Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001
Candace R. Duff is an assistant editor of The Affiliate and practices law with Greenberg Traurig in Miami, Florida.
Affiliates Online
Candace R. Duff
More Online EverydayWhile surfing the "Net" one day, I discovered that the Florida Bar, of which I am a member, had a web site. To my surprise, a plethora of information that I did not know was accessible online was immediately available to me at the push of a few buttons. No more calling Tallahassee and fighting my way through an impenetrable maze of voice mail, operators, and departments to find out the name of the incoming chair of a particular committee or section. Not only could I obtain detailed information about the Florida Bar online, I could also access the text of public information pamphlets concerning divorce and other topics. In addition, I could access the bar calendar to learn about upcoming events and CLE seminars.
One of the most impressive features about the Florida Bar's web site is its legislative page, where it publicizes its positions on pending legislation. The page is hot-linked to the state Senate and House's home pages and enables an attorney to track pending bills as they go through the legislature.
Getting Online
Intrigued, I embarked on a massive search to determine whether other ABA affiliates had web sites. I was happy to learn that several affiliates have already gone online and that more affiliates are moving online everyday. Several state bar associations have web sites including Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington. In addition, several county bar associations have web sites, including Cobb County, Allegheny, Los Angeles County, Lancaster, and Columbus.Also, some national affiliates have web sites. For example, the National Bar Association has a web site on which it offers information concerning membership, career opportunities, and access to its online NBA Magazine.
What's Offered
Affiliates use their web sites to provide a whole host of services and information to both their members and the public. The average affiliate web site provides membership information, general information concerning the bar association, committee and section information, and calendars of upcoming events and CLE programs. Some web sites provided information concerning bar admissions, lawyer referral services, and consumer information. In addition, some state bar association web sites provide links to local and national bar association sites as well as links to other law-related web sites of interest. Some web pages even have links to legal research sites.In some instances, individual sections and/or committees of affiliates have their own home pages. For example, the Florida Bar Association's Computer Law Committee has it own home page, which offers access to the committee's newsletter, recent developments in computer law, a list of committee members, and the names of attorneys and mediators knowledgeable in that area of law.
More advanced web sites provide online access to bar association journals and other publications. Furthermore, some web sites offer online access to ethics opinions, including advisory opinions. Other sites have links to the e-mail addresses of attorneys who are members and the web sites of their members' law firms. This could provide a valuable marketing and client development tool for attorneys.
Endless Possibilities
In addition to the information listed above, many web sites offer distinctive information and/or capabilities that set them apart. The State Bar of Georgia, for example, has a search capability across its web site which enables a person to access information quickly and efficiently. In addition, the Law Practice Management Section of the State Bar of Georgia has a web page that provides practical information for lawyers, such as forms, checklists, and articles concerning law practice management.Other affiliates use their web sites in interesting and creative ways. For example, the Colorado State Bar Association Young Lawyers Section intends to dedicate a web page to the Oklahoma City bombing trial. Since the trial is scheduled to take place in Denver, Colorado, the organization plans to post a member inside the courtroom and give a synopsis of each day's events online. This web site will also be linked to other web sites pertaining to the Oklahoma City bombing. In addition to maintaining the web site, the organization will assign one young lawyer to each of five families affected by the Oklahoma City bombing.
It is gratifying to know that the practice of law is keeping up with the technological times. In this information age, it is important for affiliates and lawyers to be able to access information in a quick and efficient manner. The Internet is already proving to be a valuable tool in this regard. The possibilities for using this vast resource in creative and innovative ways are endless.
