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New edition of the ABA's Law Practice is now online

The theme of this edition of Law Practice is diversity. Articles include:

"Building the Bridge to Inclusion: The Work of Law Firm Leaders" by Martha Fay Africa

Diversity is everywhere, and unavoidable, in our culture. So who will teach us how to thrive by embracing it in our law firms? Enter the inclusive leader.

"Achieving Sustainable Diversity: Colorado’s Approach to the Diversity Dilemma" by Kathleen B. Nalty

Clients are demanding greater diversity, minority associate attrition rates are climbing, and fewer minorities are entering law school. Some say dramatic change is needed, and Colorado’s legal community is taking up the challenge.

"Look in the Mirror: Is Your Diversity Program Really Making a Difference?" by Roland Dumas

Despite the activity and publicity centered on diversity, the participation of minorities in the senior levels of law firms still lags. All the while, firms keep going to extreme efforts to show the investment they have in structured diversity programs. Why the difference between efforts and results?

"How Diversity Can Play a Role in Your Firm’s Business Development" by Sally J. Schmidt

Efforts to build a diverse law firm can offer distinct advantages in attracting and retaining clients.

And my "Reading Minds" column featuring summer reading.

The summer solstice is nearly here, ushering in the season of vacations, which for many of us brings extra reading time. So in this issue, our Reading Minds suggest their favorite books for fun and pleasure. Take a look at this medley of alluring recommendations from Anne Castle, Dean Donald Polden, Nancy Sher Cohen and David Maister before you head to the beach. Even if you are not traveling, these books will take your mind to new places.

Much more for you to read at the new edition. Read now as the current edition is only available to non-subscribers until the next edition goes online.

A book about lawyer B.T. Collins who was an admirable, memorable friend of mine

Very, very good news! A book has been written about B.T. Collins, an unforgettable man. This book telling B.T.'s story is described at Amazon:

A book about the life of California's maverick politico, B.T. Collins, war hero, public servant, and double amputee. Definitely not a war story, but the story of a warrior, a chronicle of a hero in the making, of courage beyond the battlefield, and a love of country that transcended any political party. Poignant, often hilarious tale of a life lived with gusto, of an American original who touched you to the very raw. Irascible, irreverent,and annoyingly politically incorrect, B.T. made you laugh when you wanted to cry, cry when you had never cried before over things like the "Stars and Stripes" or the "Star Spangled Banner." He was brutally honest and unyielding when it came to principles. No one was ever blase about B.T. Collins.

No one ever was. The man was one of a kind and I am grateful that now we can all read his biography Outrageous Hero: The B.T. Collins Story. At the publisher's Web site, we can also read a book synopsis with many excerpts. I urge you to click on over and read some B.T. Collins stories. Below I have included a short excerpt from when B.T. attended Santa Clara University Law School (my alma mater and where I first met B.T.).

B.T. is chosen by acclamation, rather than academic rank, to be the commencement speaker. He starts by telling stories. The graduates howl with laughter. Behind him the seated monsignors literally slap their scarlet thighs with glee. He pauses; he grows silent; the laughter dies. “Six years ago,” he says softly, “I was lying in a hospital in Vietnam. I was in a lot of pain and I believed I was dying. A friend came to see me and, at the sight of him, I began to cry.” I watch the listeners come unhinged. He has sunk his shining hook and they are goners. "He told me,” he continues, “that it was okay to cry, that there was a long hard road ahead of me. But it has not been hard because of…” He calls out name after name after name. I swear to God, I think the crowd will stand and cheer. But he is not finished with them. He pauses again—a long pause, and leaning across the podium, chin thrust forward, he looks at those tear-stained faces and he smiles. “Now,” he asks, with mock sarcasm, “Is everybody happy?”

Now go read some more B.T.stories and then read the book. You probably will not forget the man. I never will; he is always in my heart.

Washington Post article by Mark Shields about B.T. Collins: "I've Never Liked Any Politician More."

B.T. Collins scholarship at Santa Clara Law School.

B.T. Collins came to Santa Clara as a student after losing a leg and arm as a U.S. Army captain in Vietnam. His optimism and energy transformed many of his classmates. His good humor and generosity endeared him, and his loyalty and strength of character propelled him. He served as Director of the California Conservation Corps and Chief of Staff for Governor Jerry Brown. He also served as Deputy Finance Director, Director of the California Youth Authority, and as an elected member of the California State Assembly. He regarded public service as a privilege, and frequently urged others to "give back." His sudden death in 1993 left some challenges unmet, but also left the most important ingredients needed to meet them: inspiration and integrity.

Lighter Wisdom: TEAR THOSE WORDS OPEN! LAY THEM BARE!

Words are important messengers of both comfort and combat. Words can energize. And they can numb; they can create robots and zombies. They are a tremendous tool or they can make you a fool. Are you a fool for words?

Don't Self-Help Yourself to Sleep

In his book Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing, Mark Levy gives us an effective filter for the many words that enter our senses each day. This filter gives us a fresh way of seeing our world, as well as a dose of critical thinking.

Levy talks about “opening up words.” If we are under the spell of unexamined and lulling, lullaby words, the process of opening up words wakes us.

As an example of what Levy means, let’s apply his method to one genre of information. Many of us read motivational and inspirational literature and listen to gurus of self-help and incentive. What do their words really mean? Much of the motivational and inspirational vocabulary is becoming trite and tired.

We can learn how to freshen the words up or throw out the stale bread. If the words are just stale bread, they may be getting moldy and may be molding you into a sleepwalker.

The Inner Recesses of Your Expression

Levy says:

When you open up a word, you re-define that word so it has personal meaning. You become an explorer within the word, forsaking the sleepy meaning others have given it, and discover for yourself if the concepts embedded within it are still valid.

He gives the example of the word “empowerment.” How many times do you read and hear that word? Are you giving it a “sleepy meaning” and thinking, “Oh yeah, that’s a great word. Give me more of that” without ever looking inside the word to see what, if anything, it means to YOU.

Levy suggests a four-step process to examine words and see if they fit for us.

First, pick the word or phrase you want to dissect for

Interviews about measuring and acquiring happiness are just clicks away: Please enjoy the links in this post . . .

From All in the Mind:

The science of happiness

The pursuit of happiness is a global obsession. But can science investigate its slippery, subjective nature? What are the metrics—self report, brain activity, or the good deeds we do? Five world leaders in the field join Natasha Mitchell in conversation—neuroscientist Richard Davidson, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace, psychologist Daniel Gilbert and philosopher David Chalmers.

From Denver radio station 850 KOA, an interview by Mike Rosen of Arthur C. Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It.

Image credit: deviantArt

Is there a compromise between religion and science that we have ignored? Shoud the sacred be reinvented?

Dr. Stuart Kauffman has written a new book entitled Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion. Today he was interviewed by Kojo Nnamdi. To listen, click and go to "A New Definition of Religion and Science"; the interview starts at about 3:47 minutes.

For more, I recommend Kauffman's article from Edge "Breaking the Galilean Spell," an excerpt from the new book. Article excerpt:

My aim is to reinvent the sacred. I present a new view of a fully natural God and of the sacred, based on a new, emerging scientific worldview. This new worldview reaches further than science itself and invites a new view of God, the sacred, and ourselves—ultimately including our science, art, ethics, politics, and spirituality. My field of research, complexity theory, is leading toward the reintegration of science with the ancient Greek ideal of the good life, well lived. It is not some tortured interpretation of fundamentally lifeless facts that prompts me to say this; the science itself compels it.

This is not the outlook science has presented up to now. Our current scientific worldview, derived from Galileo, Newton, and their followers, is the foundation of modern secular society, itself the child of the Enlightenment. At base, our contemporary perspective is reductionist: all phenomena are ultimately to be explained in terms of the interactions of fundamental particles. ...

Reductionism has led to very powerful science. One has only to think of Einstein’s general relativity and the current standard model in quantum physics, the twin pillars of twentieth century physics. Molecular biology is a product of reductionism, as is the Human Genome Project.

Read the rest of "Breaking the Galilean Spell."

On a related note, several people have sent me an article from today's New York Times by David Brooks. Excerpt from "The Neural Buddhists":

Lo and behold, over the past decade, a new group of assertive atheists has done battle with defenders of faith. The two sides have argued about whether it is reasonable to conceive of a soul that survives the death of the body and about whether understanding the brain explains away or merely adds to our appreciation of the entity that created it.

The atheism debate is a textbook example of how a scientific revolution can change public culture. Just as “The Origin of Species” reshaped social thinking, just as Einstein’s theory of relativity affected art, so the revolution in neuroscience is having an effect on how people see the world.
...
In unexpected ways, science and mysticism are joining hands and reinforcing each other. That’s bound to lead to new movements that emphasize self-transcendence but put little stock in divine law or revelation. Orthodox believers are going to have to defend particular doctrines and particular biblical teachings. They’re going to have to defend the idea of a personal God, and explain why specific theologies are true guides for behavior day to day. I’m not qualified to take sides, believe me. I’m just trying to anticipate which way the debate is headed. We’re in the middle of a scientific revolution. It’s going to have big cultural effects.

Extraordinarily interesting and, in my point of view, important issues. If for no other reason than the cultural implications, I plan to watch and think deeply as this "revolution" unfolds.

"World's greatest law firm": Anyone know which firm Malcolm Gladwell is talking about?

Gladwell's newest book is coming out in November. In the publisher Little, Brown and Company's catalog (pdf) is this excerpt:

OUTLIERS is a book about success. It starts with a very simple question: what is the difference between those who do something special with their lives and everyone else? In OUTLIERS, we’re going to visit a genius who lives on a horse farm in Northern Missouri. We’re going to examine the bizarre histories of professional hockey and soccer players, and look into the peculiar childhood of Bill Gates, and spend time in a Chinese rice paddy, and investigate the world’s greatest law firm, and wonder about what distinguishes pilots who crash planes from those who don’t. And in examining the lives of the remarkable among us—the brilliant, the exceptional and the unusual—I want to convince you that the way we think about success is all wrong.

Any idea which firm Gladwell is calling "the world's greatest"?

More about the book from both Amazon and the publisher's catalog (p. 39):

In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
 
Brilliant and entertaining, OUTLIERS is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

I am looking forward to reading Outliers when it comes out.  And to learning the identity of the "world's greatest law firm"!

Hat tip to 800-CEO-READ Blog.

Trying to choose your next book? You may want to read one on this list

Telegraph (UK) has published a fascinating list of what they are describing as cult books. From the article:

What is a cult book? We tried and failed to arrive at a definition: books often found in the pockets of murderers; books that you take very seriously when you are 17; books whose readers can be identified to all with the formula "<Author Name> whacko"; books our children just won’t get...
 
Some things crop up often: drugs, travel, philosophy, an implied two fingers to conventional wisdom, titanic self-absorption, a tendency to date fast and a paperback jacket everyone recognises with a faint wince. But these don’t begin to cover it.

Cult books include some of the most cringemaking collections of bilge ever collected between hard covers. But they also include many of the key texts of modern feminism; some of the best journalism and memoirs; some of the most entrancing and original novels in the canon.

The list of 50 cult books includes:

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Slaughterhouse-Five
• The Beauty Myth
• The Bell Jar
• Catch-22
• The Catcher in the Rye
• Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health
• The Sorrows of Young Werther
• The Stranger
• The Prophet
• The Magus
• The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

Any titles you think should be included?

New edition of ABA's LAW PRACTICE now online

This edition of ABA's Law Practice focuses on professional administrators. Some of the articles in the April-May 2008 issue:

How to Hire Your Next Administrator by Karen MacKay

An impressive group of next-generation administrators is taking charge in law firms today. Firms are seeking professional management to not only keep the trains running on time, but to help engineer a better train. What role should an administrator play in your firm? What qualifications and competencies are important for success? Here are strategies for identifying the ideal hire for you.

The Evolution of the Professional Administrator by Robert W. Denney

From office managers to top business officers, Law Practice’s “Trends” columnist reports on one of the biggest developments in the legal profession: the rise of the professional firm administrator.

Choosing Your First Administrator: Pointers and Pitfalls Learned Through Experience by Tom Grella

Once you realize it’s time to hire a full-time administrator, tough decisions are ahead. Here, the managing partner of a midsize firm discusses the crucial decision to either promote from within or seek help from outside the firm.

Invitation to Succeed: Advice on Integrating Professional Management into Your Firm by Russ Balcome, Cynthia Bauer, John Cummens, Robert Lalley and Paula Torke

A managing partner prepares to welcome his firm’s first administrator and wonders what to do now to position her for success—and what potholes to avoid. Will his partners support her? Are the goals she’s being given realistic?

Professional Development: The Expanding Scope of Lawyer Training Programs by Courtney Goldstein

These days professional development directors do much more than track CLE credits or hold first-years’ hands through orientation. Officers from Fulbright & Jaworski; O’Melveny & Myers; Proskauer Rose; Stroock & Stroock & Lavan; and Theodora Oringher Miller & Richman explain how their firms are taking lawyer training to the next level.

Much more in this edition, including the next installment of my new column "Reading Minds."

For this second installment of our new Reading Minds column, a stellar crew of contributors tells us which single book most inspired them to their personal best. As you will see, our group—Marian Lee, Bruce MacEwen, Michael Melcher and Catherine Hance—have made some intriguing selections, while also providing very thoughtful reasons for their choices.

New book out today: HOW TO SLEEP ALONE IN A KING-SIZE BED

For a while when I lived in Santa Fe, I had a very funny and insightful roommate. Today her new book was published. I congratulate Theo Nestor on How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir!

Click to read "Dating again after divorce?" (msn.com), an excerpt from the book. In the excerpt, Nestor discusses the "rule" about waiting one year after a divorce before dating. I love her style and voice.

From Amazon:

A divorced mother’s funny, chatty, revealing take on Splitsville–with just enough anguish and sadness to be utterly believable...An unexpected treat here is a vivid portrait of the author's thrice-married, utterly nonmaternal but generous mother...Women going through the pain and turmoil of separation and divorce will appreciate Nestor’s candor and wit. Not another slick how-to, but a comforting reminder that life goes on after the spouse is gone.—Kirkus

Pick up a copy for yourself for an entertaining and inspiring read, and get another copy for anyone you know going through a divorce.

Related:

• Review of the book (fictionwise.com) includes this sentence: "It marks the debut of an enchanting, deeply truthful voice."
• Article on memoirs: "Everybody has a story -- but is it worth telling?" (cnn.com)
• Interview of Nestor at Ask Allison
• Review of How to Sleep Alone in a King Size Bed in Seattle Times: "Rather than preach about hope, forgiveness, self-awareness or other themes of many divorce-focused tales, she offers a chance to experience the quiet, secret, less dramatic aspects."
• Excerpt from How to Sleep Alone in a King Size Bed (USA Today)
• Another review: "Dealing with divorce in the new millennium" (The Olympian)
• Interview of Nestor (a little over halfway into the program)

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School—A heady success

Not a day goes by lately when I do not see mention on blogs of the new book Brain Rules. The praise often includes the Web site created by the book's author Dr. John Medina. Coert Visser at Solution Focused Change writes:

Dr. Medina's website is an impressive display of modern day book promotion. There are video's, there's a blog, there are links to reviews and articles, and there is more.

At Neuroanthropology, Greg Downey commented on the site and also complimented Medina on his accessible way of presenting information .

The website contains a wealth of Flash-based audio-visual elements from the book, bibliography, graphics, and a host of other resources. I’m struck by several things about it; first, Medina is very savvy — he’s pitched this book brilliantly for a general audience. I don’t mean that as a backhanded compliment; in fact, it’s something that I aspire to in my own writing, and it’s educational to see such a good practitioner. Second, he’s done a great job of distilling some complicated ideas into bullet-point amenable, succinct statements.

Alvaro Fernandez at SharpBrains earlier this week posted an article by Medina which will give you the flavor of the book.

Interested in a good, non-technical, summary of the implications of recent brain science in our daily lives? Biologist John Medina offers that in his article below (as part of our Author Speaks Series) and in his new book: Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Enjoy!

Matt Homann at the [non]billable hour explained his favorite of the 12 rules presented in the book.

I especially liked Rule # 10: Vision Trumps All Other Senses, and it contains this rule of thumb for presenters:

You'll get 3x better recall for visual information than for oral. And you'll get 6x better recall for information that's simultaneously oral and visual.

Hey, Matt? Have you read The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam? I think you are going to love it!

I am reading Brain Rules and will tell you more when I have finished. So far, I have enjoyed it thoroughly. Have you read it yet?

Note (added March 30, 2008, 8:50 PM Mountain): Click for a BusinessWeek article which includes The Back of the Napkin titled "Doodling for Profits."

Here's another article on The Back of the Napkin: "Pictures aid communication, book argues." And the "lost chapter" of the book: "The 10-1/2 Commandments of Visual Thinking." (pdf)