Best Practices
Each individual Section operates independently according to the vision of the section leader, size of the section and type of practice. Some sections will have quarterly conference calls and plan on a meeting at the annual JRCLC conference. The Appellate Section runs a blog that includes notifications of appellate achievements of members of the JRCLS. All Sections that are able have an opportunity to meet at the annual JRCLS Conference. The two primary types of Sections meetings at the Annual Conference are panel discussions and networking meetings. In some cases, depending on the size and organization, sections will do both. At the Texas conference, there were two time blocks for Section Meetings. The IP and Litigation Sections combined for both time blocks and had both a panel discussion and a networking meeting.
Thus, “best practices” can depend on the particular needs of an individual section at a particular annual conference. For example, if it is known that there are a large number of students interested in litigation at a conference, the best use of the section meetings time may be to simply have a networking meeting where students and practitioners can be introduced and connected. Between annual conferences, Sections can have conference calls, refer clients and attorneys to one other, meet at other established conferences (such as ABA, AIPLA, Appellate meetings etc.) and so forth.
The Judge’s Section led by Judge Daniel Barker holds regular conference calls to discuss its plans and activities.
Working of Committee
The Section committee holds quarterly conference calls with the Section leaders. The leaders share their best practices and plans for individual section meetings, conference calls, and how to increase their membership. By September of each calendar year, the Sections plans are due for the following year’s JRCLS Annual Conference.
History
The Sections Committee grew out of several experiences with Intellectual Property (IP) attorney meetings at various Annual JRCLS Conferences. The first meeting was at Arizona State University at the 2008 JRCLS Conference in which about 40 Intellectual Property Attorneys met in a panel and networking discussion. The panel included Doug Bush (trademark attorney), Tom Isaacson (Patent Attorney) and Berne Broadbent (IP attorney, in-house for the LDS Church). Various aspects of international IP practices were discussed.
Building on the success of the ASU meeting, the IP attorneys met again in a separate meeting at Harvard University at the JRCLS Annual Conference in 2009. This meeting was primarily a networking meeting and gave students especially the opportunity to meet and network with IP attorneys with different types of practices. The JRCLS Executive Committee explored the idea of establishing a Sections Committee in which sections defined by law practice type could be established. The Executive Committee asked Tom Isaacson to chair this committee and work began.
Section Committee Chairs were selected and graciously offered to lead individual sections. The vision of the Sections Committee is to enable students and attorneys within the larger JRCLS to socialize, network and expand the influence of the JRCLS. Sections quickly grew in numbers and membership. The IP Section led by Charles Roberts and the Litigation Section led by Jonathan Wardle quickly grew to over 100 members. As of September 2011, the IP Section has 194 members and the Litigation Section has 523 members. The International Law Section headed by Joseph Brubaker has 212 members. The Sections Committee uses the on-line tool LinkedIn to organize their sections using the group feature.
The 2009 JRCLS Annual Conference in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah was the first to include an allocated time slot for sections to meet. Members of each section met and discussed their individual goals for growing and being more effective. The Sections Committee leadership has not dictated how individual sections should operate in that different law practice types function differently. Some sections utilize LinkedIn to communicate, while others have blogs and engage in conference calls.
The second conference that provided sections an opportunity to meet was in 2010 at the Dallas, Texas Annual JRCLS Conference at Southern Methodist University. Various successful section meetings were held. For example, the Litigation and Personal Injury Sections joined together to have a panel discussion. The IP Section included a panel discussion. The In-house and Corporate Sections met for a networking and planning meeting. The International Section attorneys met for a networking and planning meeting. The Family Law Section met and developed ways to refer clients to attorneys in other states. As the various sections have grown, the relationships of attorneys within the law society have become established and attorneys in specific types of practices have been given an additional reason to attend the Annual JRCLS Conference.
A separate Judges Section headed by Judge Daniel Barker has been very successful in organizing and having consistent planning meetings. This section is exemplary in its function and participation in the community and JRCLS Law society as a whole.
The Sections Committee looks forward to increased growth and seeks opportunities to enrich each attorney’s experience while participating in the JRCLS. The original IP Section meetings at ASU and Harvard had about 40 participants each. Now, in September 2011, the 19 sections combine for a total membership of over 1000 people.
FAQ
Q: How do I join a Section? Answer: Go to LinkedIn.com and sign up if you are not already signed up. Click on “groups” and then “groups directory” option. Search for the section you are interested in using “JRCLS IP Section” or “JRCLS Litigation Section.” Then choose to join. For the Appellate Section, Michelle Olsen runs a blog at jrclsappellate.blogspot.com.
Q: How do the Sections use LinkedIn? Answer: The LinkedIn Group feature enables each section to share questions and discussions. For example, if you look at the JRCLS IP Section in the group feature of LinkedIn – there are group discussions on patent-related topics, requests for contacts, and other discussions and notices that have occurred. These interactions provide an opportunity for IP attorneys in the JRCLS to network and get to know one another.
Q: Can students join a Section? Answer: Yes. The LinkedIn groups do not distinguish between attorney and students.
Q: Why should I join a Section? Answer: Because there are 10,000+ attorneys in the world wide JRCLS. By tapping into one of the JRCLS Sections, it can only enrich your legal experience and hopefully your life. You will get to know other attorneys in your interested practice area. This will perhaps help you find clients, move to another firm, find your first job, and develop additional friendships such that when you attend the JRCLS annual conference, you have a more fulfilling experience.
Q: How many attorneys are in the various Sections? Answer: The Section overall membership has grown from the original 40 attorneys who attended the Harvard IP Section meeting to over 1000 attorneys in the 19 Sections as of September 2011.
Q: Can I join more than one section? Answer: Yes.
Q: Can I send out messages via the LinkedIn group to sell goods or services? Answer: No. We’ve had a minor problem with advertisements going out through the LinkedIn groups. The moderator will shut down any account that spams or sends out inappropriate advertisements or solicitations via the LinkedIn Groups. They are strictly for law society/Section notices and communications.
