Jolene Cieniawski,

Editor in Chief

Ok, so chances are that at least 80% of the students AND professors here at VUSL have some sort of online social networking account, whether it be Facebook, MySpace, or something else.  Chances also are that those who have an account check it at least once a day, but probably more like five to ten.  I bet most of us check our online account more in one day than we check our email or our online bank account.  So what is the attraction?  And furthermore, are these sites a good thing or a bad thing for us as future lawyers?

Many of us would agree that online social networking sites are just that – online social networking.  They are a fun way to network with other people without having the hassle of picking up the phone or seeing people in person.  But, are we really networking through these sites?  When I think of networking, I think of reaching out to prospective employers or current or past colleagues who may be able to offer me something or vice versa in this professional world.  That being said, those professional types of people are the ones who most of us deliberately try to keep off our page.  We change our privacy settings to make us undiscoverable or at the very least , uninteresting with just a profile picture and current location.  And God forbid someone in our professional network ask to be our “friend” – we don’t want them seeing our Wall or pictures!  It’s arguable that the “networking” we really gain entails silly banter with friends, showing our friends what we are “Fans” of, and stalking old lovers or schoolmates.  This may be more of distraction that an actual networking tool, as it claims to be.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the online world of “social networking,” but every time I see a “Farmville” or “Mafia Wars” post, I feel more and more as if the networking intent is slowly disappearing. 

Yeah, so I share my life with my friends on my online social networking page and preclude all professional relationships by hiding myself – what does this have to do with the world of lawyering?  Well, it’s a somewhat scary thought to imagine that people are trending toward favoring a more informal, electronic way of keeping in touch, rather than a face-to-face approach.  Sure, a huge part of a lawyer’s job is to maintain contact with a client in the most convenient way possible, and this may not be face-to-face, i.e. via phone or email, but has the door been opened to a slow loss of actual human communication?  If we are used to the nuances of online social communication, will we freeze up when we have to actually see people in person?  If we become too engulfed in a world of convenience and short-cuts, our clients can suffer and we may not even know it unless you have that outspoken client who will explicitly demand your attention and human correspondence.  Other clients will slip through the cracks and will likely never return to you if you don’t know how to be warm and open to them in person.  You may even lose clients by being put into an unwanted situation.  For example, a few years back when I was selling real estate, a client of mine “Friended” me on Facebook.  Needless to say, I was shocked – I remember thinking, who does that?  Why would he possibly want to be my “Friend” online?  Aside from my shock, anxiety set it.  If I “Friend” him, he’ll see my entire personal world.  If I don’t, I may offend him and lose him as a client.  It seemed like a lose-lose situation to me, but I had to choose something.  I decided to ignore the request, and luckily our business together soon ended and he moved on.  I still think about it, though, and hope it never happens again. 

Online social networking has other implications in the legal world aside from client relationships.  In law school, we learn about the continuing evolution of case law and statutes accepting emails and electronic communications as hard copy paper.  Will online social networking sites fit in this realm?  As lawyers, we’ll have to continually check our jurisdictions to make sure we are on top of what’s going on.  Our courts are new to the concept, but Australia and New Zealand are making headway in this area.  Their courts have found in 2008 and 2009 that Facebook is a valid protocol to send notice to defendants and it is also an acceptable avenue to send and receive legal papers/filings.  A site that we see as fun and time-wasting is suddenly now a serious avenue for correspondence in every day legal life.

So, what’s the point of the article?  Be aware of the implications online social networking can have on your professional life.   I know you’re thinking ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’ but I sure wasn’t thinking that when one of my clients hunted me down.   It may be the fun, hip thing to do, but always expect the unexpected.  You never know who your clients will be and you never know when and how your online social networking world will collide with your professional one.               

Jolene Cieniawski is a 2L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu.   874 words

The 1L Chronicles: May Edition

By Dan D. Hallberg

Managing Editor

I remember when I was in high school thinking as I entered my sophomore year, “Wow, there is no better feeling then not being a freshman anymore.” Well I was wrong, because I am quite sure that there is no better feeling in the world then not being a 1L anymore.

If I remember correctly from orientation, there were a lot of copies of The Forum lying around and to kill the time many of us read through them several times. Well, I hope some of you incoming 1Ls are reading this column now because this column is for you. In fact this column could even be yours next year. I mean, I can’t write it, so someone has to. So here you go, a little advice for you just cutting your teeth in the law school world from someone who just finished the year.

Words of Wisdom for the Valpo Law School Class of 2013

1.  Don’t hoard books.

This won’t make any sense to you right now, but in a week or so you’ll have your first legal research assignment. First off, I’m sorry. Second off, if you need a book, don’t take it to your desk; just write down the answer or the info you need in a notebook or something in the stacks where you found it. If you don’t, everyone will hate you.

2. Make outlines, don’t collect them.

The whole reason you do outlines is so that you review the material as you write them. There’s nothing wrong with having a few others to compare with, or even well organized one from someone else for use on open book exams. However, you don’t need to start up a collection of them, there is such a thing as too much information.

3. Don’t be late to Civ Pro.

If you have Prof Lind she will kick you out. No joke. Other than that, she is a delightful person.

4. Don’t worry about grade normalization.

I know a lot of you have been getting A’s for the better part of your scholastic career. What you’re going to find out is that that’s not going to be the case here. We have a thing called grade normalization going on here and it kind of works like a bell curve. Other law schools will have a curve or something like that, but a grade system like this is not that uncommon. You won’t ever understand it, it won’t affect your grade too much, and you have have absolutely no control over it, so don’t worry about it.

5. Everyone’s first writing grade sucks, just take a deep breath and deal with it.

You’ll be getting your first writing assignment soon, and you’re going to work very hard on it. You’ll put in tons of effort and try to work in things you learned from writing in undergrad and think that you did a good job adjusting to the new writing system that we use in law school. Then, about a month later when your prof finally grades it, you’ll see that your paper is hemorrhaging pen ink. Don’t be discouraged, it happened to all of us, and we’re still here. Also, don’t forget the honor code, that’s 10 points right there.

So that’s it guys, for those of you leaving good luck getting jobs, and for those of you coming in, heed my words. Trust me, they’ll do you a lot of good.

Dan is a 1L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu.

Well, another baseball season is upon us. Being a Cubs fan, I tend to get excited about another year of baseball, hanging my hat on previous years where we “almost made it.” This year my playoff hopes may be fleeting, but they’re still alive, as they are for any Cubs fan. Although my loyalty is true and true, I have my eye on a few other teams that may go farther than everyone expects, but let’s start with a preview of the Cubs season.
Two years ago, the Cubs won 97 games – the second most in baseball behind the Angels and tied with the Rays. Then last year, they infected themselves with Milton Bradley, Geovanny Soto had his “sophomore slump,” and injuries really screwed Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano. This year, the Bradley infection has cleared and Soto has vowed to rebound from his slump excuse. Ramirez has been my guy since 2003, and if he can stay healthy, I think he can team up with Derrek Lee, Ryan Theriot, and Mike Fontenot to make some magic happen. I have nothing to say about Soriano. He has started off the season already with three errors and he was never the “superstar” we thought he was after he joined the team. As far as pitching is concerned, we’ve got Carlos Zambrano for a long time, so hopefully his comfort with this team will keep him in solid pitching mode and Carlos Silva may be revived now that he’s on a this new. The Cubs have their flaws, but they also have the makings of a solid club and could sneak up on teams this season. They have a huge challenge with the Cardinals, but hey, anything can happen.
Another sneak team this season will be (and I hate to say it) the Chicago White Sox. Being a Cubs fan, I am quite pleased that Jim Thome is gone and the chants of “Thome’s Home-eys” are a thing of the past, but the team’s still got a few heavy hitters. Jake Peavy is their main man and Paul Konerko is always a favorite with Alex Rios, Mark Teahen, and Mark Kotsay are all there to back him up. The addition of Juan Pierre is a hit or miss – he sure didn’t do anything spectacular for the Cubs, but then again almost everyone the Cubs get ends up being a superstar somewhere else after they leave.
Going along with this “leave the Cubs become a superstar” trend, the Seattle Mariners may be a team to watch out for with the addition of Cliff Lee. Again, he didn’t do anything notable for the Cubs, but this may be his time to really shine. The Mariners also have Felix Hernandez and the always popular Ichiro Suzuki, but time will tell if these two are enough to carry an entire team through seven months. This uncertainty may be the advantage they need to creep up to the top of the league in the next few months.
The Atlanta Braves are another team I have a feeling will go pretty far, but I say this because of their impressive roster, not necessarily any action I’ve seen come out of Hot-lanta. Chipper Jones, Troy Glaus, and Nate McLouth are easy compliments to Jason Heyward, Yunel Escobar, and Melky Cabrera. If this roster can turn out runs and Heyward can prove that he deserves Rookie of the Year glorification, the Braves may be set. They gotta stay humble though – with a roster of big names, it’s sink or swim.
Well, that rounds out my top four sleeper picks for this 2010 season. My loyalty is and has always been with the Cubbies, and I hate to even mention the White Sox in this article if I’m not trash-talking about them, but I like to think that this could be a possible inflation of their ego, hopefully causing a crash and burn mid-season. I have no qualms about the other teams, they gotta make that pay-pah, too, boo boo. You may or may not see me in next year’s August issue – if these predictions pan out, I’ll likely leave law school to pursue an oh-so-rewarding career in MLB futures.

Jolene Cieniawski is a 2L and can be reached at jolene.cieniawski@valpo.edu.   669 words