Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001
Michelle Worrall Tilton is the 1996-97 Chair of the YLD Citizenship Education and National Community Law Week Committee and is in-house counsel at Media/Professional Insurance in Kansas City, Missouri.
Easy Projects on a Shoestring
Celebrate Law Week's "Dream Theme" with New Projects and Ideas
Michelle Worrall TiltonThe 1997 Law Week theme, "Celebrate Your Freedom," will provide affiliates with exciting opportunities no, not streaking or flag-burning but a chance to cast a creative spotlight on Law Week projects. This flexible theme, which can focus on personal, as well as constitutionally protected freedoms, will be The Theme through 1999. Its three-year staying power will allow affiliates to develop name recognition for Law Week activities.
Law Week projects educate the public about the legal system and the responsibilities and benefits of citizenship, while improving the affiliate's reputation in the community. Through Law Week projects, affiliates have an opportunity to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing relationships with the media, judiciary, local businesses, school districts, and the public.
This article will address new projects, tips for manipulating . . . rather, working with the media, and tried and true techniques for enhancing communications with your local schools. And in keeping with the "Shoestring" billing, you can implement these projects without getting the "boot" from your treasurer.
New Projects
Fingerprinting Booth Projects
that focus on a child's safety are always well-received and generate publicity, as well as good will for your affiliate. For example, the Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association and the Pensacola, Florida, Legal Assistants sponsor a fingerprinting booth in a local mall during Law Week. Law enforcement cadets fingerprint the children, and legal assistants take photos and assemble a folder for the parents' safekeeping. This information could be vital for identifying fingerprints to find a missing child.Lawyers' Nite Out
This creative program, which was implemented by the Maricopa County Bar Association/YLD, raises money for law-related education while providing a social event during Law Week for bar members. Restaurants and movie theaters donate a percentage of their revenues from an evening in exchange for the bar's promise to encourage bar patronage of their businesses and for free advertising in the local bar journal. This project creates a win-win situation for all.Awards for Excellence
Many bar associations use Law Week as a forum to recognize outstanding teachers, police officers, and journalists. This provides an opportunity to recognize professionals while creating important relationships. A teacher could be recognized for implementing an outstanding law-related education curriculum or for enthusiastically embracing Law Week projects; a police officer for heroism; and a journalist for outstanding legal reporting.One major benefit of this project is that the winners become important contacts for the bar. Over the years, such a project could cultivate a number of good relationships especially with the media. If a reporter is a recipient of an award, there is a very good chance that the award ceremony will be covered by this individual's station or newspaper.
Law Week Proclamation
A very self-serving project is for the mayor or governor to annually proclaim a certain day, week, or month as "Law Day." This provides a perfect way to kick-off "Law Week," as well as creating a media opportunity for the bar and the politicians. Not only will the media be invited by the bar to attend the signing of the proclamation, but the press secretary for the important politician will request that media's presence.In order to be enthusiastically received by the important person's staff, the whole affair must require as little effort as possible from them. In other words, the proclamation must be drafted in advance by a young lawyer. The framed proclamation letter makes a nice wall-hanging for the bar headquarters, the Law Week chair, or for a recipient of a Law Day award, such as a teacher or school.
Billboards
A great way to generate publicity for Law Week (and hone advocacy skills in the process) is to convince a billboard company to donate a billboard during Law Week for the purpose of recognizing the winner of a Law Week Poster Contest. With the controversy surrounding billboard advertising of cigarettes, outdoor advertisers could certainly benefit from public service. The winning poster entry would appear on a billboard along with the theme, the artist's name and school and, of course, the sponsoring entity the bar. If any billboard company will not donate the space, a law firm may be willing to underwrite the project in return for recognition on the billboard.Table-Top Displays
What better way to highlight Grisham or Turow novels than to have a library or local bookstore create a law-related tabletop display in recognition of Law Week. Books with legal themes could be displayed at the front of the store or library along with a Law Week poster. This type of project, which is low in effort, may be high in results in terms of creating relationships. In the future, the bookstore or library may be willing to donate books to a charity or sponsor a Lawyers for Literacy project.National Law Week Poster Contest
In 1997, the ABA YLD is sponsoring a nationwide poster contest for age groups K-6, 7-9 and 10-12. If you already conduct a poster contest or are looking for incentive to start one we want your best artists' work (no more than five entries per affiliate please) for inclusion in the National Contest. The winning entries will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges (probably the YLD Executive Committee) and displayed in San Francisco at the Annual Meeting. The winners will receive a plaque and will be recognized in a YLD publication, along with the submitting affiliate. Look for more information about the contest in the YLD "Community Law Week Guide" and in Law Week mailings to your affiliate chair.Increasing Media Coverage
It certainly would be a shame for these great projects to go unnoticed. Here are some tips for generating and/or creating the media coverage that your affiliate deserves.1. Play dumb to outsmart.
The media is distrustful of smart people especially lawyers. When we deserve positive coverage, we rarely get it even though a good reporter would see the irony and therefore, the newsworthiness of lawyers participating in public service. To develop a rapport with the media it is important to act . . . well . . . a little . . . blonde. Ask lots of questions and be nice. Arrange a meeting with the station manager, editor, legal reporter, etc. A good time to do this is when your bar's officers have turned over. Ask questions about the types of information the station is interested in receiving. Find out when they would like to receive press releases, what should be in them, and to whom they should be directed.2. Use media magnets.
Important people, such as judges, athletes, and politicians always tend to attract the press. If possible, add a judge or politician to a Law Week activity. They like the exposure, too. Cute children and animals are always a draw. For this reason, mock trials at elementary schools, such as State v. Gold E. Locks, with the actors in furry bear garb, are always a hit. Media celebs like to cover their own publicity. Therefore, utilize media representatives as moderators, presenters, or award recipients.3. Don't forget the small newspapers
. Small weekly newspapers are always looking to cover events that directly affect their readership. Typically, they are looking for happy, folksy news. They are often short-staffed. They look for news that literally falls into their lap. Therefore, send press releases well in advance and highlight the local angle. Your Law Week activity may generate a front page article, photograph and editorial.4. Invest in big banners and signs.
Many times, television stations will shoot footage at a public service activity and not mention that the project was sponsored by the bar. Make it as difficult as possible for the media to conveniently forget the bar's sponsorship. Spend money for a reusable banner or sign with the bar's name and logo. Place the banner where it cannot be missed, i.e. the focal point of the newsworthy event. Really make the photographer or camera person work to shoot around your sign.Getting the Audience
Now that you have the media right where you want them with the cameras rolling, there had better be people at your public service event or it is damaging to your bar's credibility and a disappointment to your volunteers. We know from past experience that the public does not turn out in droves to hear lawyers talk unless, of course, we are doling out free legal advice and serving food. Therefore, it is necessary to go to the people. Hold your Law Week speeches, townhall forums, and presentations at a regularly scheduled monthly meeting, such as at a rotary or chamber of commerce meeting or even a naturalization ceremony. Many organizers of monthly meetings welcome a luncheon speaker.When it comes to generating interest and enthusiasm with schools, principals, and teachers, if Law Week does not appear on the Daily Planner, it doesn't exist. Therefore, it is important to contact local school administrators and teachers well before Law Week to see if they are interested in participating in programs targeted toward students, such as mock trial, essay, or poster contests. This is also the perfect time to mention your bar's coveted award program for teachers.
Because of the school environment, teachers and principals are accustomed to dealing on a day-to-day basis with the most chaotic and pressing issues. As a result, your polite letter about Law Week may go unnoticed. Therefore, it may be necessary to show up after school to talk with the principal or civics teacher about Law Week. Not only does staying late after school dredge up all sorts of memories, it provides a great opportunity to delegate responsibility and to get your public service committee members involved. Match up a lawyer with a school or two near his or her home. Slowly but surely, your bar will develop a networking system with area schools that will come in handy for Law Week, as well as other law-related education projects throughout the year.
A bar association can have it all for Law Week great projects, media exposure, and enthusiastic participation. All it takes is a little brushing up on Psychology 101 and learning what motivates the people who can make your bar's Law Week a success.
