NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES WILL PUT YOU AT RISK OF BEING BOOTED FROM THE GROUP:
CONFIDENTIALITY: These Facebook Groups are all on Facebook’s highest privacy settings for a reason; this is our “private” space. DO NOT be that girl who reveals what is shared in these Facebook Groups, with anyone who is not a Member here. That said – also, DO NOT be that girl who posts things in ANY online group (let alone this one) that you know or even THINK might be a violation of your clients’ confidentiality. Also, along those same lines, do not assume that what you say about opposing counsel/a judge/opposing party/etc… will not get back to them. The #nofilter is awesome on Instagram, but under no circumstances is it a good idea here…#filteredisbetter! (Obviously, you and I both know that GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC is neither your Bar Association, nor your boss, but I’m here for ya, GIRL! I am giving you a head’s up because I care about you…and…admittedly, because I don’t want to have to respond to subpoenas.) 😉
SUBJECT MATTER (WORKING WOMEN/FIELD-OF-LAW): Posts in these Groups need to be related to working as women, generally, or the field-of-law, specifically.
NO Facebook LIVE: It is technically possible, but it is a no-go in re the Posting Guidelines for these Groups. Thank you/you are welcome!
PRODUCTS or PROGRAMS FOR SALE: Resist the temptation to share products for sale: This is distinctly different than telling everyone what kind of law practice you have, and letting us know your specialty – and completely different from responding to a request for an attorney referral with a, “Yes! I do that!” Also, if you are a gal who is not practicing law, but does own a business or are employed in some line of work other than the practice of law – then, telling us that when you introduce yourself, and inviting folks to reach out to you if they want to know more, is absolutely okay. But do not, under any circumstances, pitch to the Group about your Rodan + Fields, LipSense, or Luluroe, ANY… businesses. Nope. Don’t even THINK about it. But, HEY NOW, if you want to advertise your business on the girlattorney.com website – COM’ON! You may send your inquiry to advertise@girlattorney.com. I can hook you up. EXCEPTION: Bar Association-approved CLEs may be posted about in the Groups, but subject to all other Posting Guidelines in re images, website links and Events, etc…
TONE: First and foremost, disagreeing is no problemo…but being condescending, rude, or downright mean (obviously) is not going to be tolerated. Let’s keep our comments authentic, kind, and constructive. This Community is made up of US GIRLS, and it is designed to be a safe place (I mean, it’s still the internet….but, you know, I expect the tenor of each and every one of the GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC Groups to be SUPPORT).
GOOD CAUSES FOR DONATION (TIME OR $): Do not Post requests for donations (either financial or alleged “free time”) to even VERY GOOD causes. HEAR ME OUT, the thing is, virtually everyone in the Group is involved in a great cause – or two, or fifty-five. You know it’s true. No one here is running short on volunteer or donation opportunities. So, please feel free to educate us about your involvement in different great causes, and feel free offer to follow up with folks whom you may invite to let you know that they want to know more. But, BASICALLY – I’m hoping to make this as close to an ask-free zone as possible. I mean, doesn’t that sound kinda marvelous? P.S. If a Post thread/conversation in the Group about a topic leads to a service or donation project – that is fantastic, and obviously okay! Just…keep any updates regarding (when/where/how much) on that same Post/thread so that folks who have not expressed an interest are not seeing new Posts on the Feed that look/feel like a pitch for them to get involved, too. Mind you, if you will need to do a lot of updating with a lot of folks, and the one Post/Thread isn’t gonna do the trick – then just get an email or messenger list together, and pull the planning off of the Feed. Thank you! EXCEPTION: You MAY ASK for folks to volunteer as Judges for mock court/trial/debate competitions. I mean, of course that needs to be an exception, right?! (Well, it is.) <3
JOB POSTINGS: These are A-OKAY, thumbs-up, Posts. Unless or until job postings take over the Group feeds (not likely), they will continue to be permitted. You may ask folks to let you know if they have any lawyer-job opportunities for you. Or, you may ask folks to let you know if they are interested in a lawyer-job you have available. I also allow the postings for law office jobs (for example) – “My assistant is being let go due to cutbacks at my firm – this person is amazing, anyone in this area [of state/of law] want to get more info?” Finding great staff is hard work – if we can help each other with that – that’s obviously a good thing.
REFERRALS: Etiquette be damned (in this way, anyhow), please do not hesitate to respond to a request for counsel – in an area you consider yourself competent – with (you know, basically), “I do that!” Also, if you know of someone in the Group who might be interested or a good fit, please tag them in the Comments. Finally, while the purpose of this Group is consistent with looking first to recommend other women attorneys, recommending men is most certainly not disallowed. All genuine recommendations are encouraged. BE AWARE, too, I am most certainly NOT vetting any of the responses for quality – so, if you get a suggestion from this Community which turns out to be bad, in any way, GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC cannot be held legally responsible in any way for this bad experience. Obviously, I assume everyone would assume as much, but it can’t be a bad idea to “say it out loud” as a helpful reminder.
MEMBERS: ONLY WOMEN WHO ARE ATTORNEYS, or IN LAW SCHOOL. Also know this – you may add, as a Member of this Group, anyone who is a FB Friend of yours, who is also a woman attorney (or law student). BUT, NO ONE ELSE – so, no paralegals, law clerks or legal secretaries (unless they are in law school), and no male attorneys….(yep, all of the above have been added by Members before). If you see someone in a Group whom you believe should not be in the Group, please: a) be sure you are correct, and then b) send that info that you are relying on to admin@girlattorney.com – with “Member challenge” in the subject line. GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC will keep your identity confidential, and address it from there. Thank you!
NON-POLITICAL ZONE: Do, and should, women in these Groups have informed political opinions? YES!! In fact, MANY are elected public servants. <3 BUT, GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC has decided that these Groups are not a place for political-opinion speech; in large part due to the fact that I don’t want the energies of admin-ing these Groups to be spent on moderating Political discourse (it’s just too hard and time-consuming if it is going to be done well). I mean, if you are Posting or Commenting about the fact of your work in politics – that is perfectly okay! But, Posts or Comments with opinions about elections and/or political positions, are not permitted. This Guideline reflects a commitment on my part to create Community notwithstanding, and regardless of, political opinions. NOT AN EXCEPTION: Legislation. See just above for explanation re same. Also, please remember there are many [also, thankfully, many MORE than there were a year ago] other Facebook Groups that are focused on political activism. GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC’s mission to empower, draw attention to, and support women attorneys through these online forums is better accomplished when I remove the risk of division and conflict that so often arises in conversations regarding political issues. I understand that some issues really are bi-partisan. However, as Admin, I cannot know enough about all of the states’ issues to know what really is so. Therefore, the subject matter of, and requests for action regarding, proposed legislation are going to have to be off-limits for the GIRL ATTORNEY FB Group feeds.
YOU ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE/JUDGE: When the GIRL ATTORNEY Facebook Groups first started, I deleted ALL such posts, as being too close a “kin” to a political post. BUT, I have actually softened-up on this, and changed my stance as an Admin. Bottom line: being aware of women running for office is RIGHT ON POINT with the Mission of GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC. LIMITATION: No asking for donations, “support” of any kind, or the vote (rest assured, though, everyone knows you want all of the above). I know it will be hard to resist – but, unless you keep your post strictly non-ask, it will get deleted. SO….YOU MAY: introduce yourself, tell us about the position you are seeking to fill – and why you are seeking it. Also, please tell the Group what County/City you are running in, tell us when the vote is taking place, and invite folks to reach out to you if they want to know more. Also, IF YOU WIN, please please brag to me at admin@girlattorney.com, so that we can feature you on the girl attorney website, and in your state’s Facebook Group!
DOCUMENT UPLOADS: If you want to post a document to the Group, you need to get permission from Girl Attorney, LLC/FB Group Admin first. Criteria for posting a document is essentially the same as the Posting Guidelines. But, just because you KNOW that your document does not conflict with the Guidelines, does not mean you can skip the “asking permission” part. Please send the event information to admin@girlattorney.com and put the following information in the subject line for the matter to be addressed most efficiently, “PERMISSION: ‘Your State’ – ‘Document Name’”
FB GROUP EVENTS: If you want to post an event in the FB Group, you need to get permission from Girl Attorney, LLC/FB Group Admin first. Criteria for posting an event are essentially the same as the Posting Guidelines. But, just because you KNOW that your event does not conflict with the Guidelines, does not mean you can skip the “asking permission” part. Please send the event information to admin@girlattorney.com and put the following information in the subject line for the matter to be addressed most efficiently, “PERMISSION: ‘Your State’ – ‘Event name’ – ‘Event date’”
FYI re DELETES/REQUESTS FOR EDIT: Sometimes, if a Posting Guideline is violated, a Post will be deleted without explanation, though an effort is typically made to follow the delete with a general post to the Group with the relevant section of the Posting Guidelines. Sometimes a violation will simply be met with a Comment asking the Posting gal to edit. If that request for edit is not addressed in a timely manner (honestly, I try to give those things 24 hours), then it will likely be deleted at that time. Occasionally, especially if/when I notice an improper post after it’s been up a while and there is a lot of interaction with it – I might just Comment to request that the Posting gal, and others, be reminded of the Posting Guidelines for future posts. Why such variance in response to a violation of a Posting Guideline? This is directly related to the fact that I (Founder, CEO, and Admin), am also a litigation attorney with a busy law practice, a busy home life, and am nurturing many other aspects of these growing (in both size and number) GA Communities, too…so, I cannot always handle each similar situation in the exact same way (biggest issue is time-constraints). It is important that folks not take the deletes/requests for edit personally! Also…keeping that last point in mind, please read the Guidelines and make a concerted effort to comply. I REALLY, genuinely, and personally appreciate it!
POSTING GUIDELINES changes: ANY changes will be posted on the GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC website, and in each GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC Facebook Group, replacing earlier versions of the Posting Guidelines.
Finally, please ask if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions! PM me, Susan Carns Curtiss, or shoot me an email at susan@girlattorney.com
THANK YOU!
Susan Carns Curtiss, Founder and CEO GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC, and Your Loving Admin <3
(IMPORTANT COMPANY NOTE: If you want to use the “GIRL ATTORNEY” name/logo in association with an event you are planning, please contact me at your earliest convenience, at: susan@carnscurtiss.com. I will not charge you for use of it! But, I do need to be aware of the event, asked for, and be able to grant permission first. THANK YOU!)
(IMPORTANT COMPANY NOTE: If you want to use the “GIRL ATTORNEY” name/logo in association with an event you are planning, please contact me at your earliest convenience, at: susan@carnscurtiss.com. I will not charge you for use of it! But, I do need to be aware of the event, asked for, and be able to grant permission first. THANK YOU!)
