The discussion is shifting from if to how the legal profession should use social media. Seminars and articles from legal publications encourage and even demand attorneys, law firms and the legal profession’s use of Twitter, Blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn, and to a lesser degree, social bookmarking sites such as Technorati, StumbleUpon and Digg.
Where will attorneys find the time to do this? Besides the satisfaction of keeping up with and exploring the usefulness of this relatively new (as it relates to the legal profession) medium, how can attorneys be rewarded or compensated for spending their valuable time?
How about the opportunity to earn continuing legal education (CLE) credits? The supreme court of most states are responsible for promulgating MCLE rules and regulations which are usually administered by a CLE commission or board.
The *Critical Issues Summit, where many of the state regulators along with other CLE professionals will be in attendance, is a unique opportunity for current, progressive ideas such as this to be heard and discussed.
* The Critical Issues Summit, October 15-17, 2009 is sponsored jointly by ALI-ABA and ACLEA, the association of continuing legal education professionals to address “changes in the law, shifting client needs, emerging technologies, and trends in the legal profession.” It is the culmination of herculean efforts over many years by dedicated, passionate CLE professionals.
It is also, a rare opportunity for attorneys and CLE professionals to help shape the future of this industry, to voice your concerns, to propose ideas, and to challenge convention and inaction. This post and others like this is not a criticism of the efforts of these dedicated professionals but an attempt to have our voices heard, to help shape the conversation.
In the 600+ pages of materials (pdf), the term “social media” is never mentioned. Is this due to a lack of information or indifference to this medium as it relates to MCLE? Perhaps a bit of both. However, I’ve been told that this topic is on the agenda and will be discussed.
Why even explore the possibility of earning credit through engaging in social media?
Toby Brown captures it succinctly in CLE 2.0, a post on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog:
In Web 2.0 environments you stay current by monitoring blogs, watching tweets and engaging in the dialogue. Most of my continuing education comes from these sources. And more importantly, it has greater value based on my participation.
Susan Cartier Liebel comments,
The underlying question is, do lawyers need to continually learn? If the answer is ‘yes’ then there should be some systematic form of education through the most convenient technology. So CLE 2.0 should be available to everyone in every state which mandates CLE.
How can attorneys earn credit? By posting articles and initiating topics and engaging in forums on blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook. Providing helpful links with commentary on social bookmarking sites. On Twitter alone, a New York attorney spending an average of only two minutes a day, five days a week, engaging in “approved” conversation, will earn over 20 credits in two years, satisfying most of the 24 required credit hours.
How can this activity be tracked and reported? An issue with larger implications such as:
Why the cumbersome, consuming, even punitive demands on tracking non-live events when one can simply sit in the rear of a conference, take out a Blackberry or laptop and miss most of the presentation. That person still gets the full credit. Why are non-live events held to a more rigid standard? If there’s a trust factor in effect with live events, shouldn’t the same be applied to non-live? Very few “sit in the back of the room with laptop open” and regardless of the platform, those few will always exist. I suggest that the rules should not be as rigid or punitive for the vast majority because of those very few.
Of note, is the fact that social media interactions are generally public, and available for audit.
This post represents an exploration of social media as CLE. I’d love to hear your thoughts – comments and suggestions are welcome.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Tim, are you going to be there to represent and make our SM Lawyer voices heard? I sure hope so.
Thanks for comment and props! Don’t think I’ve earned the privilege to participate just yet, but there will be passionate advocates for change and progress representing.
I’m really intrigued to see what emerges from the Summit. Hoping for great things.
{ 4 trackbacks }