KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

Check out the second installment in our ongoing series called Supreme Court Classics.  This episode features John Marshall, who was appointed Chief Justice by President John Adams in 1801 and served until his death in 1835.

Whether your firm has jumped into the social media waters with both feet, or you’re being dragged kicking and screaming to the side of pool, you need a social media policy.  And, ideally, it should be in place before the first Twitter tweet or posting of funny cats.

Your policy should be simple, to-the-point and provide employees with guidelines for appropriate online behavior and outline consequences for inappropriate behavior. 

It should include a section about creating and maintaining social media sites for the firm using company time and computers (such as a law firm Facebook page or LinkedIn profile).  Content creators on these types of sites will need guidelines regarding protecting client confidentiality, refraining from providing legal advice, how to respond to negative comments, etc.

The policy should address employees’ use of third-party online sites during company time and discuss what is acceptable conduct for posts on personal sites; keeping in mind that there is no expectation of privacy on the Internet.

Thankfully, there are many print and online resources available for help in drafting a social media policy.  Here are just a few:

Books at the Law Library:
Social media, 2011: addressing corporate risks, Practicing Law Institute.
Social media for lawyers: the next frontier, Carolyn Elefant and Nicole Black (2010).

Online Newsletter:
Socially Aware: The Social Media Law Update (Morrison & Foerster)
http://www.mofo.com/files/Uploads/Images/100722SocialMedia.pdf

Social Media Policies and Templates:
http://www.jaffepr.com/sites/default/files/Social_media_policy.pdf
http://www.bakerdstreamingvid.com/publications/Baker_Daniels_Social-Media-Policy.pdf
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
http://www.compliancebuilding.com/about/publications/social-media-policies/
http://www.lawmarketing.com/pages/articles.asp?Action=Article&ArticleID=1024

Blog Posts:
http://abovethelaw.com/2010/07/social-media-policies-for-legal-types/
http://www.socialmediaforlawfirms.com/2010/09/social-media-policy-for-law-firms.html
http://www.fastcompany.com/1668368/social-media-policies-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly
http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/

A recently revised edition of the King County Probate and Guardianship Policy Manual is now available!  The Manual has been in existence since 1969 and was last revised in 2003.  According to the introductory page, the manual is a “helpful guide to practitioners and referred to in King County Local Rule 98.04.  This manual is the result of a joint project of the bench and the bar and contains useful tips for practitioners that are not necessarily the official policy of the court.”

We have multiple copies of the Manual at both libraries, though none are available for check-out.  It can also be purchased from the King County Bar Association in print and electronic format.

The Finish Your Divorce class held at the Seattle library on the second Wednesday of the month will now run from 4-5pm.  This is a walk-in class (no reservation required) taught by a volunteer attorney.

The law library’s 2010 Annual Report is now available!  We are using a new format this year; employing charts, a wordle and less text to recap what happened at the law library in 2010.  Check it out!

The Metro shuttle service to the Mariners and Seahawks has been reinstated in a ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, as reported by the Seattle P-I.  A Bush administration rule stated that no public transit agency could provide service to games if private charter operators were “willing and able to so so,” even at a higher price.  Senator Murray placed a provision into the 2010 federal transportation spending bill that exempted Metro from the rule.  The American Bus Association sued and the provision was ruled unconstitional by Judge Ellen Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Today’s ruling from the D.C. Circuit court overturned the lower court ruling and soon sports fans will riding the shuttle bus to the ballgame.

A new resource for low-income debtors is available at the Public Law Library of King County, located at the Seattle courthouse.  A drop-in debt clinic, staffed by attorneys, is now open on Tuesday afternoons from 1 – 3 p.m.

Attorneys from the Northwest Justice Project are launching a free Debt Collection Defense Clinic.  The Debt Collection Defense Clinic (DCDC) will assist low-income debtors (below 200% FPL: $1,815/mo for one person; $3,725/mo for a family of four) with advice and assistance for issues surrounding debt collection, including lawsuits, collection agency abuse, supplemental proceedings and garnishment.

Debtors seeking advice and assistance from volunteer attorneys should bring all paperwork related to debt collection and documentation of their income, including paystubs and bank statements.

DCDC does not assist clients with filing for bankruptcy.  Debtors seeking advice about bankruptcy should be directed to the King County Bar Association’s debt clinic.  If debtors have questions about the best referral, they should contact 211 to be screened and directed to the appropriate legal resource.

In conclusion, volunteer attorneys at DCDC will provide advice and assistance to low-income debtors dealing with debt collection issues, at the Seattle courthouse law library on Tuesday afternoons from 1 – 3 p.m.  If attorneys are interested in volunteering for the DCDC, email juliak@nwjustice.org and catherinew@nwjustice.org.

What with the rapture scheduled for tomorrow (May 21), I’ve been thinking about other disasters (zombies, hurricanes, American Idol) and how we should all have a disaster plan in place.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently hopped (or perhaps stumbled haltingly with arms outstretched) onto the zombie bandwagon with a tongue-in-cheek guide to preparing for a zombie apocalypse. 

King County has an excellent disaster preparedness site, www.3days3ways.org.  Here you can learn about the three steps you can take to prepare for a disaster (amazingly, planning for zombies is not much different than earthquakes or floods):

1. Make a Plan (plan a meeting spot, pick an out-of-state contact)
2. Build a Kit (put together a kit for your home and car)
3. Get Involved (follow the news, take a class to help yourself and others)

And in case you’re visiting the law library and we have to shelter-in-place due to marauding bands of the undead (or a chemical spill on I-5), you can take comfort in knowing that we have created a disaster plan and stocked the library with food, water and other essentials.

The King County Law Library Board has announced that it is changing its name to Public Law Library of King County and that it has appointed Rita Dermody as Director, effective May 1, 2011. As Director, Ms. Dermody will oversee operations and direct all activities of the library.

The library’s Board of Trustees chose the new name based on a recommendation from its Advisory Committee. Judge Mary Yu, President of the Board of Trustees, remarked about the change, “We just want to be known as widely as possible for what we are—a reliable public library that emphasizes legal resources. We wanted to be sure that non-lawyers feel comfortable utilizing our resources.” The library’s new name is intended to dispel the perception among self-represented litigants that it is only for lawyers or court personnel and emphasize the public nature of this resource, in hopes of making the public feel invited.

As the new Director, Ms. Dermody is dedicated to promoting the library as the first stop for members of the public who need legal help. She is devoted to ensuring access to legal research and is eager to represent the Public Law Library in the greater librarian and legal communities. Ms. Dermody joined the Law Library in 1998 and has served as branch librarian,

Collection Access Services Librarian, and Interim Director. After working in virtually every type of law library, she sees her appointment to this position as the culmination of her experience and passion for helping people. She strongly believes in the importance of this facility and wants to use her position to “touch more lives and have more impact on legal research.”

Stephen Ellis, Vice President of the Board of Trustees, stated: “Rita successfully served the Public Law Library as its Interim Director and when it came time to appoint a permanent Director we realized, following a thorough evaluation process involving trustees, staff and third parties, that we had no need to conduct a formal search. Our Director was already in place and performing well.” Judge Yu echoed the sentiment, “The Board has total confidence in Rita’s ability to take the Public Law Library to the next level. Rita is a leader and known for her collaborative style. She works well with all of our partner agencies and customers, and her commitment to fostering access to justice is exactly what we need at this time. We are grateful that she accepted the position.”

For further information, contact Judge Mary Yu, President of the King County Law Library Board of Trustees at 206.296.9275. Interviews with Rita Dermody may be arranged by calling her directly at 206.205.6101.

Trustees of the Library are Stephen Ellis, Patrick McIntyre, Jim Brewer, Judge Andrea Darvas, and Judge Mary Yu.

The American Library Association’s theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Create Your Own Story@ KCLL.” KCLL is celebrating the week with free Family Law classes and cookies! We will also be offering prizes to patrons who visit us at noon during the week. 

 The library is excited to announce a new class: Family Law Resources.  This 1 hour class is targeted at non-attorneys to help them find resources for family law matters such as divorce, child custody or child support.  During National Library Week, we will be offering this class in Seattle on April 11 from 12-1pm and in Kent on April 14 from 12-1pm.  To register, please call 206-296-0940.

 Please note that our Kent branch will close early at 11:00am on Friday, April 15 for staff training.