Law Forum?

[JDubs]

As I make my transition from student to practicing lawyer, I was wondering if their is a message board for lawyers similar to OH. I've learned more than I thought I ever could about baseball from this board.

A professional equivalent would be very valuable. I know there are some practice-area Bar associations have versions of this. Does something like this exist?

Thanks for any info...

[TGO]

I do not know of any good public ones, which doesn't mean they don't exist, I just haven't seen them.

Bar associations and their sections often have either a discussion board or a listserv (how quaint ), which vary in amount of activity. I have only been a lawyer for two years but my impression has been that as a profession it is a little bit old school when it comes to interacting with other practitioners. There are still a ton of educational and networking events, a lot of paper publications, and not a whole lot of online activity, and what is there is often in antiquated formats (like the listserv). This may also have something to do with the conservative nature of most lawyers when it comes to ethics rules.

In addition to the associations I think there are some groups on LinkedIn that are fairly active, but I am not sure about that. Then depending on your interests some of the legal blogs have fairly dedicated comments section followers, although a lot of the best ones are slanted more toward the academic side.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I do not know of any good public ones, which doesn't mean they don't exist, I just haven't seen them.

Bar associations and their sections often have either a discussion board or a listserv (how quaint ), which vary in amount of activity. I have only been a lawyer for two years but my impression has been that as a profession it is a little bit old school when it comes to interacting with other practitioners. There are still a ton of educational and networking events, a lot of paper publications, and not a whole lot of online activity, and what is there is often in antiquated formats (like the listserv). This may also have something to do with the conservative nature of most lawyers when it comes to ethics rules.

In addition to the associations I think there are some groups on LinkedIn that are fairly active, but I am not sure about that. Then depending on your interests some of the legal blogs have fairly dedicated comments section followers, although a lot of the best ones are slanted more toward the academic side.

He's right. Whenever I need information I consult either 1) westlaw or 2) my listserv...the latter if I'm feeling lazy and don't feel like figuring stuff out myself.

Good luck with your career!

[NickPopagiorgio]

I'm right there with you, getting ready to take the Bar this summer. I don't know of any law forums, but there are a few local attorneys that have blogs that they update regularly. Ron Miller (former professor at UB Law) has a great blog where he discusses most recent legal developments in Maryland, as well as some significant decisions in other states.

When I finish school and actually have time to do so, I have thought about starting a blog as not only a way to keep myself apprised of recent developments, but to get my name out there.

[waroriole]

Good luck on the bar exam this summer guys. When you start to get freaked out, just remember that it's a basic competency exam.

[JDubs]

Thanks for the info everyone! I have thought about even starting such a forum, but I just can't see how I'll have the time to keep it up. I suppose I'm going to have start figuring out which bar associations are most active. Hmmmm....

[Stotle]

Good luck on the bar exam this summer guys. When you start to get freaked out, just remember that it's a basic competency exam.

Absolutely. If I can pass two of them, anyone can.

[CrimsonTribe]

I've never thought a law forum would be a good idea as it would be dangerously close to giving legal advice, even with all the right disclaimers, etc. That said, when I need to get started on a project and I know nothing about the topic, I Google it first to get some key words and will generally find some smaller type forums out there. Nothing I would use on a consistent basis though and definitely nothing I would rely on.

[JDubs]

I've never thought a law forum would be a good idea as it would be dangerously close to giving legal advice, even with all the right disclaimers, etc. That said, when I need to get started on a project and I know nothing about the topic, I Google it first to get some key words and will generally find some smaller type forums out there. Nothing I would use on a consistent basis though and definitely nothing I would rely on.

Agreed on all points. A law forum would have to be slanted towards education for exactly this reason. As for using google...it definitely the streamlines the "getting familiar with the subject matter" phase of a project.

[JDubs]

Just a heads up...I think I found what I was looking for: http://forum.freeadvice.com/

Hope you guys find it useful in some way.