Two articles stood out to me from mainstream press outlets this past week*. One...
Recent Posts
Tattoos, Technology, Tolerance and TMI
Interesting breakdown on Gen Y/Millennials found here, from The Jury Expert. Quick excerpt: Case themes a. Millennials led very structured and protected early lives. Themes of how investors/plaintiffs/trainees were not protected, trained or supported may resonate with them. Betrayal of trust is a serious violation. The trial theme trifecta of T-L-C (training, leadership and communication) [...]
Developing & Understanding Power Bases as a New Lawyer
Pop Economics has a post up on negotiating a raise today, which some might find useful. However, I wanted to focus on something else that is listed in the post: a power framework. It references the work of Dr. Frank Petrock of the LEAD Institute, and his work on the effective and necessary use of [...]
Not-So-Fun Graphs to Start Your Day
If you’re a soon-to-graduate law student or a freshly-minted lawyer, here are some numbers to keep in mind, courtesy of Businessweek and CalculatedRisk:
“Neural Coupling” and Effective Communication
As seen by Judge Rosenthal’s comments in the previous post below, effective communication is incredibly important for a lawyer. One aspect of effective communication is the rather ethereal ability to “connect” with a listener or reader. Often times when listening to an effective speak it can seem as though a listener is “in sync” with the speaker [...]
U.S. Dist. Judge on “Writing for Judges” – Focus on Summary Judgment Motions
For the unaware, the ABA has numerous divisions focusing on a variety of topics. Rainmakers, Young Lawyers, Women Lawyers, etc. Each division provides its own variety of services. Of particular note is the Litigation division that publishes a brief podcast titled “Sound Advice” on a semi-regular basis. The most recent edition features the Honorable Lee [...]
Shu Ha Ri – Martial Arts Theoretical Framework as Applied to Learning/Practicing Law Part II
Note: This is Part 2 in a series on the traditional Japanese educational (master/apprentice) framework, Shu Ha Ri, and it’s correlation with the study/practice of law. Part I can be found here. Ha Wikipedia describes it as “detach”, “digress” — breaking with tradition — detachment from the illusions of Self. Which is part of it. [...]
Lessons for Lawyers from the Great Conversation: Cicero III
A quick note: I think I’ve exhausted all I can extract from Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. While I was tempted to skip around a bit and maybe hit something a bit further along (St. Thomas Aquinas? John Stuart Mill?), but decided I wanted to at least stick around Roman History long [...]
Put Pen to Paper
Just a quick note to read Mark Britton’s (CEO at avvo.com) post, “Write It Down.” Something of which I am a large proponent. It’s #2 in my 5 Basic Mistakes for a New Associate (or Clerk) to Avoid. An excerpt from Mr. Britton’s post: Second, short-term memory aside, I see writing things down as a [...]
Shu Ha Ri – Martial Arts Theoretical Framework as Applied to Learning/Practicing Law
Last week in a post about “flow” and the zen concept of mushin, I had a bit of a discussion in the comments with a reader in regards to a seemingly growing trend in executive/work coaching/consulting advice that a person engaging in a type of process should just function at an intuitive level immediately – without [...]
The Fallacy of Our Senses: Choice Blindness
Cognition, the magazine of the International Journal of Cognitive Science, has a great research article titled “Magic at the marketplace: Choice blindness for the taste of jam and the smell of tea.” In the study, they set up a taste test at a local market and asked shoppers to sample tea or jam, but with [...]
