legal sanity

Here’s an article showing that, even in the dog-eat-dog legal world, a spoon full of sugar can help that medicine go down. It describes how the 450-lawyer firm Blank Rome “has banished boredom from its legal education curriculum” by adopting the motto "Fun and Games Can be Serious Business in a Law Firm." In one of its programs, associates and partners get together to play a board game called Anatomy of a Matter. In what seems to be a legal twist on Monopoly and Stratego, “players meet potential clients, snag business, work on matters, calculate profits and see how their efforts affect the firm’s growth.” This program and others sponsored by the firm derive from “adult learning theory, organizational psychology and educational programming.” But the real-world takeaway for lawyers and staff alike is a boost in communication, interpersonal and other skills vital to their own and their firm’s success in the law.