idealawg

Carol Metzker joins the blogosphere

Carol Metzker, co-author with Tojo Thatchenkery, of Appreciative Intelligence, has started a blog about A-Ideas. (She was also the first person I interviewed at idealawg.) From her A-Ideas Web site:

What's an A-Idea?

An A-Idea is simply a bright idea that came about by  appreciative intelligence. 

Here's one:  Coca-Cola. In the late 1800's, pharmacist Asa  Candler saw something unique in a failing headache remedy. He:
    •     reframed - saw the tonic as a consumer beverage,
    •     appreciated - focused on the drink's great taste (instead of  its worthless pharmaceutical properties)
    •     envisioned how proving its great taste to hundreds of people could create a wildly successful business.

Already she has blogged about such topics as An A-Idea with Meaning, Vision and Value: Polio Eradication, Another A-Idea: The Airport Queue, and Must We Praise Mediocrity or Failure?. I am betting this blog will be well worth following. Welcome, Carol!

Blog Glob: "Meet the clients" & "Who says being a lawyer has to suck?"

From "Meet the Clients: Law schools rarely teach students to be lawyers":

Legal education has been taking a beating recently. This month the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching issued a report criticizing the Socratic case method that dominates law-school teaching. According to the report, it does little to prepare lawyers to work with real clients or to resolve morally complex issues. Several months ago Harvard Law School announced a reform of its first-year curriculum to require classes in "problem solving," among other things. There appears to be an emerging consensus that although law schools may teach students how to "think like a lawyer," they don't really teach them how to be a lawyer.

It is hard not to agree. One of the biggest problems with the current state of legal education is its emphasis on books rather than people. By reading about the law rather than engaging in it, students end up with the misperception that lawyers spend most of their time debating the niceties of the Rule Against Perpetuities rather than sorting out the messy, somewhat anarchic version of the truth that judges and courts care about. When they graduate, young lawyers rarely know how to interview clients, advocate for their positions, negotiate a settlement or perform any number of other tasks that lawyers do every day. In short, they are woefully unprepared to be lawyers, despite the outrageous hourly fees charged for their services.

Read what else Cameron Stracher has to say about legal education.

From "Who says being a lawyer has to suck?":

In the past five years, a critical group of associates in the Bay Area—the smartest and most ambitious ones—has announced that they will not take it anymore. Forget their kids: they refuse to follow in their own footsteps. Even as firms throw increasingly outrageous salaries at them, the elite is bailing on, or never even considering, the law firm life.

Natasha Sarkisian has much more to say about law firm life. (Thanks to Mark Beese for alerting me to the second article.)

Not on the same legal writing page: George Gopen of Duke responds to Wayne Schiess of University of Texas

Wayne C. Schiess recently commented on my Interview of Dr. George D. Gopen: WRITING FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE (linked to from the (new) legal writer and Building Rapport). Dr. Gopen was kind enough to respond to these comments. (I have placed Schiess's comments in bold italics before Gopen's responses.)

Gopen writes . . .

Mr. Schiess –

I admire everyone who is passionate about the teaching of writing.  Let me respond to your response.

Schiess: So does Dr. Gopen recommend the passive voice? The dry, deadening, lifeless passive voice that pervades legal writing?

This issue with the passive is, I think, of great importance to legal writing and any other kind of high-level professional writing.  We seem to have bought into the judgment that the passive is, as you put it, “dry, deadening, and lifeless,” without considering carefully enough what happens when the passive is used.  I’ve recently published a very short article on this in the trade journal called Law Practice. ("When to Use the Passive.”  Law Practice, Vol. 32 #6, September, 2006, 50-2.) 

When we use the passive, it results in our moving around the furniture of a sentence into different spots.  My rather unusual approach to handling sentences advises that we regularly should place certain kinds of information in certain specific structural locations.  This is based on the assumption (discovery? belief?) that most of the clues for the reader in the interpretive process come not from word choice but from structural location.  In other words, as readers, we know where to look for what.   

For example, we tend to read a sentence as being the story of whoever or whatever shows up as its grammatical subject.  So “Smith battered Jones” is the story of Smith, and “Jones was battered by Smith” is the story of Jones.  If you need to be telling the story of Jones, the passive is the easiest, sometimes best, sometimes only was to get Jones up front into the “whose story” position.  That structural location is crucial to your readers seeing the sentence as you want them to see it.  In comparison with the importance of that concern, worrying about “active vs. passive” seems almost frivolous.  There are a number of similarly crucial problems in communication that can be solved best by the passive, several of which are covered in that short article I mentioned above.

Readers of an English sentence tend to give significantly greater emphasis to the material located at the sentence’s moment of full syntactic closure.  Such closure is produced by a period, or by a properly used colon or semi-colon, but never by a comma.  Sometimes the only way to achieve this structural placement is by using the passive.  When that is the case, thank goodness we have the passive.  I don’t think it is possible to write sophisticated, high-level intellectual; English without a skillful control of the passive.  I’ve also recently published a short article on the “Stress position” – my name for that moment of full syntactic closure.  (“Stress This : How to Indicate to Your Reader the Most Important Words in a Sentence.” Law Practice, Vol, 32 #4, June, 2006, 50-2.)

There is no question in my mind, based on decades of consulting experience, that poor use of the Stress position is the single most pervasive and single most serious problem  in legal writing today.  ( I refer here only to English.  Other languages have different reader expectations and therefore different problems.)

Schiess: I disagree. Shorter is almost always better.

“Shorter is always better.”  I would agree that quite often when a sentence has been improved, it has also been shortened; but mere length means nothing by itself.  I often used to shorten sentences for my clients or students, only to discover that I had seriously misunderstood their intentions.  My revision was shorter and tighter -- and wrong.

Conference announcement: Leadership, Ethics and Innovation - Strategies for Change in the Legal Profession

This event will be held February 9, 2007 [original post: February 8-9, 2007], in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [Note: Since posting a few minutes ago, I have learned of a change in the date eliminating February 8; for the most up-to-the-date information, go to the announcement at the site of presenter Steve Denning.] From the brochure [link eliminated due to date and presenter changes]:

A NATIONAL SEMINAR FOR PRACTICING LAWYERS, JUDGES AND LEGAL EDUCATORS

SHIFTING THE FIELD OF LAW REQUIRES A NEW KIND OF LEADERSHIP.

The legal profession is challenged by a decline in ethics and professionalism as a result of the increasing demands of commercialism and market forces. Despite these trends, many law professionals are reclaiming the highest ideals that first drew them into the profession.

A NARRATIVE APPROACH TO PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE

Stories or narratives impact the way we live each day and our plans for the
future. Lawyers are often excellent storytellers on behalf of their clients; yet,
they fall short when it comes to their own lives and profession. Most work
at such a breathless, whitewater pace that there is little time to determine
what alternative stories they could be living, which can lead to greater
personal and professional fulfillment. Despite the fact that lawyers have
great influence in society, many have difficulty changing their own lives
and institutions.

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN

How to:

• Become dynamic communicators who spark positive change in themselves, their colleagues and institutions;
• Help reverse the decline of ethics, professionalism, civility,
  and collegiality in the legal
  profession;
• Develop tactics to begin to close the gap between aspirational values and institutional realities in law firms, courts, government offices, and law schools;
• Tackle ethical dilemmas by calling upon core values that go beyond the rules of professional responsibility; and
• Lead more meaningful lives by finding more time for family life, pro bono work and community service.

Sponsored by
THE CENTER FOR LAW & RENEWAL
and
THE JAMES MACGREGOR BURNS ACADEMY OF LEADERSHIP

Hosted by
DORSEY & WHITNEY LLP

Download the conference brochure. [link elimated due to date and presenter changes]

What's your conflict style? Take a quiz to find out

Are you cooperating, directing, compromising, avoiding, or harmonizing? You can find out by taking this quiz. Ron Kraybill is offering a free sample copy of the quiz to those who might use it in training programs or with colleagues or clients. (Access the Kraybill Inventory below. Read the note at the end of this post to learn about other ways of analyzing modes of conflict resolution and managerial styles.) Kraybill's five-style assessment is not unlike others available (I posted about Thomas-Kilmann) but offers some unique features. For example:

The inventory gives you two sets of scores.
Calm scores describe your response when disagreement first arises.
Storm scores describe your response when things are very tense or if things are not easily resolved and emotions get stronger.

After you take the quiz you will get an analysis of your style which includes

• Strategies
• Source of power
• Benefits
• Cost when over-used

You may get a free review copy of the assessment by sending an e-mail for a return link that allows you to download a sample copy of the quiz and analysis. I have used Thomas-Kilmann, a similar assessment, with many lawyers and law students. What do you think is the most typical style for that group? I think you might be surprised. What's your conflict style?

Thanks to this latest tip for the offer of a review of the quiz.

Note (added January 22, 2007, 9 AM Mountain): Ed Batista just posted about Conflict Modes and Managerial Styles. He presents excellent graphics of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Modes (the instrument I use and which I first learned at the Center for Mediation in Law), as well as of the Mouton-Blake Managerial Styles.

Blog Glob: Brain carnival debuts (for those of you interested in change, success, brain health and fitness, plus much more)

This new carnival is a cut (or three) above many available these days. Topic sections include

• Science and Philosophy
• Education and Professional Development
• Health and Wellness
• Personal Stories and Techniques

Take a moment to click on over to the inaugural edition of SharpBrain's carnival. Don't be surprised if you learn something about what's going on inside your head, and find that you are looking forward to the next edition of this carnival.

New edition of THE COMPLETE LAWYER now online: The focus is marketing yourself

The weekend is almost upon us. For relaxation, you might want to read the new edition of The Complete Lawyer. If you don't have time to read the whole edition, be sure to take a look at Bob Burg's article "'Selling': The Most Misunderstood Word in Marketing." (Burg recently wrote a guest post at idealawg.) And while you are there, glean some nuggets from Steven Van Yoder's "Use Thought Leadership Marketing To Build Visibility And Credibility." Take a peek at "How Core Values and Family of Origin Impact Your Career," the latest in a series by Anne Whitaker. And before you leave the site, peruse Jill Breslaus' "Is There a Place for Emotion in the Law?" Regardless of how you choose to spend it, I wish you a grand weekend.

Blog Glob: "The Billable Hour Turns People into Workaholics"

From Time IS Money When You're Paid by the Hour:

For anyone who bills or earns by the hour, the world can turn into a 24-hour clock divided not by numbers, but dollar signs. In a recent study, lawyers watching their kids play soccer admitted to mentally ticking away lost income for each minute they stood on the sidelines.

Bob Sutton posts about this topic at The Billable Hour Turns People into Workaholics and Jeff Pfeffer Comments on Time is Money.

Interview of Dr. George D. Gopen: WRITING FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Every so often I post interviews with talented thinkers, authors and practitioners in which I ask them about their ideas of value to the legal profession. Today I am extremely pleased to bring you an interview of Dr. George Gopen. I have had the privilege of hiring Dr. Gopen to present several legal writing seminars in the past, and have been delighted to see attendees' enthusiasm and satisfaction. Because I know of no one else with a greater ability to teach lawyers, even those already good writers, to be better writers, I invited my old friend to answer some questions about this process he teaches so well.

idealawg: Thanks very much for being here at idealawg, George. I think the story of how you became a legal writing consultant would as interesting to many readers as it is to me so let's start there.

Gopen: I became a legal writing consultant by a series of accidents and instinctive career decisions.  I was an English major as an undergraduate.  Not knowing what to do with myself thereafter, I followed my father’s advice and went to law school – assuming, as he insisted, that my mental training there would stand me in good stead no matter what I wound up doing as a professional.  I loved the first year, but was unimpressed by my summer clerkship and not thrilled by the second year’s courses, which did not teach me anything new about the thinking process.

Noticing that Harvard had, at the time, a joint J.D.-M.A. program, in which any law student could opt to do a Masters in any Harvard department, I opted to do one in English. (Both the English Department and the Law School were so outraged that I would abuse the program by indulging in such frivolous pursuits, Harvard cancelled the program the next year.) I discovered I really wanted to be an English professor and convinced the English Department (by no means an easy task) that I should be allowed to stay fro the Ph.D.  I therefore did the two degrees simultaneously – 2 years law, 3 years both, and three years English. Somewhere in the fifth year, my mother began to tell people, “Most mothers pray their sons get into Harvard; me, I’m praying mine gets out.”

I was lucky enough to get a position in an English department, a feat accomplished by only 5 of the 47 who started the Ph.D. with me.  I secured a 3-years-and-out job at the University of Utah.  Accident #1: Upon my arrival, the new Director of Writing Programs, John Mueller, noticed my two degrees and asked me to create a course in “Advanced Composition for Pre-Law Students.”  I could find no such course being taught anywhere in the United States. I wrote 86 law schools,

The profession of half-empty glasses: The unique personalities of lawyers and an antidote

Last week Robin Rolfe Resources issued a press release entitled "Studies Show Lawyers Really Do Have Unique Personalities."

According to Professor Martin Seligman, Fox Professor of Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of the school of Positive Psychology, lawyers have distinctly different personalities. Among 104 careers, lawyers predictably score the highest in pessimism -- and the higher their pessimism, the higher their law school grades.

Myers-Briggs, one of the oldest personal style assessments, shows lawyers at the other end of the continuum from the rest of the population in three of the four major personality traits. The Caliper Personality Profile also shows lawyers to be different--whereas the average score on skepticism is 50, lawyers average 90.

David Maister, a preeminent consultant to professional services firms, who has historically claimed all these firms to be the same, has recently acknowledged that the personalities of lawyers pose special challenges to management.

Others also address the lawyer differences. Larry Bodine at his LawMarketing Blog wrote about the conclusions of Dr.Larry Richard regarding lawyer traits and how the profession differs from the general population. Richards used both Caliper and Myers-Briggs in making those conclusions.

In my article "Team-Building Frenzy Reaches Law Firms" , I talk about what I learned from Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation (and later from the Highlands Assessment Battery) about the lawyer's need for autonomy, critical approach, and competitiveness.

Susan Daicoff, author of Lawyer, Know Thyself, has created a chart How Lawyers Differ from the General Population in which she lists lawyer traits in early childhood, as pre-law students, as law students, and as lawyers.

From many, many sources, we can learn lawyers' uniqueness. Do you think it might be a beneficial exercise to  ponder how lawyers are the same as most folks? Gerry Riskin at Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices has already mused along "lawyers are people" lines. I think there are more similarities than differences. Your thoughts?

And about that pessimism. An article in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times describes the choice we have in keeping the traits that serve us and changing those that do not. The writer talks about people emphasizing traits they prefer and desire.

Can such an emphasis lead to more personal happiness? Certainly common sense, as well as the early research, seems to say ''yes.'' Neuroscientist Jeffrey Schwartz shows in his 2002 book, The Mind and the Brain, that while it has long been known that what we do can physically affect our brains, new research is actually showing that what we choose to think about can affect the physical wiring of our brains, too.

So, for instance, Schwartz found that people who only thought about carefully playing a piece of music on the piano over time had the exact same physical changes in their brains, as measured by CT scans, as people who physically practiced the same piano piece over time. Schwartz determined with similar studies that we can sometimes choose to think differently about things, change the physical wiring of our brain and, in doing so create, a kind of ''upward spiral'' for ourselves. [The piano research was actually done by Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone.]