Thomson Reuters Scholarship Application

The NFPA has announced the availability of the Thomson Reuters Scholarship.  Applications and accompanying materials must be postmarked by July 1, 2011.  The materials can be accessed at:  http://www.paralegals.org/associations/2270/files/2011content/2011_Thomson_Reuters_Scholarship_Application.pdf

WPA March 2011 Meeting Notice and Reminder

The Washburn Paralegal Association will meet Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 12:30 p.m. in the Thomas Room of the Washburn Student Union.  The speaker will be Tamara Mapes, Legal Secretary at Payless - Topeka, KS.  Tamara is also an instructor in Office Management and Editing and Grammar at Washburn University.  Refreshments will be served.  The meeting is open to all members of WPA, and those wishing to become a member of WPA.  See you there!

Sevice of Process over Facebook?

Some countries are accepting this!  Nothing from the U.S. yet, but look at the list: 

Service of Process via Facebook

The article takes a look at the reasons to and not to do this.  Take a look and see what you think. 

7 Tips to Get Retweeted

Retweeted?  Is that even a word?  Is that the correct way of saying it?  At any rate:  

Twitter is not going away.  It has already been said "the Tweet is mightier than the sword."  And, we are watching that statement become true fact, in history, right now and in our lives.  Tunisia, Egypt, and, well, your own law firm may even find that Twitter has the power you want and need.

Today's post is about Retweets:  Here are the 7 Tips for getting your Tweets to be Retweeted

The goal is to be informative, remarkable, humorous, opinionated, sharing, engaging.

Your firm can be all of these things, and it will attract. Show that over Twitter, know that by the Retweets.

Does Your Firm Practice...?

Does the firm/attorney you work for practice certain areas of the law, such as Personal Injury, Probate and Estate Planning, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy, Mediation (Family or Commercial)?  Have you or your attorney ever wondered what the latest issues are in that area? 

There is a way to find out. It is by starting a Twitter Chat - whether it is an online or offline meeting with others interested in the same topic, it might be time well spent to discuss issues and the current thinking on those issues. 

Here are 6 Tips to starting a Twitter Chat:   6 Tips to Run a Successful Group Twitter Chat

Don't think of chat as a teen thing that is a waste of time with a lack of substance.  It can be a useful learning tool! 

Using Twitter and current technologies as a bona fide learning tool may save you time, money, and even promote your firm in positive ways.  It may require a shift in your thinking, but one well worth looking into. 

Hot Off the Press! U.S. Supreme Court Decision March 2, 2011

Here is the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Snyder v. Phelps:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf

Is Your Firm Insured for Data Loss - Data Theft? What are the issues?

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you lost the data in your law firm, or if it was even stolen - cybertheft?  Are you insured? 

Here is a good article on insuring your data:  Is Your Organization Insured Against Data Loss? 

One of the issues this article discusses is whether or not traditional insurance coverage is sufficient.  Also, find out what the courts say about data loss.  Is data loss considered property loss by the courts?  Where do you stand if you are "cloud computing" and your data is housed by a vendor?  Is the vendor's policy covering your data?  Where will you get your guidance in determining what kind of policy for data loss you should have? 

Good and informative article.