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We know much about the brains of learning adults: Are any law schools using brain-based instruction?

This charter school sounds fun! And the kids are outperforming district and state averages in math and reading, despite a disproportionate number of children with special needs. From "Kids on the brain" (Northwestern):

Ask [school principal Lynn] Brown, an energized educator with the prestigious title of “doctor”, to explain what “brain-based” means, and she’ll promptly pour out some scholarly jargon at turbo speed: “It’s the application of neuroscience principles within our educational framework to effectively maximize student cognition.”

In other words, she explains, all instruction at Shapiro is deliberately rooted in research about how the brain works. The school then marries that brain-based philosophy to a paper-and-pencil curriculum teaching thinking skills and lessons in how to work with others.

Neuroscience also gives us information about how to "effectively maximize student cognition" for older brains. I wonder if any law schools are teaching students using what we know about how the adult brain best learns?

Note: Click for a presentation titled "Brain Development During the Early Years: Neuroscience and Education."

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Know anyone who drifted into law school?

Gretchen Rubin did. She writes at The Happiness Project blog (Psychology Today):

I fear drift. Drift feels small, but once unleashed, drift is a powerful, often almost unstoppable, force.

...
 
I drifted into law school. I didn’t know what else I wanted to do, it seemed like a legitimate, useful way to spend a few years, it would keep my options open…I didn’t really think much about the decision. As it turns out, I’m very glad I went to law school – drift sometimes does lead to a happy result, which contributes to its dangerous appeal – but I didn’t approach law school mindfully. And many, many people who go to law school are not happy they went.

Just taking one drifting step can you set you in a course that’s very hard to stop. In my case, I drifted into taking the LSAT (the law-school application test). “Why not, might as well, could come in handy, maybe I’ll be glad I did,” etc. This is a good example of the fact that drifting doesn’t always mean taking the easier course; it was a lot of trouble to prepare and take the LSAT, but it was still drift.

Ever drifted?

Law school seminar - Religion, Spirituality, and Cognitive Science: Contemporary Establishment Clause Issues

This seminar taught by Stephanie Phillips and Jim Milles sounds very intriguing. From the Fall 2009 Course Descriptions [PDF] of University of Buffalo Law School:

The First Amendment begins with a prohibition: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." At minimum, Congress was forbidden to found an official, national church. Beyond that, there has been no unanimity, at any moment during more than two centuries, about what the Establishment Clause means or should mean. This seminar examines certain present-day proposals to loosen constraints on government action by narrowing the definition of "religion," some attempting to create a dichotomy between sectarian and non-sectarian religion, others positing a distinction between "religion" and "spirituality," still others throwing cognitive science into the mix. In addition to readings in legal doctrine, political theory, cognitive science and religious studies, the seminar includes a weekly practicum that explores a diverse range of practices referred to as "meditation," probing which, if any, pose Establishment Clause problems.

As a constitutional matter, when a meditative practice has been proven by cognitive science to sharpen intelligence, increase intuitive ability, and coordinate activity between the hemispheres of the brain, all of which are desirable and "secular" objectives, does it make a legal difference if some practitioners ascribe religious or spiritual meaning to these phenomena? Students will learn several meditation techniques and will integrate assessment of their experiences into comprehensive examination of the increasingly blurred lines between the material and the spiritual. Participation in the meditation practicum is a course requirement. Of course, a student will be excused from participation in any particular practice as to which a religious or conscientious objection is raised.

Contemplative practices: What's happening at Vanderbilt University Law School?

In an e-mail from Julie K. Sandine, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Vanderbilt Law, I learned of some programs her law school offers its students. I wanted to tell you about them so asked permission to post her e-mail; she graciously consented. Sandine writes:

We’ve just concluded our fourth year of offering Supportive Practices, a non-credit offering for 1L students that teaches mindfulness meditation, Qi gong, cognitive strategies and other techniques that can help reduce stress and enhance concentration, as well as one’s overall sense of well-being.  We meet once a week for an hour during the first 10 weeks of class.  
 
We have also offered a Professionalism in Practice non-credit offering for the past four years, which just concluded as well and is held once a week for an hour during the first 10 weeks of class.  (Its name was changed this year, as it was previously entitled “Ethics & Professionalism”).   In this offering, in addition to reading about and discussing many issues of ethics and professionalism in a small group setting, we ask students to engage in self-reflection and submit weekly journal reflections.
 
When I taught Professional Responsibility last year, I also required that students submit weekly journal reflections as a part of their final grade.  I feel self-reflection is an important part of the process of forming one’s professional identity (but not something people do regularly or even feel very comfortable doing) and so sought to encourage students to get into the habit of engaging in this process.  I also started each class session with the day’s reading from “The Reflective Counselor” in an effort to make students aware of the importance of quiet reflection, purposeful thought, and becoming more mindful of the many components of one’s life, personally and professionally.  I will be teaching PR again in the spring semester and plan to again incorporate contemplative practices to some degree.
 
Interestingly, Vanderbilt University has a Contemplative Pedagogy group (of which I am a part), which meets regularly and shares ideas for including a contemplative practice in the classroom setting.  One of our legal clinic faculty has also joined the group.

Excellent, Julie! Thank you. As I have said before, Tennessee seems to be cutting edge.

Note: Click to see what is being offered at other law schools.

Law school contemplative, mindfulness, and meditation programs

I am going to post here the law school programs about which I learn. Please let me know of programs I have missed.

• University of Miami School of Law: Program on contemplative practices and an ethics course incorporating mindfulness
• UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall: Course “Effective and Sustainable Law Practice: the Meditative Perspective"
• Vanderbilt University Law School: Courses "Supportive Practices" and "Professionalism in Practice"
• Roger Williams University School of Law: Course on integrating mindfulness into trial advocacy.
• CUNY School of Law: Course on contemplative practices, Contemplative Lawyering program
• William Mitchell College of Law: Course "Beyond Listening: Skills & Understandings Essential to the Practice of Law and Managing Conflict"
• University of North Carolina School of Law: Yoga during Preorientation Program and each Friday lunch
• University of San Francisco School of Law: Weekly meditation group and contemplative lawyering course
• University of Texas at Austin Law School: Samsara Yoga Club, page 33 here
• Brooklyn Law School: Yoga Club
• University of Connecticut: Course "Contemplative Lawyering"
• University of Buffalo Law School: "Religion, Spirituality, and Cognitive Science: Contemporary Establishment Clause Issues"
• Georgetown Law: Lawyers in Balance (LIB)
• George Washington Law School: Mindfulness and Relaxation sessions.
• University of Florida Levin College of Law: Course "Tools of Awareness for Lawyering."

"Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be...Lawyers"

Abstract:

This essay treats a legal education as an investment, and asks the question of whether, based on known costs and expected benefits, such investment should be undertaken. The inquiry will necessarily differ from one potential law student to another. But for three posited “typical students,” the investment is shown to be a bad one.

Click to download "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be...Lawyers" (SSRN).

Blog Glob: Death of "Big Law School"?

Excerpt:

Larry Ribstein has been writing and blogging up a storm about the "Death of Big Law." Larry makes a convincing case that the current economic crisis is not just a blip for law firms with everything returning to normal soon. Assuming that large law frims cannot deal with the structural problems Larry outlines and that the decline of big law is long term, what would that mean for legal education?

It would likely mean the end of the law school boom - with its expanding law faculties and the bumper crop of new law schools. Like it or not, the business model (I hate applying that term to legal education, but can't think of another one) of many law schools is heavily dependent on students getting high paying law firm jobs to pay off high law school tuition. Law firms are also prime benefactors of law school endowments. Without corporate law consuming law school graduates by the dozens, law school will face massive economic pressure.

Click to read the rest of Death of "Big Law School"? (The Conglomerate).

More mindfulness events for lawyers and law students, including an ethics course incorporating mindfulness

Mindfulness continues to enter the legal profession through many doors. Earlier this school year, I told you about the U of Miami School of Law's eight-week program on contemplative practices. The Florida Bar News just published an article about that program. From "Mindfulness program aims to help law students live in the moment":

To be an effective law student or lawyer, it is important to be able to focus on the task at hand. Obsessing about the past or worrying about the future can diminish that focus and dilute effectiveness.

That’s one reason the University of Miami has decided to introduce law students to contemplative practices that provide tools for enhancing students’ effectiveness at school, their well-being, and — hopefully — their success and fulfillment in the practice of law, according to Scott Rogers, a University of Florida trained lawyer who also holds a master’s degree in social psychology.

...

Rogers said UM is not alone in integrating contemplative practices into their curriculums. Charles Halpern at Boalt Hall at Berkeley and Professor Leonard Riskin at UF are also part of the growing, national trend of teaching mindfulness at law schools. Major corporations like Google have also instituted mindfulness programs for their employees.

Next semester, University of Miami Law will be offering a course entitled "Professional Responsibility & Mindfulness in the Digital Age" taught by Rogers and Jan Jacobowitz. The course description (found here):

The Impact of New Media on Lawyer Conduct: Mindfulness and Professional Responsibility in the Digital Age

A Judge's decision upsets a lawyer and he vents his frustration by blogging and characterizing the Judge as "an evil witch" on a Halloween posting. A young attorney excited about her practice

Lawyers behaving badly: Do new lawyers need mentoring in civility?

In "Stop behaving badly, boorish lawyers told" (Toronto Star), several possible reasons are put forth to explain why the number of complaints made to the Law Society of Upper Canada about rude and abusive behavior has increased. These reasons include:

"Our society isn't as polite as it was," [Derry] Millar said in an interview. "People on their BlackBerrys and their phones have no idea of who is around them. They are not engaged. You phone somebody and you get an automated attendant. We've lost social interaction and people are overstressed, overworked and rushed.

And . . .

Remaining on one's best behaviour, though, can be challenging in an adversarial justice system that pits lawyers against one another and fosters a "radical kind of individualism," [Eugene] Meehan notes.

This one is probably a factor . . .

[Derry] Millar said the law society is also looking at strengthening mentoring programs. Some believe incivility is on the rise because many new lawyers start out on their own these days instead of working alongside experienced members of the bar, who could show them how to behave.

I have not thought much recently about how one learns the culture of the profession. This morning I spent some time recalling what I learned from my mentors. The highest degree of civility, courtesy, and respect for all lawyers and clients was certainly a part of it what they taught me. Their teaching was almost all by example; I watched them maintain that demeanor and behavior even when the other side was acting with a low degree of civility.

What do you think? Is civility something one can learn from another? How do new lawyers learn the way to navigate in a civil manner, even when confronted with boorish behavior? Are law schools teaching civility? Should they?

Law schools very interested in brains

I do hope those law students at Harvard are listening to speakers with differing points of view. For example, they recently heard a talk from Daniel Wegner, author of The Illusion of Conscious Will. I hope they also hear from a non-determinist as they are educating themselves about the very important question of the existence of free will.

That law students are looking at the mind and the brain is certainly good. Doing so helps them to have a broader perspective. And the interest is not just at Harvard Law. From Meeting of the minds: law students flock to psychology lectures (Harvard Law Record):

In recent years, the number of law review articles citing to prominent mind sciences research has skyrocketed, and  most top-tier law schools now  offer courses emphasizing relevant insights from social psychology and related fields.  In fact, the course descriptions of nine courses in the 2009-2010 HLS course catalog explicitly mention psychology. And in the wake of the recent financial crisis, economists and lawyers have turned increasingly to behavioral economics and social psychology to understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms that shape and influence our institutions. Psychology and neuroscience are increasingly informing and challenging some of the assumptions of the criminal justice system, and the mind science promise to help sharpen and clarify legal concepts.

Neurolaw can move the legal system in the wrong direction, too. I have blogged about the dangers often:

• Some hard questions about neurolaw: If you are interested in law and neuroscience, read this article
• Neurolaw: Leaving out a big piece of the puzzle
• Neurolaw another branch of neuromythology? Free will? Free won't?
• Not guilty! I'm only a neuro-person and my brain made me do it

For more posts, click here.