible only through a powerful telescope." -Judge Lord
The court has, "no obligation to lead counsel through a jurisdictional paint-by-numbers scheme."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
How to Use Twitter and Not Waste Your Time Pt. 1
Twitter is the best new form of personal marketing available. I often get strange looks from friends and acquaintances when I say this, but it is true. Here is how I believe best used for non-trivial purposes:
1. Follow people who have meaningful and pertinent things to say. If you are sports fan, follow the players you like, the sports writers who have interesting blogs and the teams you are a fan of. If you are a lawyer, search for other lawyers in your practice area or that are local. Try searches related to you practice area to see what people are saying about it and "tweet" about current topics or topics that are missing.
2. Be a person who people want to follow. How to do this? Make meaningful and pertinent posts. I always try to include a link to an interesting article in my "tweets", so that there is always more content per tweet than the 140 characters.
3. Know and use the lingo. Use hash marks (#____) and re-tweets (RT @username) to generate buzz about what you are saying. The # symbol before a keyword create posts that term to sites like http://twitter.com/hashtags , http://www.hashtweeps.com/ and http://www.tweetscan.com/ . Re-tweeting is like amplifying another person's signal, sending the original person's tweet to all your followers. If you like someone's tweet, it is good twitter etiquette to retweet it with "RT @username" before the post. More on that here: http://bloggingbits.com/the-art-and-science-of-retweeting-for-twitteraholics/
To be continued....
1. Follow people who have meaningful and pertinent things to say. If you are sports fan, follow the players you like, the sports writers who have interesting blogs and the teams you are a fan of. If you are a lawyer, search for other lawyers in your practice area or that are local. Try searches related to you practice area to see what people are saying about it and "tweet" about current topics or topics that are missing.
2. Be a person who people want to follow. How to do this? Make meaningful and pertinent posts. I always try to include a link to an interesting article in my "tweets", so that there is always more content per tweet than the 140 characters.
3. Know and use the lingo. Use hash marks (#____) and re-tweets (RT @username) to generate buzz about what you are saying. The # symbol before a keyword create posts that term to sites like http://twitter.com/hashtags , http://www.hashtweeps.com/ and http://www.tweetscan.com/ . Re-tweeting is like amplifying another person's signal, sending the original person's tweet to all your followers. If you like someone's tweet, it is good twitter etiquette to retweet it with "RT @username" before the post. More on that here: http://bloggingbits.com/the-art-and-science-of-retweeting-for-twitteraholics/
To be continued....
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Extracurriculars
Well it's been a few months. Sorry.
I am volunteering with this program called Teen Court as of late. It is an alternative to Juvenile detention for young law breakers, offering them a chance to keep their record clean. Before a judge and a jury of their peers, they have to explain various aspects of the crime the committed, their current activities, what they hope to accomplish if they don't get their act together, etc. I help with jury instruction, but it is really not necessary; these kids know their stuff. It is truly amazing to watch theses judges at work. They are not individuals with whom to mess. Tomorrow, we have about 100 kids coming from Dorsey High School to see how we live. Dorsey is a legal magnet school, so hopefully we either scare these kids into choosing a different career path or sharpen their resolve. We can't all be lawyers, after all.
I am now a member of the National Lawyers Guild. It is a Critical Theory Bar Association; basically it is CHID for grown up lawyers. Mumia Abu-Jamal is a Vice President of the organization, if that is any indication of the type of crowd.
Mumia is a black panther convicted of murdering a police officer and is currently serving a life sentence (I believe he was or is sentenced to death, however). It was one of those case similar to the Hurricane (with whom I've spoken), where no one really saw what happened, and an "angry" black man was there to get blamed. Its also a case of racism inherent in the legal system, with various court officials showing evidence of racial bias (This is an understatement which I meant to be sarcastic. A court stenographer filed an affidavit stating that he over heard one of the judges sitting on the appeal state that he would like to help "fry the n****r"). Rage Against The Machine is one of his big proponents.
Needless to say I am excited to go to the first NLG networking event.
I am also thinking about volunteering next door with the Heart of Los Angeles Youth Program. It is a question of when I will find the time however. I need to get on that. A 1L does not have much time to do anything, let alone non-law school things.
I am volunteering with this program called Teen Court as of late. It is an alternative to Juvenile detention for young law breakers, offering them a chance to keep their record clean. Before a judge and a jury of their peers, they have to explain various aspects of the crime the committed, their current activities, what they hope to accomplish if they don't get their act together, etc. I help with jury instruction, but it is really not necessary; these kids know their stuff. It is truly amazing to watch theses judges at work. They are not individuals with whom to mess. Tomorrow, we have about 100 kids coming from Dorsey High School to see how we live. Dorsey is a legal magnet school, so hopefully we either scare these kids into choosing a different career path or sharpen their resolve. We can't all be lawyers, after all.
I am now a member of the National Lawyers Guild. It is a Critical Theory Bar Association; basically it is CHID for grown up lawyers. Mumia Abu-Jamal is a Vice President of the organization, if that is any indication of the type of crowd.
Mumia is a black panther convicted of murdering a police officer and is currently serving a life sentence (I believe he was or is sentenced to death, however). It was one of those case similar to the Hurricane (with whom I've spoken), where no one really saw what happened, and an "angry" black man was there to get blamed. Its also a case of racism inherent in the legal system, with various court officials showing evidence of racial bias (This is an understatement which I meant to be sarcastic. A court stenographer filed an affidavit stating that he over heard one of the judges sitting on the appeal state that he would like to help "fry the n****r"). Rage Against The Machine is one of his big proponents.
Needless to say I am excited to go to the first NLG networking event.
I am also thinking about volunteering next door with the Heart of Los Angeles Youth Program. It is a question of when I will find the time however. I need to get on that. A 1L does not have much time to do anything, let alone non-law school things.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Happy Halloween!
Halloween is coming up. Unfortunately I didn't have a costume picked out six months in advance this year. I was unsure as to why, but then I looked back at the last six months of my life and figured it out: I might be a little more busy than I used to be.
Anyway, I decided to go as something I could do easily: a greaser! I have some black boots, jeans, t-shirt, $2.00 worth of Murray's pomade and I picked up a motorcycle jacket. Voila! I am Marlon Brando in The Wild One. We have a "bar review" on Thursday. That's where the student government throws a party, despite what it might sound like (it's a pun). Then on Saturday I am going to the UW v. USC football game here in LA with some ol' SAE boys from Cali. I am already mentally preparing myself for the abuse I am going to take from the rabid Trojan fans.
I got my first graded assigment back last week. I am happy with the grade; essentially it's a high B. Bs are not very common in law school, so that's great. Just gotta keep it up!
Anyway, I decided to go as something I could do easily: a greaser! I have some black boots, jeans, t-shirt, $2.00 worth of Murray's pomade and I picked up a motorcycle jacket. Voila! I am Marlon Brando in The Wild One. We have a "bar review" on Thursday. That's where the student government throws a party, despite what it might sound like (it's a pun). Then on Saturday I am going to the UW v. USC football game here in LA with some ol' SAE boys from Cali. I am already mentally preparing myself for the abuse I am going to take from the rabid Trojan fans.
I got my first graded assigment back last week. I am happy with the grade; essentially it's a high B. Bs are not very common in law school, so that's great. Just gotta keep it up!
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Gunner Phenomenon
There are some specialized terms we use in law school to define different types of students.
Podium Trolls, for example, are the people that run up after class to ask the Prof. questions, or whatever. Like in the tale of bridge troll, you can't pass behind the podium area with out answering these little lurker's questions. "Answer me these questions three, lest the other side ye may nev'r see. Question the first...
Gunners are by far the worst. While podium trolls are harmless, Gunners have a tendency to actively annoy you. Here is a youtube video one of my class mates forwarded me:
Podium Trolls, for example, are the people that run up after class to ask the Prof. questions, or whatever. Like in the tale of bridge troll, you can't pass behind the podium area with out answering these little lurker's questions. "Answer me these questions three, lest the other side ye may nev'r see. Question the first...
Gunners are by far the worst. While podium trolls are harmless, Gunners have a tendency to actively annoy you. Here is a youtube video one of my class mates forwarded me:
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