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The Mindful Lawyer conference begins today with the neuroscience of mindfulness

I am looking forward to this morning's sessions. Right now most of the attendees are meditating, following another exercise in which they participated earlier: either yoga or Qi Gong.

From the Web site about this morning (times at Pacific):

Plenary A - Meditation and the Brain
Centuries-old contemplative practices are now being studied in the lab. Through the use of powerful technologies for imaging the activity of the brain, we better understand the importance and impact of different types of meditation practices. Clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, Philippe Goldin, offers us cutting-edge insights into what neuroscience research has to say about the benefits of meditation from which we may more fully consider its application to our professional and personal lives.
Moderator: Scott Rogers
Presenter: Philippe Goldin, PhD

10:00 – 10:45 a.m.Plenary B - The Art and Science of Mindfulness: A Psychological Perspective
Studies in psychology and the social sciences about the effects of mindfulness on social interactions and the management of stress have implications for our effectiveness as counselors, advocates, teachers, students, and decision-makers in the legal profession. Join psychologist Dr. Shauna Shapiro as she explores with us the role of mindfulness for awakening the mind and opening the heart. Drawing on current research and theory, she will introduce three primary elements of mindfulness and explore the mechanisms of action through which mindfulness has its transformative effects. In addition, ways of integrating mindfulness personally and professionally to cultivate greater happiness, health and freedom will be discussed (and experienced).
Moderator: Scott Rogers
Presenter: Shauna Shapiro, PhD

The breakout I will be attending is:

 

And yet another article about The Mindful Lawyer conference: This in the San Francisco Chronicle

The headline is a bit inaccurate in that it is more than a meditation class that is drawing a crowd to Berkeley. The committee from around the country has put in many, many hours to create this extraordinary conference, with a wide-range of programs. It begins today.

From "UC Berkeley lawyers meditation class draws crowd" (San Francisco Chronicle):

Lawyers are known for being adversarial multitaskers, so the idea of an attorney sitting still in silent meditation may seem like an oxymoron.

...

"That meditation could have something to offer lawyers may seem counterintuitive," said Charles Halpern, a Boalt lecturer who is chair of the conference. "Lawyers are not accustomed to sitting in silence and looking inward."

Yet considering the high rate of burnout among lawyers, it may be just what they need. Halpern said the economic downturn has been very hard on the legal profession, with firms going under, partners being fired and offers to new recruits being withdrawn.

"The level of stress and anxiety in the profession is huge and the negative consequences are so huge that the profession can no longer ignore them. I'm talking about things like substance abuse, depression, suicide and general misery," Halpern said. "A lot of lawyers are just not happy."

That might explain why "The Mindful Lawyer" conference is sold out. Conference organizers had set a maximum of 150, but a higher-than-expected number of registrations forced them to raise it to 185 - the most the school could accommodate - with more than 30 on a waiting list. Participants are coming from across the country and as far away as Australia.

Click to read the rest.

 

 

Still another article on The Mindful Lawyer conference: This one in The National Law Journal

Happy to see that this weekend's conference is getting good coverage from the media. From "U.C. Berkeley to hold conference on meditation and law practice":

Conference organizer Charles Halpern, who teaches a seminar at Berkeley Law called "Effective and Sustainable Law Practice: The Meditative Perspective," said that the legal profession is becoming more open to the benefits of meditation.

"At one time it seemed very exotic, but interest in law and meditation has been growing for a decade," said Halpern, founding dean of the City University of New York School of Law. "Courses have been showing up in law schools across the country, there have been CLE courses on this and gathering of lawyers focusing on meditation."

More scientific research on meditation has helped silence some of the skeptics, he said. Halpern said he hopes that the upcoming conference will raise awareness of the use of meditation in law and help create some national collaboration to further its practice among law students and lawyers.

The inward focus of meditation and its goal of helping people detach can help lawyers hone their skills and manage stress and anxiety, said both Halpern and Snell & Wilmer partner Michael Zimmerman, who has been meditating regularly since 1994.

"The lawyer's job is essentially to be an analyst — to look at the law and analyze the situation and strategize about the client's best position, which requires looking at things from numerous perspectives," said Zimmerman, a former Utah Supreme Court judge who is scheduled to speak at the conference. "To be able to disassociate my subjective experience is essential to what it is to be a lawyer. It's a tremendous skill advantage."

Click to read the rest.

 

Blog Glob: "Santa Clara University School of Law celebrates its 100th anniversary"

Excerpt:

...Through their growth, however, SCU Law has remained true to its Jesuit foundation and a commitment to social justice. Last year alone, students contributed nearly 11,000 hours of pro bono work. In addition, faculty members are often granted advancements for scholarly research as well as community outreach. Santa Clara's faculty have gone on to create non-profits and advocate for human rights.

“Since its founding in 1911, Santa Clara University’s law school has been providing a quality legal education for bright and engaged men and women who seek to inspire change in the national and local corridors of power and to represent their clients’ interests and needs,” said SCU Law Dean Donald Polden. “Today, Santa Clara Law prides itself on providing a rigorous education for some of the country’s most promising lawyers who lead their fields with a commitment to professional excellence, ethical lawyering, and community service—all with one of the most vibrant business centers in the world as our backyard.”

Click to read the rest of "Santa Clara University School of Law celebrates its 100th anniversary" (The National Jurist).

Blog Glob: Panelists debate use of neuroscience evidence in the courtroom

Excerpt:

Have you ever wondered about the methodologies behind lie detection? Is its application in the courtroom setting appropriate? In which cases is lie detection machinery flawed? A Monday night panel discussion held by the Stanford Interdisciplinary Group in Neuroscience and Society (SIGNS) attempted to tackle these issues, covering modern neuro-imaging in locations outside the lab.

The event, “Neuroscience in the Courtroom,” debated the merits of lie detection testing, concluding that there were significant reasons to regard it with skepticism. The panel commenced with a brief introduction of potential and current uses of neuro-imaging in today’s society. Those uses included prediction of behavior, ability to read minds, detection of pain, criminal responsibility, treatment of such diseases as Alzheimer’s and enhancement of neural processes through drug use. The discussion then progressed to the perspectives of a law professional and neuroscientist on the use of neuroscience in the court.

Click to read the rest of "Panelists debate use of neuroscience evidence in the courtroom" (Stanford Daily).

Interview of Judge Thelton E. Henderson on his meditation practice

Click to watch this video in which Judge Henderson talks about his meditation practice as he is inteviewed by Charlie Halpern. Judge Henderson is a federal judge in the Northern District of California.

Video courtesy of Center for Contemplative Mind.

Image credit: San Francisco Bay View.

The Mindful Lawyer conference starts Friday: Another article on the event

The upcoming conference "The Mindful Lawyer: Practices & Prospects for Law School, Bench, and Bar" "will draw about 185 judges, lawyers, mediators, law professors, and law students from across the country—with another 40 on a waiting list." This fact is contained in a new article from Berkeley Law News Archive.

From "Berkeley Law to Host First National Conference on Meditation and Law":

"Many lawyers don’t pay close enough attention to what their clients are telling them, and don’t reflect on different ways to best represent them," says [Scholar-in-Residence Charles] Halpern. "Effective listening and deep reflection are often impeded by stress and anxiety. Meditation can help with this."

The conference will offer a blend of scholarly presentation, practical experience and discussion, meditation and movement practice, and recent developments in neuroscience and psychology relevant to meditation practice.

...

The conference will range from an introduction on effective meditation techniques to neuroscientists providing evidence on how the brain is positively impacted by meditating."Lawyers are always looking for evidence," says Halpern, "and they’ll get it here."

Click to read the rest.

The conference begins Friday, and ends Sunday afternoon. Click for information about "attending" via the Internet. Videos will be available on the this Web site post-conference. Watch for conference-related blog posts here at idealawg, here, and in the posts of other bloggers listed here.

I am very excited to see this convocation finally happen. Many people have been involved, including this group. Several of us met a year ago to begin the planning and now, very soon, the conference will begin unfolding, the first of many, I hope.

Zombie mediators, zombie cupcakes

I am very partial to zombies. I e-mailed a friend this morning that they are one of my favorite groups of beings. I know a number of zombies, and find most intriguing those who meditate and mediate. Some zombies make good mediators, I told her. She asked, "But can they control the urge to eat the clients?" Well, there is that . . .

In fact, I have known mediators who do eat their clients. And often, not being satiated (even after a good gorge), they go looking for dessert. Sweets, snacks, full meals -- zombie mediators eat all kind of clients. A number of them are very good at finding big breakfasts, gill-filling brunches, even banquets. They call their foraging and fishing "business development" or "marketing." A number of mediators with whom I have talked aspire to the chow-down mediation model. Even though the majority of them are satisfied with crumbs, this model is taught in some of the most prestigious institutions.

Why so many starving mediators? Maybe clients don't like being eaten?

Okay, some blog posts are just for me.

P.S. More about the zombie meditators another day.

Note: To continue on with the zombie food thought, don't miss three new cookbooks: Zombie Cupcakes: From the Grave to the Table with 16 Cupcake Corpses, Zombie Cupcakes, and A Zombie Ate My Cupcake.

Image credit: Zombie Autopsies.

Another neuroscientist uses zombies as a teaching tool

Photo of zombie yoga (credit below)

Remember Harvard Medical School's Dr. Steven Schlozman? I have posted in the past about his creative and smart use of the zombie to teach about the brain. Appropriately one of my posts about him, which included an interview, is dated last Halloween.

Professor Michael Harris (his ZomBcon page) in Alaska also uses zombies to teach. From "UAF professor uses zombies as a teaching tool" (Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks):

Dr. Michael Harris teaches students about zombies, but it’s not what you think.

This isn’t a pop culture or movie class. Harris is an associate professor of neuroscience and integrative physiology at the Institute for Arctic Biology and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He uses zombies as an example in his classes to explain neurobiology and animal physiology.

He started teaching it as a way to keep students engaged, but it’s grown to be more than a teaching tool. Harris is one of three scientists on the advisory board for the Zombie Research Society. The group consists of writers, artists filmmakers and artists who all have the goal of adding greater insights to the zombie discussion. This year Harris will travel to Seattle’s ZomBcon convention where he will take part in panel discussion on zombie anatomy and physiology.

The basis for Harris’ zombie knowledge is based in his neuroscience research. ...

Click to read the rest.

Who could have guessed that, in the 21st century, zombies would be teaching assistants?

Note: Click to read a review of Dr. Schlozman's upcoming book The Zombie Autopsies. Click to follow Schlozman on Twitter. Click to see his ZomBcon page.

Note (added later): Other neuroscientists studying zombies:

• Bradley Voytek (his ZomBcon page)
• Timothy Verstynen (his ZomBcon page)

Image credit: New York Times.

A method of training service professionals in compassion (not to mention mind fitness and mental armor)

Just a week before the upcoming The Mindful Lawyer conference, I notice a Boston Globe article with this paragraph:

Empathy training and mindful practice are becoming embedded in curricula for medical trainees to learn the fundamental elements of compassionate care. Such efforts could well be replicated in other educational and business settings where empathic relationships are essential.

Efforts are happening in the law, too, as I have been posting about frequently. At the conference, many of these efforts to bring mindfulness to law schools and the practice of law will be discussed. If you are not attending The Mindful Lawyer conference next week, you can still e-attend as described here.

Note: In addition to possible affect on compassion, mindfulness can also increase "mind fitness and mental armor."