Happy Law Day!

Today is Law Day across the nation and the day of the OBA sponsored Ask A Lawyer event. Oklahomans can get free legal advice from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. today by calling 800-456-8525. More information can be found about the history of Law Day and the Ask A Lawyer program by visiting www.okbar.org. Local hotline numbers are also available for many counties across Oklahoma.

Week 13

This week was all about preparing for the taping of the Ask A Lawyer television show, set to air on Thursday, April 29 at 7 p.m. I created and sent supers for the show to producers at OETA, where the show was filmed. The show features a town hall style audience. Audience members participated by asking the panel of lawyers questions related to this year's segments: Children and the Law, Child Support and Consumer Protection. I helped edit the questions that had been submitted and then transferred them to notecards to be passed out to audience members. I even got to ask one during the taping! Recruiting volunteer audience members was something I assisted the communications staff with. This was a real-life example of utilizing contacts and social media to reach out to potential volunteers.

It was interesting to see the taping of a show. I was able to speak with a producer about the editing process and the creation of promos for the show. It was also fun spending the day at the OETA stations and seeing how all kinds of production teams are required for the successful creation of one show.

Week 12

During this week, I was responsible for getting Ask A Lawyer posted on the community calendars for local news and radio stations. I proofed the radio PSA script and sent it off to Clear Channel, Citadel and Renda broadcasting stations. Some of their websites were formatted with online submission forms and others required e-mails to be sent to station public service directors. The same applied to news stations. We also utilized WIMGO as a publicity outlet for this event.

I also distributed press releases to county publications. Some counties provide local numbers, aside from the statewide Ask A Lawyer hotline. Participating counties get their numbers publicized in local papers. I wrote up more than 30 releases and for the first time, distributed them on my own, using the FinderBinder.

In further preparation for Ask A Lawyer, I put together the reference guide packets for the lawyers answering phones for the statewide hotline. I'm hoping to be able to assist with the statewide hotline set up next on Law Day, April 29.

Week 11

I may not have a future in certificate-making, but I'm as sharp as they come at envelope-stuffing. During week 11, I compiled mailings to be sent out to local courthouses, DHS offices, libraries and social service agencies containing flyers promoting the OBA's Ask A Lawer television show, which provides free legal advice to anyone who calls. There were more than 300 mailings were sent out. Clearly, not the most exciting job, but somebody's gotta do it. Even the most tedious jobs matter. So much goes on behind the scenes in PR work that goes unnoticed.

Last week, I also completed a multi-step project. The plaques and checks for Law Day Contest winners were finally sent out to all the county bar associations. I wrapped up some more loose Law Day ends by contacting Law Day Chairs and updating the information for the OBA Web site. I also updated the Ask A Lawyer database with phone numbers, times and locations of all counties participating in the call-in television show.

The April issue of the OBJ printed last week and a few of my pieces appeared in print, like this one:

My tenth week at the OBA

This week, I picked up the plaques at Midwest Trophy and began preparing them to be shipped to the county bar associations. Even as small of a task as dropping off and picking up something at a local business requires public relations skills. It's important that the organization you are representing is viewed favorably by those who do business with it. The process of preparing all the follow-up materials for the Law Day contests will take a while, but by mid April, all winners should receive their awards. As another follow-up aspect to the Law Day contest, all teachers who participated will receive a packet including certificates and ribbons for the students who received honorable mentions along with a survey designed to measure their satisfaction with the contest. This job required getting together materials that I had already prepared and stuffing envelopes, basically, but it took hours to complete. It was a good lesson in realizing how every communication with target audiences is important and requires a lot of behind the scenes work... mostly done by interns, ha!

Something a little more exciting I got to do during week ten was research and write up a piece for the April OBJ to appear in the FYI section about the new dean of the OU College of Law, Joe Harroz. Next week the OBJ goes to press, so I also completed the compilation of the Bench and Bar Briefs section.

My ninth week at the OBA

After suriving the past week at my internship, I have this to say: I have NO future in certificate making. Oh, sure, it sounds easy, but I'd rather spend any day writing press releases than centering text, checking spelling and dealing with printing disasters. The most valuable advice I have to offer after this week is TEST PRINT. Please. Spare yourself the pain and agony of having to re-do hundreds of certificates.

During week eight, I began the layout process and printing process for the certificates, but as any blonde would be able to figure out, different paper requires different layout. Duh. So, I learned that lesson the hard way, but I can guarantee any futur employer that I will never rush through any assignment - even one that seems so simplistic. After I dealt with the drama of printing all the certificates (more than 1,600, I might add), I took the 36 first and second place winner certificates to Midwest Trophy in Del City to have them placed in plaques. These awards will later be presented to winners at an awards ceremony planned for each county bar association.

During week nine, I also got to write a story for the OBJ detaling the results of the Mock Trial competition and recognizing all bar members who volunteered their time to make the program a success. The story will appear in April's Bar Journal.

Something I learned this week is that even when events wrap up, it is important to extend the follow-up sometimes even in to the next month to make sure all credit due is given.