Last week was busy. Much of the week was spent preparing and finalizing details for the Maryland Association for Justice’s Technology Seminar. This is the third year we’ve presented this topic, and the turnout was great with over 70 attendees. (The event was so successful, in fact, that we had to change venue at the last minute to accommodate the increased registrations.)

As much work as it is to plan these programs, the rewards, much like noneconomic damages, are difficult to quantify.

We had presentations from three terrific judges — Battaglia, Grimm and Sweeney — on the impact of social networking on the law.

Court of Appeals Judge Lynne Battaglia started the panel discussion with comments about the recent Griffin v. State case, dealing with authentication of social networking evidence.

(Sidenote:  in that Griffin blog post I guessed, hoping that I was wrong, that the judges probably haven’t used any electronic social networking. Judge Battaglia informed the audience that she has tweeted, so I was happily proven wrong.)

U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm discussed the approach of the Federal Rules of Evidence and highlighted discovery issues. Retired Circuit Court Judge Dennis Sweeney highlighted ethical concerns for lawyers and judges.

We had a host of terrific speakers on a range of topics, including legal uses of the iPad (Christopher Nace), how to use PowerPoint in court and a discussion of issues regarding clients and electronic social networking (Rob Jenner). I made a lot of new friends and reconnected with a lot of old friends.

Then, on Saturday, a host of MAJ-ers volunteered at the Baltimore City Thrill Show. This was a free, public event so average citizens could see what our local firefighters do for us on a daily basis.There was something for everyone — helicopters, fires, the jaws of life, pit beef and a moon bounce, to name a few things — and I was honored to work alongside other volunteers, chat with everyday heroes and hobnob with my fellow Baltimoreans.

These types of activities suck a lot of time away from family, work and hobbies (if I had time for any). But it is all worth it, particularly for the new lawyer. You never know where your next referral is going to come from; who is going to offer you your next job; who your next mentor is going to be; or what new set of skills you are going to learn.

The benefits cannot be easily calculated in the short-term. But I promise — in a few years, you’ll be able to look back and be thankful for every minute you were involved in one of the many local bar associations.

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