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60 Web sites and online resources for lawyers

Kimbro Legal Services' Stephanie Kimbro has posted at Virtual Law Practice a nice list of 60 online resources that may be of value to lawyers.

Article on mindfulness features lawyer Scott Rogers: Your clients deserve your awareness and mindfulness

The Miami Herald carried an article this morning on mindfulness. "Calming your thoughts through mindfulness" includes a video of, and many quotes from, Florida attorney Scott Rogers. Through his Institute for Mindfulness Studies, Rogers offers Continuing Legal Education programs in mindfulness for lawyers. His next program is November 15 in Miami Beach.

As I have said before, your mindfulness is in your client's best interests. From the article:

Mindfulness is built around the premise of disengaging from overly emotional responses and extraneous thoughts that clutter the mind's ability to think clearly. By using techniques such as breathing, visual imagery and meditation to slow down and focus on the present, the theory goes, a person can tap into a higher level of awareness. The more acute awareness is the byproduct of more active brain waves brought on by meditation, studies have shown.

Simply put, it's going from worrier to warrior, says Rogers, 45, a lawyer who conducts seminars for other lawyers and school groups.

''We want to move into a place where the outside world will do whatever it's going to do without us going through the roller coaster of emotions,'' Rogers says. ``We want to maintain this more alive, vigilant, present way of being that is somewhat independent of how things are going.''

Now read the rest of the article and watch the video of Rogers.

Upcoming guest blogger will be of interest to anyone who works with boomers, seniors, or estate planning clients (or who has parents)

I learned of a great new book today and immediately contacted the author Julie Hall (The Estate Lady). We had a wonderful conversation in which I asked her to pen a couple of guest posts. She said yes! What is this book that I think is such a valuable contribution to you if you are dealing with families and their estates, whether they be your clients or your own siblings and parents?

The book is called The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff. The book is doing very well at Amazon and is #1 in three categories. Here's the description from her Web site:

You've heard the horror stories: arguments over stuff . . . an inheritance lost forever when easily deceived parents are scammed . . . siblings estranged . . . an adult heir taken from daily responsibilities for months because of the enormous task of emptying a childhood home.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY FOR YOU.

The Estate Lady®, professional estate liquidator Julie Hall, knows what to do. Whether your parents are still alive or you're in the middle of a crisis, The Boomer Burden has solutions. Hall provides trustworthy counsel on how to:

• divide your parents' estate with peace of mind
• minimize fighting with siblings during the estate settlement process
• clear out the family home in ten days or less
• identify potential items of value in the home
• have "that conversation" with your parents
• prepare your own children for the future

The Estate Lady® offers guidance for any executor, heir, or beneficiary, sharing some of her most fascinating stories as well as helpful checklists of the things that need to be done now and at the time of your loss.

I am looking forward to reading what she writes for idealawg. In the meanwhile, here is a short video of Julie Hall talking about her new book.

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the mind

You will not forget this mind (and brain) song. In August, I posted a very short (under one minute) video from Idea Festival of Jeff Schwartz explaining the difference between the mind and the brain. Jeff's and my mutual friend Marcia Bauman (see her at left) and I decided to put his words to music. Marcia is an accomplished musician and composer so she was able to masterfully bring our scheme to reality. Listen now to the song. That's Marcia singing, too. Play it twice and you will be humming the tune all day. Not Dylanesque as the post title might suggest but memorable, don't you agree? Thanks, Marcia!

Just who is this musical Marcia? She is a composer, pianist, teacher and independent researcher in the relationships between music, consciousness and health. She earned her Ph. D. in composition from the Eastman School of Music, and was a Research Associate at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA).

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Marcia is a certified practitioner of the Helen Bonny method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). At the College of Marin, she teaches piano classes, and courses in both guided imagery and music and music for film. She also teaches piano and composition privately and offers individual sessions in GIM.

She and I are talking about collaborating on some songs about, well, ... just wait; you'll see.

Note (added February 7, 2012): In case you want to sing along, here are the lyrics:

The easiest way to understand
The difference between the mind and the brain is that
The brain is a piece of biological matter
Protoplasm in your skull
That's the brain
It's a thing
You can hold it in your hand
It's a thing. Say it again (repeat)

The mind is your experiences
And especially for scientific purposes
Your attention and attention-focusing capacities
So, what aspect and the way in which you focus your attention
On your experiences

Photo credit: Kim Bova.

Idea Festival 2008: You can follow it on your computer

Each year, Idea Festival brings together some great thinkers. Here's the 2008 group. The organizers allow those of us not at the event to experience many of the talks. The first way you can participate is through the blog; bloggers summarize the talks for you. Examples:

• Nicholas Nassim Taleb - Black Swans and "Extremistan" and Don't be a turkey.
  
• Jonah Lehrer - Jonah Lehrer: The Art in You
• Imaculee Ilibagiza - Immaculee Ilibagiza - A Story of Forgiveness

Then, in the coming year, they will put IF presentations on YouTube. For example, here is one of Jeffrey Schwartz from last year's Festival. And they will also post Podcasts so you can hear parts of the presentations; here is Jeff Schwartz's from 2007.

I urge you to follow the Idea Festival blog so you may see what is already available for this year and what becomes available in the coming months. The IF people give us some wonderful gifts.

R.I.P Paul Newman (1925-2008)

I knew it was coming and recently told someone it would not be long before Paul Newman died but learning of his death still brings sadness. More here: "Actor Paul Newman dead at age 83" (New York Daily News).

From "Actor Paul Newman Dies at 83" (news10.net):

As [George]Clooney himself told Men's Journal in 2000, "Nobody gets to be famous as long as Paul Newman. You can't take your eyes off of him. He's always interested in the scene, as opposed to trying to be interesting."

The blue-eyed devil, a onetime chain smoker who died at age 83 after suffering from lung cancer, considered himself more lucky than talented to have the career he achieved.

Especially since the Cleveland native ran off to Yale Drama School after his father died, mainly to avoid taking over the family's sporting-goods store.

"I had no natural gift to be anything, not an athlete, not an actor, not a writer, not a director, a painter of garden porches, not anything," the actor said in 1991. "So I've worked really hard, because nothing ever came easily to me."

What Newman did have a knack for was being one of a kind.

That he was!

Note (added later): Worth-reading tributes to Paul Newman:

• "More than just a beautiful face" (Salon)
• Paul Newman (1925 - 2008) (Presentation Zen)
• Paul Newman's obituary (Los Angeles Times blog)

I have noticed over the last couple of days, both online and in meeting with friends and colleagues, that this man's death has affected people very deeply. He was an extraordinary person.

50 divorce blogs: Legal advice to moving on

Laura Milligan at Soul Mating has compiled a list of 50 blogs related to divorce. She has divided them into the following categories:

• For Women
• For Men
• Legal Advice
• Dealing with Divorce
• Moving On
• General Advice
• Go-To Resources

Any blog additions you would make?

Milligan also wrote another list: 100 Tips and Resources To Be a Happy, Successful Lawyer.

Hat tip to Emily Doskow at Nolo Divorce, Custody & Family Law Blog.

Stressed out by the bailout (or by anything else)? Duke Integrative Medicine offering free online classes in mindfulness

I learned at A Highly Placed Source that Duke and eMindful.com are offering courses at no charge on mindfulness through October 10. From  AHPS's post Help for People Stressed by Wall Street Financial Crisis:

Free online classes in stress reduction for people affected by the recent events in the financial markets are being offered by eMindful.com, a web-based mindfulness training resource, and Duke Integrative Medicine. Developed and taught by researchers at Duke Integrative Medicine, these classes are conducted in virtual classrooms where students can see, hear, and interact with live teachers and other students. Entering the virtual classroom is simple - and no software is required! Even novice computer users have easily accessed and enjoyed the eMindful classes.
...

The free classes will begin on Saturday, September 27th, and will be available periodically until October 10th at no charge. The courses are interactive and offer experiential exercises utilizing the techniques learned in class. Class times can be found at: http://www.emindful.com/schedules/MBSR.html

There was a time in the not-too-distant past where people lent a hand to each other just because… eMindful and Duke Integrative Medicine would like to lend that hand now.

The courses are called "Five Good Minutes Class for those affected by the Financial Crisis," "Learning to Manage Stress with Mindfulness Class for those affected by the Financial Crisis," and "Two-Hour Stress Reduction Class for those affected by the Financial Crisis."

How nice of them to provide this service! I have a feeling these classes will fill up quickly. If you are interested, you may want to register very soon.

Holy cow! Now this is a bizarre and calming Web site: You may want to send the link to anxious clients

You really have to see and hear this Web site to believe it. It was created by dairy farmers who found that chanting "moo" to their cows results in more milk. From "Exeter farmers "moo" to their cows to increase milk yield" (thisisbristol.co.uk):

Herds of Friesian and Ayrshire cows are said to produce up to six times the normal amount when they hear the Sound of Moo-sic during milking.

The barmy sounding moo-ves are based on a new technique developed by farmer Graham Vallis at his farm in Bradninch, near Exeter, Devon.

He mimics the sound of his 180-strong herd for five minutes per day before milking using a technique he coins "Taking a moo-ment".

Graham, 48, said his cows gather around him like he is "the pied piper" and fall into a trancelike, relaxed state before they head into the milking blocks.

Incredibly, Graham claims the five-minute mantra increases his milk yield and even improves the quality of its taste.

It has been so successful that the Federation of Organic Milk Groups (FOMG) is urging the UK's 450 other members to use the technique.

You may listen to cows and practice mooing here.

But that's not all. Dairy farmers are also practicing Tai Chi and demonstrating it at this same Web site. They tell us:

Drawing inspiration from China, where farmers have practiced Tai Chi for centuries, we’ve enlisted the services of a Tai Chi Master to help teach our farmers a series of seven special moves - one for each day of the week. Now we want to spread wellbeing across the nation!

I must say that hearing the moos and watching the moves had a strangely calming effect. And I'd sure like to meet those dairy farmers! Must be some mellow folks. Got any clients who need to chill out?

Using mediation and coaching in sibling disputes and legacy planning

 

Increased attention to disputes between siblings before, during, and after parents' deaths is naturally also focusing the spotlight on the role of mediation in these conflicts. Mediation can be very effective and useful at any stage; early intervention can be of extraordinary value. In this article "Legacy Planning" written by legacy coach Linda Somers, the author describes a process she calls family conference mediation. She writes:

A Family Conference is a useful method to pre-emptively deal with divisive issues that affect the family. The conference brings families together while the parents are alive to review the estate plan and to address potential painful conflict within the family. A professionally trained mediator assists the family in resolving issues about the estate and aims to reach agreement among all the participants. Mediation can not only prevent potential legal disputes, but is less costly than a court process in the unfortunate event of a challenge to the will.

Most importantly, mediation can help to strengthen relationships within the family.

The ways various mediators proceed in these prophylactic conferences may not be the same as that described by Somers, but their goals of saving families money, time, and heartache are the same.

In this legacy planning article, Somers also describes legacy coaching as another way for clients to "take charge of [their] legacy." And she offers four legacy principles.

1. Create a Hopeful Vision for the Future
2. Provide Meaningful Explanations of Your Hopes and Intentions
3. Approach Estate Planning as a Reflection of Your Values
4. Consider the Enduring Impact of Your Legacy on All your Family’s Generations 

They are each explained in the article.

Thoughts, additions, feedback on the above post and the article? I would like to hear from you about these important topics.

Related post: "Mediation of Disputes Between Family Members Before, During and After Funeral Planning".

Related article: "Understanding The Myths Surrounding Your Estate" (about the Allianz study from which resulted what Allianz called "the seven myths of the American legacy."

Image credit: ronnieb