Posted by Arnie Herz on October 29, 2004
You can't sit through a courtroom motion day without noticing how some lawyers are incredibly clear and eloquent when they speak while others seem to stumble and fumble through a barely audible string of words. This article discusses how lawyers who are seemingly "oblivious to their crimes of the tongue" might benefit from a bit of professional coaching in speech "refinement." According to the piece, refinement is a matter of learning a set of simple skills or pointers, such as: ending a sentence with a strong word and slight uplift to keep listeners engaged; focusing less on breathing and more on "using your tongue;" and honoring the English language as a musical pattern by developing a "rolling rhythm" to your speech in formal presentations.
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 27, 2004
This roundup about what kids have to say about their parents' lives in the law is worth a read. I have explained various aspects of my job to my three young children over the years. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when someone asks them to describe what I do as a lawyer. When I was called for jury duty some time ago, my then 3-year-old daughter told her teacher that I "had gotten cherry doo __."
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 25, 2004
I received an e-mail announcing that the Spirit Rock Meditation Center near San Francisco, CA will hold a retreat from November 18-21 for lawyers and other professionals in the legal arena who want to learn to meditate. The promotional material states: "This retreat will bring together members of the Bay Area legal community, local legal scholars and clinicians, judges, and mediators to learn and practice meditation together. Meditation can provide a practical tool for busy legal professionals to quiet the mind, enhance clarity and awareness, and restore a more peaceful balance to their lives." I've studied and practiced meditation for over 20 years and it's been indispensable in helping me stay grounded, focused and content in my work as a lawyer and in my personal/family life. I find that even a few minutes of meditation a day can be enough to de-stress and recharge me.
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 21, 2004
This interesting article compels us to consider the high costs of everyday conflicts. The writer contends that we live in a rapidly changing society firmly rooted in the "dialectic, right/wrong, either/or patterns that originated in Aristotelian logic." This pervasive "win-lose" mentality has coupled with the disintegration of educational institutions, religious communities and the extended family to produce a culture more concerned about "rights" and "entitlements" than "responsibilities towards others." The article suggests that the many people who are starting to question this cultural norm would benefit from a candid evaluation of the real costs of conflict in their lives (the direct cost; the cost of professional help; the opportunity cost; the emotional cost; the relationship cost). With these costs laid out, instead of spending scare resources "rehashing the past" in "the 'battle' that is traditional conflict resolution," people might seek outcomes that address broken relationships and reflect what they really want for the future.
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 20, 2004
This announcement and this one detail the upcoming Fourth Annual Mediation Settlement Day on Thursday, October 21, 2004. The day's events are sponsored by "a coalition of over seventy alternative dispute resolution programs, bar associations, community based programs, schools, public and non-profit organizations concentrated in the New York City area and extending beyond to upstate New York, Illinois, California and Mexico." There will be "special programs designed to promote mediation and to educate potential parties and attorneys about the mediation process." The aim of the day is "to encourage parties to try mediation for the first time and to reinforce its value and effectiveness to those who have benefited from it before."
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 18, 2004
Essential to any comprehensive discussion of work-life balance is an understanding of what factors into the "life" part of the equation. This article sheds some light on that subject. The piece overviews a recent national study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on how Americans use their free time. According to that American Time-Use Survey (ATUS), "TV remains the dominant free-time activity in America." In fact, "Americans watch 2 hours and 34 minutes of TV a day on average, compared with 20 minutes a day exercising and eight minutes a day volunteering or participating in religious or spiritual activities."
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 14, 2004
As I posted here, New York State Bar Association President Kenneth G. Standard is quite concerned about lawyer work-life balance. So much so, in fact, that he's now appointed the "Special Committee on Balanced Lives in the Law" to look into "how attorneys in various work settings confront the ever-evolving dynamics of meeting professional, societal and personal demands." According to this article, the "16-member committee will study such issues as increased time pressures and service demands, a highly competitive legal services marketplace, and expectations for client-development and billing practices." I think this is a great idea and look forward to seeing how the committee's work and findings unfold.
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 13, 2004
Sometimes you come across an article like this one confirming that there's life out there in the legal universe. Its opening paragraph sets the tone and message of the piece, stating: "Civil litigator Mark F. Dehler has found a way to ease the tension endemic in the dog-eat-dog practice of law. He makes his office more like home by bringing his dog to work." Beyond depicting Dehler's obvious affection for Jake, "a graying, 100-pound chocolate Labrador retriever who sports a lime-green bandanna," the article tells how the dog has lifted the spirits of Dehler's clients and even served as an ice-breaker of sorts during mediation. It further conveys that Jake is just one part of the client-friendly business environment Dehler has created in the "two-story former bank building" he shares with long-time friends who also have their own law practice. The building's wiring lets Dehler wander from room to room with his laptop, fostering "camaraderie and discourse." Even his mother has a recurring role in Dehler's nicely scripted work life - she drops by about twice a week to take Jake for a walk.
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 12, 2004
My wife is a lawyer and works part time in my firm. Like the couples featured in this article - who break and earn bread together - my wife and I have built a great working relationship based on mutual respect for our individual strengths. She's an excellent researcher and writer and can slice through legal arguments like a Ginsu-wielding chef. No one writes a more convincing brief. But, my wife's the first one to admit that she really doesn't enjoy dealing with clients face-to-face. I do. In fact, counseling clients is what I most enjoy about the practice of law. Also, unlike me, my wife's not at all comfortable with the posturing and strong stands that often must be taken in resolving legal matters. While I prefer respectful, rational discussions and reason to hard ball tactics, I'm not at all averse to using the latter when the situation dictates. So, despite the adage that you shouldn't take your work home or your home to work, my wife and I have managed to parlay our different, but complimentary, skills into a thriving "family business."
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 4, 2004
Law firms are jumping on the anti-stress bandwagon of late. Here's a quick read outlining steps firms can take to alleviate on-the-job stress. The article makes the compelling point that "[t]oo often we in the legal profession believe that high levels of stress are just natural by-products of our industry. But healthy environments are not highly stressful. Stress is present, but it never reaches levels that negatively affect the organization, the people in it or the clients they serve." After detailing the root causes of workplace stress in the legal profession - (1) supervisory styles; (2) interpersonal styles among personnel; (3) responsibilities and characteristics of particular positions; and (4) individual career concerns - the article provides some stress-reduction tips and an action plan firm managers can use to lighten the collective load.
Posted by Arnie Herz on October 1, 2004
This article discusses why law firm Arent Fox ranks an impressive fourth in The American Lawyer's recent Midlevel Associates Survey. According to the review, associates praised the firm's "humane approach to billable hours and support for pro bono work." They also touted how they're routinely treated "like adults" who have meaningful lives and interests "beyond the law" and who are mature enough to balance their work and extracurricular pursuits. Embracing their associates' paternity leave, extended vacations, yoga classes and sabbaticals as part and parcel of employing human beings, Arent Fox apparently recognizes that, just because we choose the law as a vocation, few of us want it to be the only thing that defines us in this lifetime.
