{"id":66,"date":"2006-09-01T15:58:13","date_gmt":"2006-09-01T19:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2006\/09\/01\/wanted-co-editors-for-self-help-law-web"},"modified":"2006-09-20T15:43:30","modified_gmt":"2006-09-20T19:43:30","slug":"wanted-co-editors-for-self-help-law-weblog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2006\/09\/01\/wanted-co-editors-for-self-help-law-weblog\/","title":{"rendered":"wanted: co-editors for “self-help law” weblog"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 [pre-launch<\/em> posting]<\/p>\n

Self-Help Law deserves its own weblog.\u00a0 It is too important a right for consumers, a vital movement, and a growing<\/a> virtual and realworld reality<\/a>,\u00a0to be outside the spotlight of the blogosphere and the weblogger community.\u00a0(See Movement\/ Shmovement<\/a> below,\u00a0plus our About<\/a> page)\u00a0 Indeed, if weblogs are even half as important in the world of legal services as every<\/em>body<\/a>*<\/strong> says<\/a>, it may be malpractice\u00a0for consumer advocates, proponents of universal access to justice,\u00a0law-and-technology gurus, or law firm management\u00a0mavens\u00a0to start the day without seeking a weblog dose of pro se<\/em> and self-help news and punditry.<\/p>\n

\"hurrying\"\u00a0 That’s why your host (David Giacalone, of ethicalEsq<\/em> and f\/k\/\/a<\/em><\/a>) has been constructing shlep<\/em> over the past few weeks, in this corner of the blogosphere.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If you haven’t yet\u00a0realized the need for a self-help law weblog, I hope the prior\u00a0postings at this site (just scroll down the page), along with the resources you can already find in the SideBar, will convince you, too.\u00a0\u00a0 With hundreds of court-based and private self-representation programs in existence, commissions in most states to promote access to justice for all, and an enormous\u00a0unmet need for legal services and information by the American consumer,\u00a0there is both plenty of news (see, e.g.<\/em>, the HALT eJournal<\/a><\/em> and the SelfHelpSupport News<\/a><\/em> Page) and plenty of room for constructive commentary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, you might ask, why is shlep<\/em> still in its “pre-launch” stage?\u00a0 Quite simply: because I can’t do it alone.\u00a0 There are many reasons, including those discussed<\/a> at my original weblog ethicalEsq<\/em>.\u00a0 Most important is the fact that I do not have the expertise and insight, much less the energy, to do justice to this important topic.\u00a0 Frankly, I’d like to post no more than twice a week to shlep<\/em>, while sharing the task of making this a daily publication with other informed and committed contributors.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"HelpWantedN\"\u00a0 Therefore, shlep<\/em> is seeking co-editors to contribute regularly to its content and help guide its construction and evolution.\u00a0 [See the About<\/a> page for a discussion of the current goals for this weblog.]\u00a0 Pro se<\/em> practitioners; law librarians; and lawyers,\u00a0law professors or students committed to achieving access to justice for all Americans (especially through the use of assisted self-help programs and information technology) are likely prospects.\u00a0 Good writing, good manners and good sense are prerequisites —\u00a0along with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in making a significant contribution to shlep<\/em> is urged to contact David Giacalone at “shlep AT localnet dot com”\u00a0<\/strong>[no spaces in the address].\u00a0 Let me know your background, areas of interest, any relevant expertise (including weblogging), and how often\/much you would be able to contribute to shlep<\/em>.\u00a0 Information\u00a0on how you might like to structure the weblog and share in posting duties would also be appreciated.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you know someone who might be interested in being a co-editor at shlep<\/em>, please alert them to this posting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Until an editorial team is in place, shlep<\/em> will remain in “pre-launch” stage, with only occasional posting.\u00a0\u00a0 Please come back to browse and look for our official launching.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NormaRae\"\u00a0Labor Day update (Sept. 4, 2006): Thanks to Workplace Prof Blog<\/a><\/em> and Blawg Review #73<\/strong><\/a> for pointing to our Help Wanted<\/em> sign.\u00a0 We wonder\u00a0whether Norma Rae<\/em><\/a> feels conflicted over becoming a prosumer<\/a> — both a producer and consumer of legal services, and part of the growing process of “externalizing labor costs.”<\/p>\n

Additional thanks<\/strong><\/em>: (a) to Kevin Heller for a mention at TechLawAdviser<\/a>, and to Robert Ambrogi<\/a> at Legal Blog Watch<\/em>, for his extended coverage of our pre-launch (“Shlepping towards self-help justice<\/a>“, Sept. 5, 2006).\u00a0 Bob\u00a0and Kevin are\u00a0definitely too busy to join the shlep<\/em> team.\u00a0 Are you?\u00a0 (b) to Rob Truman of BoleyBlogs<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(Sept. 5, 2006), the head of Electronic Information Services at the Lewis & Clark Law School Library, who seems to have found a populist streak “driving the blog’s creation and title.”\u00a0 (c) to Jim Milles at Out of the Jungle<\/em><\/a>, who both quotes extensively from shlep<\/em> and raises a few concerns about self-help assistance in practice (Sept. 6, 2006).<\/p>\n

\"NoYabuts\"\u00a0 (d) to Carolyn Elefant of MyShingle<\/em><\/a>, who not only supports increased self-help efforts, but who ably explains why her consistency — solos and small firms — should care about the growing\u00a0pro se<\/em>\u00a0trend. (“Be a shlep!<\/a>” Sept. 6, 2006)\u00a0 We left a Comment\u00a0at MyShingle<\/em>\u00a0quoting from <\/font>Civil Legal Assistance for All Americans<\/em><\/font><\/a>: The Report of the Harvard Law School <\/font><\/em>Bellow-Sacks Project<\/em><\/font><\/a> on the Future of Access to Civil Legal Services<\/em> (by Jeanne Charn<\/a> and Richard Zorza<\/font><\/a>, at 29 – 30, 2005, pdf),\u00a0discussing the potential role of small firms in bringing full access to justice to the American consumer.\u00a0\u00a0 (e) to Walter Olson<\/a> of Overlawyered<\/em><\/a>.com fame, who kindly pointed over here from his perch at Point of Law<\/em><\/a> (Sept. 7, 2006).\u00a0 (f) to Stephanie West Allen<\/a>, who has honored shlep<\/em> by adding us to her selective Blogroll at Idealawg<\/em><\/a>. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

______________________________________\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

* <\/strong>\u00a0Everybody from Denise<\/a> and Dennis<\/a>, Monica<\/a> and Carolyn<\/a>, to Bob<\/a>, Ernie<\/a>, Marty<\/a>, Evan<\/a>, Kevin,<\/a> and “Ed<\/a>“.\u00a0 And, many more.<\/p>\n

**<\/strong> The original meaning of “shlep” and its relationship to the Self-Help Law movement is discussed on our About<\/a> page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 [pre-launch posting] Self-Help Law deserves its own weblog.\u00a0 It is too important a right for consumers, a vital movement, and a growing virtual and realworld reality,\u00a0to be outside the spotlight of the blogosphere and the weblogger community.\u00a0(See Movement\/ Shmovement below,\u00a0plus our About page)\u00a0 Indeed, if weblogs are even half as important in the world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":437,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900,899],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-viewpoint","category-website-admin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/437"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}