legal sanity

In this March 2005 post, I discussed how today's law schools are missing the opportunity to teach key skills practitioners need to build career success and satisfaction. One of the featured articles (now requiring access by registration) discussed a path to curriculum reform championed by Pace Law School's Dean Stephen J. Friedman. In that piece, he proposed that newly-minted lawyers will be productive sooner if they're educated in a trade school mode - that is, if they're trained to see how the various areas of law they study interface in a given legal matter. Friedman seconds his own call for change in this new commentary entitled A Practical Manifesto for Legal Education. Launching from the premise that law schools are really "professional schools," he states that "legal education must be brought into closer alignment with the need of law students to hit the ground running when they begin to practice law." According to Friedman, the current state of misalignment stems from a stunted "dialogue between legal academia and practicing lawyers on precisely how to go about creating effective new lawyers." The misfit is only exacerbated by the reign of the billable hour and rampant client dissatisfaction with underwriting legal training. With these factors in mind, Friedman previews what his decided, but not "radical," transformation of the legal academy might look like: "Examining legal education through the prism of practice areas," law schools will embrace a practice-oriented curriculum that allows students to build an "integrated combination of skills, knowledge and substantive law in one broad area -- such as litigation or corporate transactions." I agree that the time is ripe for law schools to reconsider how to meet the real-world needs of their students. But, as I've expressed before, I believe that any curriculum reform will fall short unless it promotes the dual aims of teaching tradework and building the human relations skills vital to optimal lawyering.

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My blogging's been a bit sparse of late as I'm preparing for my presentation this Friday at the Association for Conflict Resolution's (ACR) Fifth Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN. In culling and organizing materials for my talk, I've thought a lot about reading I've done on learning styles. Each of us has an innate preference for learning in a particular way. It's a reflection of how our brain best takes in and processes new information. The main learning styles are: (1) Visual/Verbal [learn best from material presented visually and in written format]; (2) Tactile/Kinesthetic [prefer to learn by physically manipulating materials and watching demonstrations]; (3) Auditory/Verbal [readily digest information presented orally or through group discussion]. This site and this one will help you evaluate your primary learning style, including the attendant benefits and obstacles you might encounter. If you'll be at the ACR conference, drop me a line. If you're interested in going, you can check out the event offerings and register here.

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In this post and this one, I discussed the role of apology in preventing and resolving legal disputes. Here's a recent article asserting that the conventional mea culpa brand of apology is actually a rarity in today's legal negotiations. Such apologies are scarce, it proposes, because people (1) "don't blame themselves for anything" and (2) believe that any apology will be disregarded or exploited by wary adversaries. Nonetheless, the piece continues, there's a "different type of apology" that "can become one of the negotiator's most effective tools." This unconventional apology doesn't convey liability or fault. Instead, it offers some genuine "recognition of the other side's human condition" that allows them to feel "important and appreciated." It acknowledges the human-to-human core of all legal conflicts. While such apology-making won't guarantee "successful resolution," the article concludes, it will open the door to that possibility by placing "everyone on a small tuft of common ground" and setting "the stage for tremendous progress in the conversation."

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Author and attorney Stewart Levine continues his dialogue on lawyer life (mentioned here and here) with this article about an alternative to the adversarial model embraced by our legal system. He puts out the call for us to forgo scorch-the-earth tactics as a line of first resort and, instead, cultivate the "attitude of resolution" that's the hallmark of resolutionary thinkers - lawyers whose "core competency" is an "ability to lead people to a new vision that returns them to the real business of their lives." Recognizing that the "worst conflicts are among people with the deepest relationships," the resolutionary touts the benefits of collaboration and cooperation. After setting out "10 principles of The Attitude of Resolution" (which include creativity, openness, feelings and intuition), Levine goes on to list the qualities and abilities of a resolutionary lawyer. Among these traits are confidence, empathy, fairness, listening skills, faith, trust and an open mind. Levine believes that we'll have "little to lose and a huge upside potential" in shifting to resolutionary lawyering. And, as a result of the shift, "clients will be happier, societal transactions will move forward with less friction, and lawyers will reap the benefit of deeper levels of personal and professional satisfaction as they accomplish their work with, not against, other lawyers."

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On October 20, 2005, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and a coalition of other organizations will sponsor the fifth annual Mediation Settlement Day. The New York event "will showcase mediation as a form of alternative dispute resolution" through an "array of speakers, activities, and resources." You can read an overview of the day's offerings here. To learn more about mediation, check out some of my prior posts on the subject here, here and here, among others. For an in-depth look at the topic, I highly recommend this online mediation resource. You'll also find a blog discussing mediation and related matters here. As I've stated many times, I think mediation is a an indispensable approach to conflict management that lawyers should educate themselves about and regularly use.

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I've come across several recent articles that, taken together, create an interesting mosaic of opinion on what it means to be a successful lawyer. I'll start with this commentary adapted from a speech by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Addressing a law school audience, he cautions that success in the law can cause us to "slide imperceptibly into a mode where demands the job makes are automatically accorded priority over other demands." He then reminds us (in a statement made even more poignant by his recent passing) that "time is a commodity, the supply of which is not inexhaustible. [ ] Life's dramas are played out on a number of different stages, and you cannot do justice to the potential of your own life without sampling several of these performances. As you do this, you will be surprised to find that new sources of enjoyment arise from some of the places where you would least expect them." While the Chief Justice's advice certainly can stand alone, it pairs nicely with the step-by-step guidance this article offers first-year associates seeking the path to career success. With clarity and brevity, it walks readers through expectations and planning to goal-setting and action points. The keys to successful lawyering are also explored in this new book by fellow blogger Gerry Riskin of Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Rounding out the composition is this piece, this one and still another conveying - albeit in different ways - that giving back to communities, organizations and our fellow human beings is an essential part of being a truly successful lawyer.

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Last summer, I posted about ethical wills. Here's an update on these documents that help us look beyond the transfer of material wealth to consider the conveyance of our "wisdom, insight, experience, and similarly related intangibles." According to the piece, the use of ethical wills can be traced back to biblical times. The modern-day version comes in a variety of forms, but is "typically prepared as a written letter" addressing "family members, friends, and even organizations." There's also no prescribed content, although an ethical will can contain "insights into happiness, business success, and dealing with difficult times and difficult people. Historical information that might otherwise be forever lost can be transmitted" as well. After listing some key questions to ask clients interested in such documents, the article concludes with the observation that people usually find the ethical will-making process a "positive emotional experience." It gives them "an often-unexpected sense of clarity (as to what is most important to a person) as well as a sense of 'completion,' particularly as a parent."

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I've read and heard quite a bit about what law firms and law schools are doing to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. I was very heartened to receive news of this pledge of assistance from my alma mater, Fordham Law School. From a follow-up e-mail, I've learned that Fordham has admitted 25 law students from Loyola and Tulane and will not charge them tuition or fees. The e-mail additionally reports that the law school is "offering to provide work space and communications support to Tulane and Loyola law faculty and administrators, and is discussing ways to provide assistance to victims through public service and pro bono projects when the situation stabilizes and such efforts are appropriate." I think this is a shining example of how a law school community can come together in the service of others and for the greater good.

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I'm back in New York after a family trip to see my sister in Boulder, Colorado. The open space, foothills and Rockies create a spectacular backdrop there. While hiking and climbing, I spent a good deal of time trying to reconcile the immense natural beauty of this world with the enormous devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding coastal communities. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who is suffering in Hurricane Katrina's wake.

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