idealawg

What is right with the legal profession? You are invited to answer that question

Back in May, I asked this question: "What is right with the legal profession?" Around that time I also suggested to Don Hutcheson, publisher of The Complete Lawyer, that he make that question a focus of one of the editions of his magazine because I think it is a question that can and should be explored from many angles and by many people. I am glad to see Don followed my suggestion and has included a survey on "What's right about the profession of law?" in the newest edition of The Complete Lawyer.

In the spirit of inquiry, exploration, mindset expansion, and such approaches as Appreciative Intelligence, I will continue to look at this question from several perspectives, both predictable and novel. What do you think is right about the legal profession? Please add your comments below or send me an e-mail. (I have been receiving lots of e-mails in response to the leadership poll, truly appreciate hearing from you, and will be posting all poll results in in the near future.)

The idea of looking at what's right, what's working, and then benefiting from that view is not new. As examples, more and more people are becoming acquainted with and using Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Intelligence, and the field of psychology has seen the growth of Positive Psychology. I am right now reading the new A Primer in Positive Psychology and recommend it to those wanting to balance the negative with the positive in considering situations (and professions).

Tojo Thatchenkery and Carol Metzker say in Appreciative Intelligence: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn:

Appreciation has its skeptics and critics as well as its advocates. Like a medical doctor who diagnoses what is sick in a patient in order to determine treatment, many

Long lunch, likeable lawyer

My lunch today with Brian Hammer of The Likeable Lawyer lasted three and one-half hours. Our time together at Racines passed very quickly as we talked and talked and talked through the meal and many cups of post-lunch coffee. We found many common interests; for example, he just finished a reading jag on neuroscience (anyone regularly reading idealawg knows neuroscience is one of my favorite topics). We share an abiding appreciation of the lawyer mind and creativity, and both of us sincerely enjoy working with lawyer professional development. Neither of us practice law now but we both remember the courtroom with a feeling akin to nostalgia.

Since Brian quit practicing law, he has been involved in training. These days he presents CLE programs as he travels the country in a big RV accompanied by his dog. From his site:

The Likeable Lawyer offers CLE courses to lawyers nationwide on topics important to lawyer success including: communication, trust and relationship-building, ethical persuasion and client satisfaction.

The CLE courses are well-attended and marketed mainly through word of mouth. If Hammer, his RV, and his dog arrive in your city, you may want to see what this likeable lawyer has to offer.

One thing we do not have in common: Brian asked me what a blog is! I have a great idea to more than define it for him. Brian lives in Austin, Texas, as does my friend Scott Allen. Scott wrote The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online. I am going to introduce them. With the unbeatable combination of expertise and enthusiasm that Scott possesses, I would not be surprised if we see Brian jumping into the blogosphere with a likeable blog.

Leadership survey -- you are invited to participate

I am going to refine this poll as time goes by; here is my first version. All comments and suggestions are appreciated, both on the survey and on pollhost the mechanism I am using to conduct it. Please feel free to ask others to participate, too. I would like to have lots of responses. Thanks.

(I wish I could figure out how to center this.)

Please choose all the statements that you believe apply to leadership
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is integrity (actions match values)
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is communication skill
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is honesty
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is charisma
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is intelligence
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is ability to envision the future
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is kindness
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is the ability to see potential in people
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is the ability to see potential in situations
	An essential, necessary trait of a leader is courage
	One or more essential, necessary traits are missing from above and I will e-mail them to you
	The essential, necessary traits of a leader vary from situation to situation
	There are no essential, necessary traits of a leader
	One can be a leader without followers
	Leaders choose their followers
	In studying leadership, it is more valuable to talk about the specific traits of leadership rather than the general concept of leadership
	For everyone, there is a situation in which he or she would be a capable leader
	The ability to be a great leader is innate -- a person is born with it
	Leaders must understand neuroscience -- how the brain works
	Leaders must understand complexity theory and how systems work
Free polls from Pollhost.com

This law firm training I would like to see: Dog tags and drill sergeants but no lectures (do you think it's brain-based?)

No lectures allowed! At Fish & Richardson, the new recruits wear dog tags and the training lawyers are identified as drill sergeants and Special Forces. Read all about this unusual firm training program in the Boston Business Journal article "In the trenches: A look at the competitive pressures affecting the legal industry."

Three times a year, Fish & Richardson PC's executive offices are transformed into a mock military base, complete with latrine, mess hall, drill sergeants and Special Forces.

The militant setting sets the atmosphere for a three-day "boot camp," during which new recruits enter basic training. The firm issues dog tags to the recruits and airs reruns of "M.A.S.H" during meal times. The attorney trainers are the drill sergeants. The litigator trainers are the Special Forces.

"We do not allow lecturers at boot camp. The entire boot camp is hands-on training with hypothetical scenarios. There is live play acting between senior lawyers and young lawyers," said David Feigenbaum, a principal in the Boston office of the 95-lawyer firm. Feigenbaum wears fatigues and a combat helmet while he instructs the recruits.