I am finally getting the hang of twitter and, as corny as it is, I like it.  I find I get some useful information and that courtroom hallway chatter that I’ve missed all these years I’ve been at home.  I miss the snarky sarcasm of angry lawyers and the indignation of fighters for truth, justice, etc. etc.  But there are things I just really don’t get.

Today, I read (ish) an article on how lawyers are using social media.  As I’ve recently said, I’m at a crossroads with Not Guilty, trying to figure out what direction I want to go in and how I’m going to get there.  As a new solo attorney going it on my own for the first time, I’m wondering how to get clients to know I’m here and that I really have a firm grasp on this whole law thing.  There are attorney who use social media to advance their business – my friend Jamison Koehler does not apologize for dropping SEO breadcrumbs throughout his blog.  Rock Star solo Carolyn Elefant, and Niki Black (who writes the book on Criminal Law in New York State) are fonts of knowledge on this front and have been exceptionally helpful as I try to make my way through this maze.  I believe that the internet has a power that I have not yet tapped, and I’m slowly coming around to that idea.

With that said, I admit to having no idea what that article I read (ish) means. Seriously.  None.  I have an understanding of the english words being used, but put all together – they mean nothing to me.  Thought leader?  I asked what this was and got non-answers.  While people may think the term is idiotic, I’d still like to know what it means in current usage.  Using twitter to disemminate information?  Yes, I tweet when I’ve got a new blog post and to join in a conversation (usually in the middle of something that’s been going on for a while) but I don’t know that anything insightful will come from my attendance on that platform, nor do I think it will make me a better lawyer.

Here are some things I do understand:  The Supreme Court came down with a deicsion today saying that you have to actually say you don’t want to talk to the police in order to invoke your right not to talk to the police.   There were ten murders in Baltimore over the past several days, and I’m waiting to hear if I’m on the CJA panel here in Maryland.

I don’t know whether technology improves the practice of law.  I’m not willing to discount what it has to offer me in terms of getting things done faster and maybe even better.  Marketing will need to be done in order to get word out there that I’m here.  In the meantime, everything else is still the same.  People die, SCOTUS decides, and I’ve got to work.