idealawg

Lawyers as lovers: What does it all mean?

It does my heart good to see the word "love" in the legal blogosphere. It sometimes takes courage (derived from the root word for heart) to use this kind of word in the company of lawyers. But here it is. This is Tim Hadley at Math Class for Poets quoting Bruce MacEwen at Adam Smith, Esq.:

I believe firms may increasingly find themselves in two camps.

One set of firms will cling to the "safety" of tradition, keeping associates in the dark, as the second-class citizens they are presumed to be, pointedly oblivious to "work/life" issues, letting the fungible young things sink or swim in the deep end of the pool they're being paid well to inhabit.

Another set of firms will embark on the adventure of embracing this generation of graduates as true professional peers and colleagues, every bit as ravenous for challenge, stretching, and unfamiliar new assignments as we were— and will also embrace the reality that the highest form of human happiness comes not with work alone, but with work and with love.

I wonder what kind of love they mean? I believe I know but decided to look into the definitions of love before asking them. The word can cause confusion:

In English, the word 'love' . . . is broadly defined and hence imprecise, which generates first order problems of definition and meaning, which are resolved to some extent by the reference to the Greek terms, eros, philia, and agape.

Eros, philia, and agape are covered all over the Internet and in more books and articles than I could link to in a week of full-time linking.

Very briefly:

Eros is romantic, passionate, often sensual. I don't think that's what Bruce and Tim are talking about; we know the problems and liability eros can create and incur in the workplace.

Philia is friendship or brotherly love, as in Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. C. S. Lewis's definition of philia includes a strong bond based on a common task or interest. In his definition, philia does not exist unless there is something the relationship is about, a reason or purpose.

Agape is pure love. C. S. Lewis defined it as love for one's fellow human being not depending upon any lovable quality of the person loved. In my Catholic boarding school days, the nuns defined agape as unconditional love, the love-thy-neighbor-as-thyself kind of love.

If we love our clients and the people with whom we work, what type of love is it? Philia or agape? Both? One for clients and the other for co-workers? Something else? The exercise of thinking those questions through can create a live link (love link?) between the head doing the thinking and the heart where we hold our values.

Bruce? Tim? What did you mean?

I'm looking for more love in the blawg belt of the blogospere.

The most important question to ask about the legal profession

Last week I talked with a friend who was the first woman partner at her firm, led a litigation practice group, and is one of the most talented people I know. One of the many topics we discussed over coffee at a local Starbuck's was Appreciative Inquiry (AI). (Tal D. Ben-Shahar, in his lectures on the psychology of leadership linked to from my last post below, discusses AI beginning in lecture 6.)

My friend recalled hearing a lecture about AI by Dr. David Cooperrider (founder of AI) at a conference. Of all the academic presentations she heard during those three days, his was the most memorable. She said he was plain-spoken and impressive -- so impressive that she returned home and told many people about AI.

I have been interested in its many applications for several years now and have seen the significant effect it can have on conflict in the various processes of alternative dispute resolution. So I was excited to hear about a new book on an aligned topic, Appreciative Intelligence. As soon as I learned of the book, I asked its co-author Carol Metzker to be interviewed for idealawg; I will be posting that interview in the next few days.

Cooperrider wrote the Introduction to this new book. He includes the description of a talk he recently gave in which he proposed that peace would come from the world of business. The talk was given in Israel. He goes on to tell a remarkable story.

Psyched on leadership: What an amazing world!

Right this minute, no matter where you are, you may listen to the lectures [URL no longer valid] given by Tal D. Ben-Shahar in his spring semester course on the psychology of leadership. Isn't technology splendid? The course is described on the Harvard site:

How can leaders-in the business sector, politics, or education-create an environment that facilitates growth? Topics include transformational leadership, personal identity, change, ethics, peak experience and peak performance, motivation, and systems thinking.

The March 1 session is a guest lecture by Scott Snook, author of Friendly Fire; he tells several good stories. I think you will find many more gems as you listen to and watch these lectures.

Ben-Shahar also taught the extremely popular class at Harvard on positive psychology. (Read about more Harvard happiness.) And listen to Harvard's positive psychology class lectures. [Course no longer free.]

Now please enjoy the lectures brought to you through the miracle of the Internet.

A rabbi, asked to define soul, said: "You know how when you are sleeping and you have a dream which you think is real, but then you wake up and see that the dream was just a dream; well, the soul is what we wake up into when we awaken from being awake." A leader is a person who, while being awake, wakes up a bit more. --Robert Rabbin, Igniting the Soul at Work

Change the world? Good, but let's not be too helpful

Yesterday Samantha Power spoke at the graduation ceremony of Santa Clara University School of Law. She offered some valuable points for lawyers, both new and old; from "Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Encourages Santa Clara University Law Graduates to Use Degrees to Change the World":

Reflecting on personal stories, Power hoped one of her lessons would resonate with the 305 graduates seated in Santa Clara University's Mission Gardens Saturday morning. She shared stories of her experiences as a young war correspondent in Bosnia, working with U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois), and of her struggles as a law student at Harvard. "Let reason be your tool, let justice be your cause," she said. She encouraged the graduates to get involved in politics, to never underestimate the power of friendship, and to ask the question, "Why can't we? You have a degree that can help those who cannot help themselves," she said.

I always am grateful for a reminder of the rights, responsibilities, and options the law degree gives us. I sometimes am nervous when I hear about our ability to "help those who cannot help themselves." Being able to help oneself is a matter of degree but I believe there are few if any who cannot help themselves at all. To assume that there are may not promote movement in the direction of positive world changing.

The word "serve" instead of "help" reduces my discomfort and also lessens the potential for problems in the lawyer/client relationship. "Serve" seems to include a broader range of clients and to make fewer assumptions about each client. It is not news that two clients with very similar legal situations may be best served by two very different kinds of professional relationships.

For looking at some of these differences, we have some guidance for the kinds of questions we can be asking ourselves and the client to determine the most effective way of interacting; we can look to the Perry Scheme as one gauge for the way we relate to each client. Many, many books and articles are available about the Perry Scheme. Here is an article I wrote a few years back about how this scheme informs our public debates; I include it here as it has a very quick overview of Perry.

To be even quicker for purposes of this post, let's consider just two of Perry's levels. A client in the first level or position sees the world as black and white; to this person, a professional, one in authority, has the right answer. That answer is to be given by the professional; this client's role is to receive. If two authorities disagree, one must be wrong as two points of view cannot coexist in this client's world.

New Edition of THE COMPLETE LAWYER Now Live

As I said I would do, I am letting you know the book review of Marc Galanter's Lowering the Bar is now live in the new edition of The Complete Lawyer.

While you are visiting The Complete Lawyer, I think you will find an article or two you will enjoy reading; the theme of the current edition is "What do clients want?" and the articles answer this question from a number of different perspectives. Take a look.

What's Love Got to Do with It?

If you believe Tim Sanders, love is THE killer app. In his book Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends, Sanders talks about a three-prong love business plan for increasing not only your influence (and business) but also your ability to help others. His definition of love business is "the art of intelligently and sensibly sharing your intangibles with your bizpartners." Bizpartners include all the people in your business life including colleagues, clients, potential clients -- and competitors. The intangibles are:

1) KNOWLEDGE

Everything you have learned and everything you continue to learn . . . all you have picked up while doing your job, and all you have taught yourself by reading every moment you can find the time. Think of your brain as a kind of piggy bank. Smart people fill it up with all they learn until they possess a formidable wealth of knowledge.

Sanders is a big proponent of reading.

Six years ago my career path wasn't any more remarkable than anyone else's. Then I went on a reading tear. And the more I read, the more I went into business meetings and won people's hearts -- and their business, too.

Of course, the knowledge gained from law books is not always what a lawyer's client needs. The wise lawyer fills that piggy bank with diverse knowledge -- and then listens closely to hear what will best serve the client.

2) NETWORK

Your entire web of relationships. In the twenty-first century, our success will be based on the people we know. Everyone in our address book is a potential partner for every person we meet. Everyone can fit somewhere in our ever-expanding business universe.

Gangbanging, Clowning and Thieving: Fine Prep Schools for Law

Many paths can lead to the practice of law. Business First of Buffalo focuses on several of those paths:

Law can be a great fit for people with all kinds of interests and aptitudes. It just takes some people longer to figure that out.

The Buffalo area is loaded with lawyers who had another career before they decided to give law a try.

Read the article to learn about some of the other careers.

Cupcake Brown's route to Bingham McCutchen (her firm bio) [she is no longer with the firm] included gangbanging, drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution, and that's just getting started. Her memoir A Piece of Cake is both an inspiration and an education in the underworld of scams, gangs, and the use and abuse of more drugs than I knew existed.

From her firm's Web site:

The San Diego Union-Tribune, March 26, 2006 -- The San Diego Union-Tribune excerpted a portion of San Francisco associate Cupcake Brown's book A Piece of Cake: A Memoir to accompany an interview regarding her new book. The excerpt features the moment Brown confessed her addiction to her boss, attorney Ken Rose, after a four-day crack binge. Rose interrupted Brown and said he was going to find her help instead of firing her, she wrote in the book. "What do you say when someone you've taken advantage of, lied to, and totally played, turns around and, instead of being angry -- which he had every right to be -- says he's going to try and help you?" Brown wrote. "I was at a loss."

In today's edition of Beliefnet.com you may read more of Brown's astonishing story and another excerpt from her book.

I have permission from her publicist to interview Brown for an upcoming article in The Complete Lawyer. In my quest for lawyers with unusual pre-law stories, I am grateful to have communicated with, and learned about, people with extraordinary lives. Watch here for a clown trained and certified by Ringling Brothers and a skilled carny thief, both now practicing law. As a result of their unique paths, each has brought gifts to the law that enrich both the profession and their clients. As I said, I am grateful.

Note (added April 20, 2008, 9:15 PM Mountain): As I mentioned above, Cupcake Brown has left her firm. She writes at her "blog" (I cannot figure out what blog platform she is using because you cannot link to individual posts - go here and scroll down to A New Season to see the post from which this is excerpted):

Hey ya'll. Whazzz up?!

In case you haven't heard, I have left my law firm. The reasons for my departure are varied and need not be enunciated here. Nevertheless, I want ya'll to remember that change is good. So often, we tend to be afraid of change. However, when I look back over my life, it's very evident that every change I made put me directly in line for a blessing.

Cupcake Brown now seems to be focused on her life, book tour ("a fee ($6,000 minimum) is required for ALL speaking engagements"), and e-mail answering:

Now that I've got more free time, I'll be able to respond to your emails faster. However, you should still expect at least a 4-5 month delay because I still have (literally) thousands of emails waiting for a reply. But, a reply is coming.

This hour A Piece of Cake is ranked #11,765 at Amazon.

"Twas a time for change: So what should Harvard be teaching its law students?"

Note: I am having a problem with the link to the article. I cannot get it to work directly but if you refresh your browser with the URL the live link below takes you to, it should work. I apologize for the extra step.

Today in a Boston Globe article, we once again hear about the complaints lawyers have regarding law students' lack of preparation for the practice of law. The writer of the article describes how Harvard is addressing the gap between law school and law practice.

A key proposal in a review of the Harvard Law School curriculum would push students to take a more practical, problem-solving approach to the law beginning in their first year, in addition to studying fixed legal principles. The changes are meant in part to better prepare graduates for the modern legal world, where an understanding of balance sheets, marketing, and management, and the ability to think creatively and innovatively, can be as important as an academic grounding in the law.

The review committee

consulted with law firm partners, public sector lawyers, judges, legislators, nonprofit institutions, students, alumni, and faculty, as well as business, medical, and public policy schools. They were asked a straightforward question: What should Harvard Law School be teaching its students?

Some think that making these changes in the curriculum could result in "healthy changes to the profession" and improve its public image. One firm managing director guesses that, if lawyers were better problem-solvers, the public might "like them better."

''If law students come out as better problem-solvers, I don't know if it would lead to less attrition, but it would lead to better and more usefully trained lawyers," said Kitt Sawitsky, co-managing director of the Boston law firm Goulston & Storrs. ''And maybe the public would like them better, too."

Proposed changes include supplementing the traditional case method with  the teaching of problem-solving techniques but details of other proposed changes have not yet been revealed. Stay tuned. Maybe Harvard will bridge the gap and lead the way for those law schools still not addressing the  preparation of students in the arenas of "creativity, strategy skills, and financial savvy." And, yes, I am aware that some, perhaps many, people, still argue that doing so is not the role of law schools. What do you think?

Speaking of change, how many law schools are teaching students to develop business and to build and sustain excellent client relationships?

Lessons in Law from The Sopranos, The Godfather, Liars, and that Legally Blonde Lawyer (with a Snickers chaser)

Lisa Scottoline just finished teaching a course at her alma mater University of Pennsylvania Law School. She created the class " to prompt students to think about what is right and how the public's perception of lawyers will affect them." Read the introductory lecture [the links to her lecture and the article are no longer live; you may click to read Lisa Scottoline's weekly column].

"Professor Lisa" is the perfect instructor for a course called "Justice and Fiction." Scottoline left a legal career to become an author of top-selling legal thrillers; People Magazine has called her "the female John Grisham." The article about her class says that she's a fine storyteller not just in writing but also in the classroom.

Students were rapt when Scottoline wove her own experiences working as a litigator at a large law firm, and clerking in state and federal courts, into class discussions.

Modern tales about justice and about the legal profession, whether in novels or on the TV or big screen, have a strong influence on the culture and people's ideas about lawyers. Many times I have heard from law students and young lawyers that their notions of what the practice would be like came from television. I have yet to see a TV program that came even close to my day-to-day life as a lawyer. Have any of you? If so, I want to hear your stories.

Scottoline has made a valuable contribution Scottoline to these law students. To be able to distinguish fact from fiction, and to know how the fiction influences the fact, before one steps into the shoes of a lawyer is very helpful.

Scottoline said the course was partly inspired by readers' questions that she fields on tours.

"They'll say to me, 'Is Law & Order realistic?' Or, 'This is just like Boston Legal.' And I realized more and more that so much of our ideas about justice are from fiction."

"I'm looking at American contemporary fiction from the 1950s on," she said. "Starting with Perry Mason, the portrayal of justice in American fiction: How has it changed and why is it changing?"

The syllabus included Grisham's The Firm, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Anthony Lewis' Gideon's Trumpet, and In the Shadow of the Law, a novel by Penn law professor Kermit Roosevelt that the Washington Post called "a sophisticated, often devastating" meditation on lawyers and the law.

The course also encompassed movies and TV shows: The Godfather (I-III), the third season of The Sopranos, and Legally Blonde.

"Pop culture is so influential," Scottoline said. "Boston Legal will influence [the student's] clients more than Bleak House ever did. That's what you want them to understand."

Plus she brought snacks for her students, an individually assembled bag for each. Food or not, I want to take -- or teach -- a class like "Justice and Fiction." You too? This class is another demonstration of the power of story.

[BLOG]

The [blog] comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over the harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
--Carl Sandburg (mostly)

Beyond Mother Goose: Storytelling in Mentoring, Marketing, Managing, More

Mark Beese blogged about the Forbes article by John Kotter on the power of storytelling. Mark described some of the benefits storytelling has for both management and leadership.

Recently Seth Kahan interviewed John Kotter. Professor Kotter opens the interview by talking about why storytelling is so important in presenting ideas that will create desired change:

Five or six years ago I started thinking more consciously about my primary goal: helping people change what they do and get better results. I have spoken at hundreds of meetings. Increasingly it is clear to me that people have trouble remembering what they hear at these meetings. This means it isn’t having an impact on their decisions, their actions, and hence, results on the job.

As I explored, I became very interested in the brain. I learned about neurology, and emerging fields like medical anthropology and the study of the brain’s evolution. I began to wonder how people learned 500,000 years ago. They didn’t have PowerPoint slides. It was from direct experience and stories of direct experience.

Stories stick in the brain in a holistic way, better than charts, numbers and concepts. As a result the probability that the message will have an impact on behavior goes up.

Mentoring, marketing, managing, and more succeed when ideas are presented that are memorable and provocative of action. Storytelling delivers ideas that are both.

As a storytelling bonus for you, here's an interview by Steve Denning. The person being interviewed is Jim Stuart who delivered the keynote address at last month's Smithsonian Storytelling Symposium. In this interview he says the organizational story fosters vision alignment and the personal story creates trust.

Of course, both vision alignment and trust are key components of management and leadership, and thus important to the legal profession today. in both of these interviews, the extraordinary power of storytelling is explained. How many law firms are utilizing this power tool?

Today I am going to see if I have mastered Trackbacks. I am attempting to Trackback to the Mark Beese post mentioned above. You can click on over to Mark's post to see if I succeeded.