Tech4Justice Hackathon + Veterans - Houston and Chicago, March 11-17

Tech For Justice, an initiative of the InternetBar.org Institute, is hosting a hackathon for veterans. It will kick off in Houston this weekend and continue at the ABA Techshow in Chicago. The event will wrap up in Houston on March 17th, when $10,000 in prizes will be awarded for the best proposals.

What is a hackathon?

A hackathon is a collaborative event that takes place over several days. Hackathons draw people together from a wide variety of backgrounds to solve a specific set of problems. Those who work in technology, research, legal aid, social services, government, business, education, advocacy, the justice system, civic organizations, urban planning, public health, or any number of other fields all have a role to play.

What is the goal of a hackathon?

Ultimately, the goal of a hackathon is to solve problems, often social or civic in nature, by pooling intellectual resources and drawing on the expertise of peers. Hackathon participants create apps, games, or other tech tools that address specific issues. They may also develop new models for using existing technology, such as social media or mobile devices, in original ways.

Who benefits from the outcome?

The Tech For Justice Hackathon is targeted at helping veterans address the challenges they face upon returning to civilian life. Participants will work in small teams to develop tech-based tools for facilitating reintegration, treating PTSD, overcoming homelessness, and addressing a variety of legal, financial, and mental health needs. Although Legal Aid offices offer programs for veterans, they are overburdened and unable to meet the overwhelming demand for their services. Innovative solutions are needed to meet veterans' needs where traditional channels are failing. The Tech For Justice Hackathon will produce real, viable solutions to the problems that veterans of every generation experience post-deployment.

How can people get involved?

Anyone can sign up to be involved in the hackathon happening March 11th-17th, whether you are an attorney, a veteran yourself or close to one, or simply feel passionate about veteran affairs.

Preview: ABA Techshow 2017

The ABA Techshow 2017: Conference & Expo will kick off on March 15th in Chicago. The three days that follow will be packed with programs and presentations -- even a hackathon! -- that run the gamut of all things legal tech: cybersecurity, e-discovery, artificial intelligence, automation, mobile apps, the blockchain, and so much more.

Legal innovation and the business of law will take center stage as a panel of keynote speakers, representing the biggest names in legal disruption, assemble for a wide-ranging, open discussion. They will explore the conflict and compatibility of the legal profession's foundational values and the potential opportunities of using technology to benefit attorneys and clients.

Collect and Curate Content with Read It Later Apps

How do you save online content for later retrieval? Do you bookmark the webpage or article that you plan to visit or read again? Bookmarks are good tools for maintaining a directory of frequently accessed websites within your browser, but when you bookmark a page, you are simply creating an anchor, a digital marker for each site you visit on a regular basis. This can be a useful tool indeed, but it offers no value-added features such as tagging, note-taking, or highlighting. Instead, try using a "read it later" app or browser extension such as Pocket, Instapaper, or GoogleKeep. All three offer additional features that browser bookmarks do not. For a good review of three of the most popular apps, see this article in PC World.

In addition to Pocket and Instapaper referenced above, PC World also mentions Facebook Save, a read it later tool built right into the popular social media platform, which allows you store content, discovered via your Facebook newsfeed, for access at a later date. All of these tools are useful, and each has features that provide an advantage over the others. Compare what each has to offer, and decide for yourself which application works best for you!

National African American History Month: Justice Thurgood Marshall Digital Exhibit

In 1925, the historian, Carter G. Woodson, called for a week-long celebration to recognize the contributions of African Americans in the development of our country. Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time 1926 and expanded to a full month in 1976, the year of our nation's sesquicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Many notable African Americans have played a role in shaping the law and achieving civil rights. With this exhibit, we honor perhaps the most influential African American lawyer in U.S. history and the first African American to rise to the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court -- Justice Thurgood Marshall.   

An exhibit commemorating the extraordinary life of Justice Marshall, will be on display in the Law Library lobby throughout the month, and a digital exhibit, the subject of today's Tech Tuesday blog post, is available on the Law Library's website. For additional digital resources celebrating African American history and the remarkable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please visit the following sites:

Biography.com -- Thurgood Marshall: A Justice for All (VIDEO)

Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

Data Privacy Awareness

Friday, January 28th is Data Privacy Day, an international effort overseen by the National Cyber Security Alliance that calls attention to the importance of privacy and protecting personal information. Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January in 2008, but its origins date back to 1981. On January 28 of that year, the member States of the Council of Europe signed the first international treaty, Convention 108, to address data and data protection. We at the Harris County Law library are observing Data Privacy Day with an exhibit called Data Privacy and Information Security Law. The exhibit will be on display in the Law Library lobby until January 31st.