Twitter is an awesome resource for law students. It lets you connect with legal professionals and academics, keeps you up to date on the latest happenings in various areas of law, and can help you to build a profile of your own.
If you have never ventured into the world of Twitter before, the hardest part is getting started and knowing who to start following.
First things first, follow @SurviveLaw and do not pass go without following @AGLCTweets, which is the Australian Guide to Legal Citation account. The AGLC team answer questions about AGLC3 referencing – seriously this is gold. Also check out the new @OpinionsOnHigh account for insights into recent High Court decisions.
Legal Academics
There are a lot of academics actively tweeting about their pet subject area. A good way to find them is to make a note of the authors of journal articles or books that interest you, and search for them on Twitter. Even you own lecturers might be tweeting.
Cheryl Saunders @CherylSaunders1 Constitutional law
Anne Matthew @Anne_Matthew Corporate law
Nicolas Suzor @nicsuzor Copyright and technology law
Peter Black @peterjblack Media law
Matthew Rimmer @DrRimmer IP and biotech law
Bruce Arnold @brucearnoldlaw IP and privacy law
Kate Galloway @katgallow Property law
Melissa Castan @MsCastan Constitutional law and human rights
Paula Gerber @DrPaulaGerber Human rights
Law Firms and Legal Organisations
Law firms are another good bunch to follow. Larger firms often share links to articles written by their lawyers on various legal subjects, and keep you up to date about things like clerkship applications. If you’re looking to work for a particular firm, following them on Twitter will help you to learn about their work and get an insight into what they’re looking for. Some firms even tweet application and interview advice around clerkships season.
If you’re interested in a specific practice area, search Twitter for boutique firms that specialise in that niche.
There are also plenty of legal organisations on Twitter, such as law reform bodies, legal research organisations, law schools, and community legal centres.
Journals and Legal Publishers
Many legal journals have a Twitter account. One journal to be sure to follow is the Alternative Law Journal @AltLJ.
Both @LexisNexisAus and Thompson Reuters AU @TRAUS are also excellent accounts to follow. They often tweet details about book sales and information on webinars about how to use their databases more effectively.
Legal Media
If you want to keep up with the latest legal industry news, follow @Damien_Carrick of the @LawReportRN, @LawyersWeekly, @JustinianNews, and the Australian Financial Review’s legal affairs editor @aboxsell.
Funny Law Accounts
There are also a number of novelty accounts for law students to follow on Twitter.
@BARRISTERHULK is an account exploring what it would be like if the Incredible Hulk was a Barrister: “HULK SMASH STUPID JUDGES, JURORS, OTHER LEARNED COUNSEL AND ALL PRECEDENT.”
@ShitJudgesSay is awesome for finding the funniest or quirkiest lines from the both sides of the High Court bench.
Gary Slapper @garyslapper is a lawyer and law columnist for the Times who shares plenty of bizarre cases and hilarious things said in court.
Some other Tweeps to Follow
Leanne O'Donnell @MsLods is an Australian lawyer and prolific blogger about a variety of subject areas. If you want to chat with a judge, Stephen Dillard @JudgeDillard is a United States Court of Appeal Judge who loves having law students follow him. Finally, there are famous law students like Corinne Grant @corinne_grant to round out your account.
There are lots of legal Twitter accounts here but really I have barely scratched the surface. The people you follow will really depend on your interest in law, politics, and what units you are currently studying. The best way is to find interesting accounts is find a person with similar interests, look at who they follow, and follow the interesting people on their list. Then repeat! If you like you can start with me @notdingers, but please no judgement on who I follow (yes, I follow Tom Cruise because he is the best).
In no time you’ll be seeing the best articles before your classmates or lecturers, and chatting with some of the country’s leading legal minds.
Looking for some more Tweeps to follow? Check out our 2012 Twitter roundup.
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