Lawsagna

The Dog Days of Summer: Advice for Summer Associates

With the approach of the summer, many of you are heading to your first legal internships.  Do you remember the first time you looked at the blue ocean glistening in the sun?  You are thrilled and mesmerized by its power and magnitude.  It’s alluring on a sunny day and frightening when the skies turn dark.  The waters are treacherous if you don’t know how to swim, and what you don’t see can hurt you, but swimming in the ocean is exhilarating.  Are you ready to swim with the big fish?  Here’s is your survival kit.

Law Career Blog describes "Do’s and Don’t’s for Summer Associates" and tells you "What NOT to do as a Summer Associate."

Kathleen J. Wu  offers her insights in the article "Rules Summer Associates Should Live By":

“Even if the firm isn't ladling work on your plate, try to find some way to get something substantive out of your time at the office. Everybody knows that law school teaches you next to nothing about the everyday reality of being a lawyer. We learned the law in school, not lawyering. So spend your summer watching lawyers.”

Read “Summer Associates, Settling In” at Law.com for more advice on schmoozing and boozing, as well as deal-making and partaking.

Finally, here's  “Law Blog News You Can Use:  An Associate Etiquette Lesson” with the focus on table manners.

Generation gap in the workplace

Recently, the legal blogosphere has been actively discussing the work-life issues in the legal profession.  The Dreams of a Solo blog offers insights on how baby boomers and Gen X and Y differ in their approaches to work-life balance.  Natasha Sarkisian writes about the “new legal lifestyle” and “the attitudes of a generation that isn’t willing to sacrifice itself on the altar of work” in the article “Who says being a lawyer has to suck?” for San Francisco magazine.  What would baby boomers say of “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss?  Visit his site to find out your LQ (Lifestyle Quotient).

In light of this debate, you may want to listen to the podcast “Engaging the Generations” Pt 1 and Pt 2 from The Engaging Brand. This podcast contains a two-part interview with Tamara Erickson, the co-author of “Workforce Crisis.”  She talks about the characteristics of various generations of workers and the challenges that the management faces in attracting talented employees who want different things from their work environment.  Younger people, for example, are more comfortable with project-based engagements similar to the Hollywood model where actors, writers, directors come together to create a movie for a limited period of time and then move on to new projects with a new team.  This model offers a variety of experiences and a greater degree of flexibility. 

As a lawyer, I would ponder the following questions:  What types of clients will I have in 3, 5, 10 years?  How their lifestyle design will affect mine?  How can I be better positioned to serve their unique needs?  Clients are the puppeteers of lawyers’ work habits.  Who will be writing your scripts?

On purposeful listening

You wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you need to have a purpose when you speak, would you?  Even if we don’t articulate it, we generally have the intent for our communication to inform, persuade, entertain, support, control, annoy, or whatever it may be.  But what about listening?  Do you need to have a purpose when you listen?  Listening can be seen as passive and reactive, but it doesn’t have to be.  Does having a purpose change your listening?  Does it affect what you hear?  I will conduct an experiment.  I will engage in a conversation with a listening purpose in mind.  Maybe, I will listen to the emotions that reveal themselves in words, intonation, and body language so that I can empathize with the speaker.  I will listen to notice the choice of words and think about its significance.  I will listen to detect fears and concerns.  I will listen to what’s not said.  I will listen to help.  I will listen to remember.  I bet, I will learn more when I listen purposefully.  What do you think? 

Tip bit #21: Change the word

When you study for a multiple-choice exam, such as MBE, you need to read the questions  and options very carefully.  Your choice of the answer may depend on just one word.   Can you recognize those powerful words that trigger legal standards, call for doctrines, or cunningly distract you?  To practice identifying such words, try the following game.  Once you solve the original hypothetical question, go back and change one or two words in the question in such a way that alters your analysis.  Rewrite the hypo and see where it takes you.  It’s a good game to play with your study group if you participate in one. 

How to create memorable flashcards

You have probably seen popular character names used in legal fact patterns.  Most of them are there for pure entertainment.  But fictional characters can do work for your memory as well.  Here’s how – with the story of the Crow. 

Hypothetical: 
One day, the Fox was sleuthing around the Foxacre when he saw the Raven perched in a tree with a piece of cheese in his beak.  The Fox was hungry and came up with a plan to get the cheese from the Raven.  The Fox deeded the Foxacre “to the Raven so long as the Raven does not sing in his ugly voice on the Foxacre.”  The Raven, anxious to refute the criticism of his voice, set up a loud caw and dropped the cheese.  Determine the types of interest conveyed and retained in the transaction. Who owns the Foxacre now?   

Answer:
The Fox conveyed a fee simple determinable to the Raven and retained a possibility of reverter.  When the Raven began to caw, the limitation stated in the conveyance occurred and the estate automatically reverted back to the Fox. 

The following phrase will help you remember the estate and the corresponding future interest:
Fox Simply Deceived Poor Raven.
Fee Simple Determinable and Possibility of Reverter. 

If you are familiar with the Aesop fable “The Fox and the Crow,” this hypothetical can do a few things for you:

The familiar scenario when the Crow (Raven in my hypo because the letter “R” stands for “Reverter”) caws and drops the cheese, which the Fox immediately gets, reinforces the idea that the fee simple determinable is automatically terminated once the stated condition is broken.  The sneaky Fox gets both the cheese and the estate in my hypo. 

An additional benefit is the phrase that helps you to memorize the estate and the future interest. 

Can you think of any scenarios from books or movies that inspire you to create your own memorable hypothetical for a flashcard? 

**Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while (thank you, thank you!) know that I have done a number of such memory aids throughout my posts.  If you find them helpful, please let me know because I may be able to work on more of those to have a study aid product.  I’d greatly appreciate your feedback, so leave a comment or send me an email.

Podcast on brain neuroplasticity

If you want to know more about the capabilities of your brain, listen to the CBC Sunday Edition audio file from April 29, 2007, in which  Karin Wells interviews Dr. Norman Doidge on his book “The Brain That Changes Itself.” (Link to the podcasts -- scroll down to Sunday Edition).  He talks about some remarkable case reports of brain neuroplasticity with implications for trauma, learning disabilities, aging and much more. 

More bar exam tips

Still worried about the bar exam?  Here’s a list of resources that can help you study for and pass the bar.  (You can read my previous post here if you want my personal perspective on the bar exam experience.)

PLI offers bar exam tips from a panel of experts in the video and HTML text formats.  Learn about Preparation Just Prior to Starting Your Bar Review Course.  There is also advice on How to Write a Successful Bar Exam Answer and How Not to Be Conclusory.

Check out Passing the Bar site created by Professor Vernellia Randall.  It covers a variety of topics related to the bar exam preparation, including Specific Study Advice and tips on how to Develop Keywords Flashcards.

Carolyn Nygren describes a 7-step training strategy for bar candidates to practice before the bar review course starts.

FindLaw has a list of resources for the bar.

You can do it!

Is your learning significant?

How do you know if your learning experience is significant?  What factors will make it better?  Dee Fink  addresses these questions in his book “Creating Significant Learning Experiences.”  While the books is primarily for the instructors who are involved in designing college courses, students can benefit from its concepts as well in evaluating their learning and devising their own unique ways to make it better if the formal instruction falls short.  Fink writes:

“For learning to occur, there has to be some kind of change in the learner.  No change, no learning.  And significant learning requires that there be some kind of lasting change that is important in terms of the learner’s life.” 

Fink offers the “Taxonomy of Significant Learning” based on the following six kinds of significant learning:

Foundational Knowledge.  Learners must have the basic understanding of main concepts and ideas of the subject matter.

Application.  Application makes the learning useful.  It includes the ability to engage in various kinds of thinking, such as critical, creative and practical, and the development of skills needed to apply the knowledge and manage complex projects.

Integration.   Learners must be able to make connections between ideas, people and different realms of life.

Human Dimension.  Learning must lead to self-improvement and enable learners to function better in the world.

Caring.  Significant learning will make learners care about something more than they did before. 

Learning How to Learn.   Learners must be able to improve their studying skills and develop the characteristics of a self-directed learner.

How does you learning measure against this taxonomy? 

To find out more about Fink’s book and the design of significant learning experiences, visit www.significantlearning.org.

How would you like to have a dog for a client?

While this canine case reported by Stephanie Francis Ward in the article "Canine Case Is Doggone Tough" for the ABA Journal eReport may seem humorous to some, it is a serious matter for the lawyer who serves as a guardian to a 13-year-old golden retriever named Alex.  The dog became the subject of a custody battle after the death of his owner.  As unusual as this representation may seem, there are some perks:  the lawyer and the dog get along quite well and complaints to the state bar are unlikely. 

Need a course in dog communication?  It turns out that dogs wag their tail to the right if they are happy to see you and to the left when they are frightened, according to Italian researchers.   Rossella Lorenzi reports the findings in "Happy dogs wag tail to right":

“Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste and team describe these ‘striking asymmetries in the control of tail movements’ as another example of how the right and left halves of the brain control different emotions.”

I'll go to see what my dogs want to tell me.

Tip Bit #20: On learning portfolios

In the summer time, many students pursue internship opportunities, study abroad programs and other activities outside the traditional law school curriculum.  It’s a good time for self-directed learning.  You can read about the characteristics of self-directed learners in the article “Learner, Direct Thyself” by Gerry Sexton, M.D. at LiNE Zine.

One of the tools for more effective learning is a personal learning portfolio.  When you hear the word “portfolio,” you may think of artists or designers creating a representative sample of their works.  A learning portfolio, however, is a record of your personal learning experience, and it can be created by anybody.  What are the benefits of a learning portfolio?

• It makes your learning more purposeful.
• It’s a place to record your learning goals.
• It allows you to track your own progress.
• It will keep you motivated because it is also a record of your personal victories.
• It focuses your attention.
• It teaches you to be a reflective learner. 
• It can be a springboard for your job-search and career development strategies.

It’s up to you to decide how you want to structure your learning portfolio, but here is a simple format to get your started:

1. Identify the content of your learning.  What is it that you want to know?  For example, as a summer associate, you may want to choose your favorite areas of practice, decide whether you like the firm’s culture, learn how to write good memos and how to network, etc. 
2. Write down the reasons why you want to learn those things.  How does your learning fit into the larger context of your personal development, career objectives, social life?  You are more likely to achieve your goal if you have a reminder of why it is important.   
3. Determine how you are going to accomplish your learning objectives.  What experiences do you need to have?  How do you develop the skills you need?  Who can be your teacher / role model / mentor?  Create your own learning curriculum filled with the activities that can boost your professional and personal development.
4. Figure out how you can measure you progress.  How do you know that you have reached your goal?  What are your milestones?  Record your successes and challenges.
5. Reflect on your learning process.  Write down your observations of what works and what doesn’t work for you.  How could you learn more effectively? 
6. Find the ways to use and apply your new knowledge and skills.  How can you learn more by doing? 
7. Have a section where you can record random comments and observations, clip images that appeal to you, write down quotations, ask yourself questions and just let your thoughts flow onto the paper without reservations. 

Have you ever used learning portfolios?  How did they work for you?  Let me know.

Tips to develop intercultural competency

What are the chances that in your practice, you will represent a transnational corporation, take an assignment at a foreign office of the U.S. law firm, advise international clients on the U.S. law, outsource legal work to lawyers in India, help American retirees to settle down in Mexico, or devise an estate plan for foreign nationals with assets in the U.S.?  You may think that you have a local practice, but in today’s economy, more and more of your business and individual clients choose to trot the globe.  Are you ready to travel with them?  If you need help, the following resources can be your guide across cultures:

Pamela Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation gives advice on "How not to be a cultural knucklehead in a global business world." 

Lynn Gaertner-Johnston of Business Writing addresses pitfalls of cross-cultural communication in her post “Do You Like My Dressing?” 

Janet Moore offers great advice to lawyers across borders at her International Lawyer Coach Blog.  If you are considering a study abroad program, read the post “Study Abroad Opportunities for Law Students,”  which has a list of helpful websites.  The blog also has useful information for foreign lawyers in the U.S. 

I always look forward to Anne Fox and Dr. Laurent Borgmann’s podcast ‘absolutely intercultural!’ which deals with intercultural issues in creative and engaging ways. 

Letter to a Young Lawyer

Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters To A Young Poet,” Stephanie West Allen of Idealawg invited her readers to post on their blogs their “Letter to a Young Lawyer.”  Since I receive correspondence from the ABA Young Lawyers Division, I am among the audience, still trying to figure things out.  But I decided I’d give it a shot and write about a few paradoxes that I observed in law school and the beginning of my law practice.  So, here we go.

Dear Young Lawyer:

You have chosen a profession and a career that is full of contradictions.  By now, you should be comfortable with contradictions as they are abundant in the pages of law books that you are reading.  They are just another problem to solve.  Isn’t it what we do – solve problems?  This brings me to the first contradiction:

1. Lawyers are very good at solving other people’s problems, but they often disregard their own needs, hence the sad statistics on the dissatisfaction and burnout among lawyers.  Wouldn’t we take better care of our clients if we took better care of ourselves? 
2. If you entered law school because you were not sure what you should do with your life, be aware that you can graduate from law school, pass the bar and begin practicing, and still not know what you should do with your life.  The upside is that you can pay your bills as you are trying to figure out your life’s purpose. 
3. Some people love law school and hate the practice of law, others hate law school and love the practice of law. 
4. Everybody wants to be in top 10 percent in law school, everybody can’t be in top 10 percent in law school.  According to the ABA Legal Education Statistics, in 2006-2007, 43, 920 students were awarded J.D. or LL.B. degrees.  10 percent of that is 4,392.  There is a future for you in the legal profession even if you are not in top 10 percent, and (gasp!) you haven’t done the law review or moot court. 
5. Contrary to what your classmates, career services and other stakeholders want you to believe, you don’t have to go into BIGLAW if you are in the top 10 percent.  What will make you feel the blood rushing in your veins every morning?  (“Coffee” is not the right answer here.)
6. You may like a certain subject matter in law school but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will enjoy that area of practice.  Stay flexible, get a taste of various areas of practice, rotate through different departments in your summer programs.  Give yourself time to decide.
7. In law school you are led to believe that the practice of law is about unique knowledge, expertise, and problem-solving skills.  Once you begin practicing, it becomes more about people and relationships, just like in any business. 
8. There is no “one day” and you won’t have free time, so find a way to do what you want to do right now.  If you are “paying your dues,” make sure you know what you are getting in return.   
9. The practice of law is local in nature, but you are likely to feel the global currents more and more these days.  Stay informed of what is going on in the world and how it affects the profession.   
10. The world is changing faster than you can say “mutatis mutandis,” be prepared to change with it.  Gerald Weinberg wrote in “The Secrets of Consulting”:  “When change is inevitable, we struggle most to keep what we value most.”  If you find yourself struggling, it’s a good time to ask what is important to you and how you can get it.

Law Practice: What Every New Associate Needs to Know

The current edition of Law Practice is online now.  It covers many important topics for young associates.  Here are some of the articles:

“The Smartest Marketer Around: What New Associates Should Know About Marketing” by Allison Wolf.  If you want to be a partner one day, start developing the business owner mindset from the start.  Do you know what it takes to run a successful legal business?   

“Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch” by Catherine Alman MacDonagh and Beth Marie Cuzzone.  Will your “elevator pitch” pass the "so what?" test?  Learn how to make it succinct, memorable and unique. 

“Being a Good Boss: Dos and Don'ts for Working with Your First Assistant” by Paul McLaughlin.  Should you introduce your assistant to your clients?  Can you share your personal problems with your team?  How often should you give feedback to your assistant?  The article answers these questions and many more. 

“The Art of Making Rain: Seven Steps That Give Associates an Edge” by Lawrence M. Kohn and Jill Rose Kohn.  You didn’t think you were going into sales when you graduated from law school, did you?  The sooner you start building a foundation for rainmaking, the better your chances are to become one of those powerful connectors that everybody wants to know. 

“The Culturally Savvy Associate: Top Three Tips for Moving Up in a Global Economy” by Janet H. Moore.   These days, even if you don’t want to practice international law, chances are that your practice is going to be affected by it.  Can you spot international issues?  Are you comfortable working in multinational teams?

“Associate Technology Challenges: A Snapshot of Need-to-Know Applications” by Browning Marean.   There's life beyond LexisNexis and Westlaw.  What decision analysis tools would you like to use?  Are you ready for electronic discovery?

“Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student” by Martha Kimes

Do you want to take a “modern-day peek behind the curtains of an Ivy League law school”?   Martha Kimes' new memoir “Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student” comes out on May 15.  Read Scott Butki’s interview with the author for Blogcritics Magazine.   Here’s how he introduces the book:

“Take a little bit of The Paper Chase but without those awful sideburns. Take a little bit of Legally Blonde but with a bit less irony and fewer gadgets. Take a bit of Scott Turow's memoir, One L, but change the gender of the main character. Mix.”

It sounds like a fun summer read. 

The Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania

If you want to be successful, you need to know how to leverage your strengths.  Peter Drucker said: "Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong." A good place to start exploring your talents is the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania:

“Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The Positive Psychology Center promotes research, training, education, and the dissemination of Positive Psychology. This field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.”

The Center offers a variety of scientifically tested questionnaires and surveys, including their VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire that measures 24 character strengths.  The tests are free, but you need to register.  While you are there, check out their newsletters on Authentic Happiness and the list of resources – that’s how I found out about the BBC series "The Happiness Formula."

Tip Bit #19: On art appreciation

It’s Friday.  Maybe, you have just finished your finals and feel tired and a bit empty inside, or perhaps, your exams are not over yet and you have to push yourself to study some more.  Here’s a tip to lift your spirit, reignite your imagination and have some fun without leaving your home.  Visit a virtual art gallery.  You can find a lot of great artists from all over the world on the internet these days.  With a bit of imagination, you can transport yourself to some wonderful places:

Enter a whimsical world of figurative sculptures and art dolls at Art Propensity created by Patricia Anders. 

Pretend you are in a nineteenth century living room of an animal lover and enjoy the portraits of dogs at the William Secord Gallery (I had pleasure to visit the gallery in person – I know one of the dogs in this painting).

Tour isolated villages of the Sierra Madres in Jalisco, Maxico through the works of my artist friend Gene Romero. He has just recently gone virtual!

In mood for some landscapes?  Yuriy Kirsanov, whose photo I chose for this post, will take you to Russia’s countryside.   If you like photography, also check out images at iStockphoto. 

Get inspired by the winners of the Website Design Awards and the 2007 Winter Semi Annual Contest winners of the American Design Awards.

Look under your feet!  You can find amazing pavement drawings by Julian Beever.

Where do you go for art?

Let’s begin! (Part I)

"Too many of us wait to do the perfect thing, with the result we do nothing. The way to get ahead is to start now. While many of us are waiting until conditions are "just right" before we go ahead, others are stumbling along, fortunately ignorant of the dangers that beset them. By the time we are, in our superior wisdom, decided to make a start, we discover that those who have gone fearlessly on before, have, in their blundering way, traveled a considerable distance. If you start now, you will know a lot next year that you don't know now, and that you will not know next year, if you wait. "
The William Feather Magazine

You’ve probably heard the saying “to begin is half the work.”  It is also the hard part of the work.  Have you had trouble starting a thing or two?  Why is it so difficult to begin?  I think, it boils down to anxiety, uncertainty, lack of commitment, risk-avoidance and maybe, a few other things.  What is a good way to begin something?   Here are a few tips to get you ready to cross the start line. 

Start at the end.  That’s right.  Begin by imagining the end result of whatever you want to do.  George Bernard Shaw said: “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” If the outcome is compelling enough, the vision will propel you to action. If you can’t see the positive result, it may be a sign that you should not start. 

Take the bate.  Is there a part of the project that looks more appealing to you? Start there if possible.  Find the most exciting thing about the project and go after it.  The energy generated from such beginning will carry over to other less enticing tasks.  If you can’t find anything exciting, once again, it maybe a sign that the thing is not worth doing.  If you really have to do it, pair it up with some unrelated fun.  Make a deal with yourself that you will do the fun part first for a limited amount of time and then, you must do the boring part.  For example, you can watch one movie, but then you must start writing, reading, outlining, or whatever you need to.  That’s the reward upfront approach. The idea here is to put you in a good mood right away and mentally prepare you for other things to come.  This approach may help you if the promise of a future reward doesn’t do the trick.

Transform procrastination into the beginning.  Use your procrastination time to organize your thoughts, create a time-management system for your project, motivate yourself, rehearse ideas.  In other words, procrastinate with purpose.

Set a deadline to begin.  You have to set deadlines to get anything done.  Share your deadline with people.   If you make a public commitment, you are more likely to keep it.

Take small bites.  What exactly qualifies as the beginning?  If you need to write a paper, do you have to write a sentence, a paragraph, or a chapter to begin?  Subdividing your project into small easily manageable parts is a great way to conquer your fears and resistance. 

Enlist the help and support of others.  There is nothing like sharing your misery with somebody else (I am being sarcastic here).   Do you think runners would feel differently when they approached the start line if there were no cheering crowd around?  Surround yourself with energetic, caring and motivating people, and feel a sudden urge to begin. 

How would you begin whatever you need to do right now? 

Today’s tips are general and applicable to a variety of contexts.  It’s just the beginning (pardon the pun).  In Part II, I plan to address some specific situations, for example:

• How do you begin writing a paper?
• How do you being a job interview?
• How do you being a presentation?
• How do you introduce yourself to people?
• How do you begin a cold call?

If you have any advice or a topic to suggest, I’d love to hear from you!
 

On logical fallacies and metaphorical thinking

Do you want to know how to avoid fallacious reasoning and evaluate arguments? Check out Stephen’s Guide to the Logical Fallacies created by Stephen Downes.  It is an impressive collection of fallacies with the names, definitions, examples and ways to prove that the fallacy is committed. 

What are the mechanisms of abstract reasoning?  Those of you who are fans of linguistics, cognitive science or neuroscience may enjoy the interview that George Lakoff gave to Edge.  The interview starts off with the following observations from his new book “Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought” co-authored with Mark Johnson:

"The mind is inherently embodied. Thought is mostly unconscious. Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical."

He goes on to explore the role of the body and brain in human reasoning:

“Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical, based on metaphors that make use of our sensory-motor capacities to perform abstract inferences. Thus, abstract reason, on a large scale, appears to arise from the body.”

Five states of mind

Part of my exercise routine is yoga.  I’ve been doing it at home for years but recently  I’ve decided to join a yoga studio.  As I was researching my options on the web, I came across the article “Witnessing Your Thoughts in Yoga Practice” by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati.  It talks about the importance of observing the “natural flow of the mind” to bring yourself to a peaceful state.  There are five states of mind in the yoga philosophy: 

1.  Kshipta / disturbed.  This is the agitated mind: 

“The ksihipta mind is disturbed, restless, troubled, wandering. This is the least desirable of the states of mind, in which the mind is troubled.”

2.  Mudha / dull.  You may be in this state of mind when you feel lethargic and sluggish.

“The mudha mind is stupefied, dull, heavy, forgetful.”

3.  Vikshipta / distracted.  This is the state of mind that lacks consistent focus.   

“The Vikshipta mind in daily life can concentrate on this or that project, though it might wander here and there, or be pulled off course by some other person or outside influence, or by a rising memory.”

4.  Ekagra / focused.  This is the mind of the focused attention. 

“When the mind is one-pointed, other internal and external activities are simply not a distraction.  The person with a one-pointed mind just carries on with the matters at hand, undisturbed, unaffected, and uninvolved with those other stimuli.”

5.  Nirrudah / mastered.  This is the ultimate state of mind in the yoga system, distinguished by control and stillness. 

“It is not that the thought patterns are not there, or are suppressed, but that attention moves inward, or beyond the stream of inner impressions. In that deep stillness, there is a mastery over the process of mind. It is that mastery that is meant by Nirrudah.” 

When you learn something new, the last two are the desired states of mind because they allow you to concentrate better and be more perceptive.  I am starting to pay attention to my state of mind. When I feel the need to quiet my mind, I do deep breathing exercises or meditate.

What state of mind are you in? 

On job search and networking

Are you looking for a job?  Do you want to learn the skill of business development and networking?   Today’s round-up is for you:

Law Career Blog offers job hunting advice for 3Ls and recent grads.  I like the suggestion of being proactive, flexible and creative in your job search.  Some students buy into others’ vision of how things should be and adopt the victim’s mentality when things don’t turn out that way.  How do you make the best with what you have?  It takes courage, creativity and consistent work.  You begin by valuing what you have to offer because if you don’t value yourself, you can’t show your worth to others.  Take the challenge and write your own life story, don’t let others write it for you.  The upside is that you can learn so much more about yourself and your true aspirations in the process.   I suggest you sit down and make a list titled "Here's why I am so awesome!"  Place this list where you can see and read it often.  Strive to add new things to it each day as you go about your search for business.   

Do you want to know nine essential characteristics for making partner?  Inside Practice offers an excerpt from "Making Partner: A Guide for Law Firm Associates" by John R. Sapp.  Among those characteristics are “Maturity: You are in control of your life” and “Entrepreneurial attitude: You think like an owner rather than an employee.”  Now is the time to start working on those skills.  And if you already possess them, maybe you don’t need an employer.  Build A Solo Practice, LLC will help your to plan your own business venture. 

Here are a few nuts and bolts of networking.  Business Writing teaches you How to Ask a Stranger for a Favor and offers Great Tips for Email.  If you want advice on phone networking, listen to Escape from Cubicle Nation podcast Networking tip:  Use the phone! Finally, is your body language congruent with the words you speak?  Read about 18 ways to improve your body language from The Positivity Blog.

Happy hunting and gathering!

Tip Bit #18: It’s time to throw out bad apples

Occasionally, in a grocery store, I buy apples that look good and firm with shiny skin (probably coated with wax), but when I cut one of these apples a few days later, there is brown mush inside.  While I’d love to know how to pick apples better, today’s tip is not about grocery shopping.  It’s about identifying the “bad apples” among things you do.  Sometimes we engage in something that appears like a good thing on the surface, but if we dig deeper, it adds very little value to our lives.   Just like those bad apples in the store, such activities can be deceptive because they are not obviously bad or wrong. 

They often act as time-fillers and offer us a way to procrastinate.   Take example of web surfing.  There is a lot of good information on the internet that you may want to read, but after a while, internet search can turn your brain into a mush. Some things go bad with time: the more time you spend on it, the less productive the activity becomes.  That’s why time constraints are a good thing.  When do you stop evaluating options and make a decision?  When do you stop researching and start writing?  Here’s another “apple” that can go bad – reading study aids, such as commercial outlines, hornbooks, nutshells.  At what point reading more becomes a distraction form something more important that you should be doing, like thinking on your own or outlining?

We all pick “bad apples” from time to time.  What are yours?  How do you pick them and why? 

** I am doing the happy dance here because I just found my good Apple – my iPod.  Four days ago, I locked it and gave it to my baby to play with – she loves gadgets (bad idea), and then it disappeared.  I searched through every inch of my home office and couldn’t find it.  Today, I pulled a book off the shelf and it fell out.  She must have put it on top of the books.  I never realized I loved listening to podcasts so much.  It made my day!

Are you a LLOLER?

Are you a LLOLER?  Let’s find out.  LLOLERs have cravings.

They crave new knowledge and find ways to get it.

They crave new experiences to enrich their lives.

They crave environments where they can surround themselves with smart people.

They crave books, articles, seminars, courses.

They crave control over what they learn and how they do it. 

They crave time to reflect over their learning experiences.

They crave conversations because they create meaning. 

They crave challenges because they make them stronger and more resourceful.

They crave change because it is an opportunity to learn and grow.

They crave learning opportunities even when they are disguised as failures.

They crave questions because they make them think. 

They crave feedback because it causes them to improve.

They crave relationships because they like to learn from people. 

They crave meaning and purpose because that’s how they know that they are moving in the right direction.

LLOLERs are Life-Long Learners.  “LLOLER” sounds less official and more fun because it reminds me of “laughing out loud.”  And LLOLERs crave laughter and play.  Are you a LLOLER?

Train you brain

So you want to be smarter, remember better and preserve your mental faculty as you age?  Train you brain!  The following articles and sites will help you do just that:

Mary Carmichael explores how exercise boosts brain power in the Newsweek article “Stronger, Faster, Smarter”:

…in a landmark paper, researchers announced that they had coaxed the human brain into growing new nerve cells, a process that for decades had been thought impossible, simply by putting subjects on a three-month aerobic-workout regimen. Other scientists have found that vigorous exercise can cause older nerve cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently. And there are clues that physical activity can stave off the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease, ADHD and other cognitive disorders. No matter your age, it seems, a strong, active body is crucial for building a strong, active mind.

Just like with the body fitness, you have to work on your mind fitness regularly.  If you don’t have time for a full workout at the gym, try “An ‘Exercise Snack’ Plan” devised by Howard Hartley, M.D., I-Min Lee, SC.D., and Nancy Ferrari.  Or pretend that you are a fitness buff, and you may just act your way to a healthier mind, as Stephanie West Allen of Idealawg explains in her post "Limber-brained lawyer thespians: An antidote for dimming, dulling, and dawdling?"

SharpBrains blog brings you a puzzle that challenges your ability to uncover a pattern.  Also, check out their advice on how to improve concentration and memory: 

In fact, many memory complaints have nothing to do with the actual ability of the brain to remember things. They come from a failure to focus properly on the task at hand, many times due to emotional and stress-related distractions. If you want to learn or remember something, concentrate on just that one thing. The harder the task, the more important it is to tune out distractions. Make more of an effort not to let yourself get distracted until you’ve finished what you have to do.

And don’t miss what’s under your nose.  Derik Bownds of MindBlog reports that "Odor cues during sleep stimulate memory."

Getting ready for the bar exam

No groundbreaking secrets here, just the ground work to pass the bar.  I ended up taking the bar exams in two states, Illinois and New York, due to the move.  And, guess what… I am no longer in either of those states, but I don’t see a third bar exam in my future.  So, the first lesson I’ve learned is not to move so much if you want to practice law, or work for the federal government, then a license from any state will do.  Here are a few other things I learned:

• To succeed at the bar exam, it’s not enough to know the law, you also need self-discipline, endurance, time-management and stress-management skills.  You must train for each of these requirements accordingly.
• Remember the three “Ps” of performance:  prioritize, plan, prepare.  You need them as you study for the bar.  To make my life easier, I just followed the schedule of the bar review course.  You must have a schedule and stick to it.  You won’t be able to catch up if you seriously fall behind because of the large volume of the material. 
• Find a routine that works for you.  It may consist of lectures in the morning, a lunch break, a short study session, a nice nap, another study session, a workout, dinner – you get the idea.  See how your energy flows throughout the day and adjust your activities accordingly.   
• Pace yourself and take study breaks.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint, you need to build up your endurance and mental toughness and not to burn out in the process.  Incorporate some type of exercise into your routine to bring oxygen to your brain, relieve stress and stay healthy.  Take naps if you can.  You are going to be learning so much every day, an afternoon nap will help you consolidate your memories.  I started meditating daily for about 10-15 minutes when I was studying for the bar. 
• Don’t try to make yourself more miserable than you need to be.  Reward yourself periodically with some fun and entertainment, but avoid anything that can give you a hangover, insomnia or indigestion.  The idea is to make you feel better, not worth.  You can even combine your studies with something pleasant.  Pack your books and go to a park or to the beach.   
• Do lots of practice questions for the MBE portion of the exam.  After reading a lot of questions, you become more attuned to the language and start recognizing patterns better.  Time yourself when you do them.  Getting the pace right is very important at the bar exam, so you should practice time-management early.
• Make sure you practice writing your full essay answers within the time constraints.  Go back and edit some of your essays to make the writing more crisp and concise.  Find better ways to state legal rules and standards so that you can use those phrases in other essays.  For the rest of the essay questions, outline your answers to see if you can spot all the issues. 
• Do the in-class, practice MBE exam, you need to know what a six-hour exam feels like. You can also schedule your own practice test or partner up with another bar candidate and take it together. 
• On the day of the exam, the last thing you want to worry about is getting lost or being caught in traffic, torrential rain or blizzard.  Visit the place beforehand.  If you have to drive far or if the weather is unstable, consider staying in the hotel nearby for the days of the exam.  When I moved to Buffalo, New York, I decided to take the February bar exam.  Buffalo can get lots of snow, and I didn’t want to concern myself with the weather, so I stayed in the hotel where the bar exam took place.  I slept better and longer. 
• Finally, no matter what, just remember that it is going to be over soon. 

Good luck!