Lawsagna

"Q-tools: An approach for discovery and knowledge work" by Dave Gray

In the world of rapid information flow, asking the right questions is often more important than knowing the answers.  Dave Gray offers an interesting paradigm of questions to help us process information:

A prism is a question that divides information into smaller groups. The purpose of a prism is to break down information into categories or subgroups…

A razor is a question that divides information into two categories, based on relevance. The purpose of a razor is to define a boundary which can be used to sort any incoming information, and determine whether it lies inside our outside the boundary…

A generator is a question that has a potentially unlimited number of answers. The purpose of a generator is to explore new or unknown territory and to find knowledge that may be hidden and make it explicit…

A peeler is a single question that, when repeated, drives attention to deeper and deeper levels, like the peeling of an onion. The purpose of a peeler is to penetrate beyond superficial levels in order to get to the heart of the matter…

A flanker is a question that seeks patterns or ideas that are similar. The purpose of a flanker is to think laterally and find an analogous situation that may help you think about things differently…

A splicer is a question that combines information, or sets, into groups. The purpose of a splicer is to find larger categories and simplify collections of information…

A pointer is a question that has a well-defined or broadly agreed-upon answer, or set of answers. The purpose of a pointer is to gather specific information…

Check out the full article for the visual representations of the question types and specific examples of their use. 

Professor Matthew Bodie looks into the future of the casebook

What would a law school casebook of the future look like?  Professor Matthew Bodie’s article "The Future of the Casebook: An Argument for an Open-Source Approach," published in the Journal of Legal Studies, discusses the possibilities for creating a digital casebook as an open-source project. (Hat tip to video visi visum).

Abstract:      
Despite dramatic technological change, the thick, attractively bound casebook remains ensconced as the written centerpiece of legal education. That will soon change - but its replacement has not been established. This paper argues that the legal academy should take this opportunity to implement an open source approach to future course materials. Guided by analysis and examples of commons-based peer production such as open source software, professors could establish electronic commons casebooks with a myriad of materials for every course. These joint databases would unshackle individual creativity while engendering collaboration on levels previously impossible. Although there may be concerns that such a project would not draw any interest, or might be swamped by too much interest, the successes of other peer-production projects demonstrate that such concerns are generally unwarranted or manageable. Copyright ultimately poses the biggest difficulty, but even that barrier can be circumvented to greater and lesser degrees. Although as yet an untried experiment, an open source approach has the potential to open a new era in legal pedagogy.

If you let your imagination run free, what opportunities do you see for a future casebook?  Perhaps, audio files of cases, possibility to search related materials with keywords and tags, templates for case notes, briefs and outlines, collaborative legal wikis?  Nothing heavy to haul around, please...  Everything available at a click of a button, including virtual chats with your professor during office hours.

 

Learning Incubator

• Are you a knowledge worker whose livelihood depends on how quickly and accurately you process information each day?
• Are you a life-long learner with the passion and curiosity for knowledge who wants to use this knowledge for impact?

Pull up a chair, get your cup of coffee (or tea) and join our conversation about informal learning and professional development.

Think how rapidly things change nowadays.  Successful knowledge workers have the skills to learn fast, think clearly and act decisively.  They don’t feel overwhelmed with information because they know what to look for and how to find and prioritize it.  Yet, many of us would probably agree that we have very little time to work on the skills we need to learn better.  Here’s an idea.  Let’s have a conversation about our informal learning and professional development.  How do we learn?  What works and what doesn’t?  How can we maximize our learning “on the job” – by doing what we already do anyways, but perhaps with better approaches, frameworks, and focus?   

Are you ready to take charge of your learning?   Join our Learning Incubator community to share your learning goals, achievements and tips for success, to inspire and get inspired to be the best learner you can be.  Bring curiosity, humor, respect, and appreciation – that’s how we learn best.  The membership is free.  What’s there to lose, except a good conversation?

A slice of "Lawsagna" with a "Cup of Chai"

I am brewing my own learning concoction as a guest blogger at Cup of Chai.  Inspired by the unique design of My Cuppa, a color-matching guide mug that allows you to mix milk with your coffee just the way you like it by matching the color guide on the inside of the mug, I wonder what kinds of ingredients I would choose for a learning potion.  You take a sip and turn into the best learner you can be.  Do you want to know the recipe?  Follow me all the way to Switzerland.

Tip bit #23: Make a list of what you really need to learn.

Today’s tip is inspired by Stephen Downes’ list of “What You Really Need To Learn”.  He thinks it is important to learn:

• How to predict consequences
• How to read (and really understand)
• How to distinguish truth from fiction
• How to empathize
• How to be creative
• How to communicate clearly
• How to learn
• How to stay healthy
• How to value yourself
• How to live meaningfully

Many of the above skills are not taught in school and yet they seem to be essential if you want to have a good life and be successful in today’s world. 

So, what is in your list? 

Research resources for summer associates

It’s not all play for summer associates, after all. You will have to do some work, such as research and writing.  Here are a few sites to bookmark that will help you develop your research strategy.

LawyerExpress, “designed by a busy lawyer for busy lawyers,” brings you a lot of information in a convenient and customizable format:  Here’s how they define their objective:

“Our primary goal at LawyerExpress is to make the Internet worth your while. Toward that end, we've developed great tools to find the "20%" that would be valuable to attorneys. LawyerExpress transforms what can be an inefficient, unruly morass of information into a format that works smarter and faster for busy people.” 

Georgetown Law Library connects summer associates to various legal resources.  Check out their State Research Guides and Online Tutorials, covering research in statutes, cases, administrative law, secondary sources, and other areas.

Finally, here are tips on summer associate research strategies from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law Library.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The information world according to Tufte

If you want to ace presentations, you need to get familiar with the work of Edward Tufte, Professor Emeritus at Yale University, where he taught courses in statistical evidence, information design, and interface design.  The New York Times called him “The Leonardo da Vinci of data.”  He has written numerous books on information design, including his new book Beautiful Evidence.  I just received a brochure about his upcoming one-day courses "Presenting Data and Information."   It may be a good investment in the development of my spatial intelligence.   Edward Tufte’s website  also has a moderated forum, Ask E.T., where he answers questions and leads discussions dealing with information design.  Check out the Grand truths about human behavior or Advice for effective analytical reasoning for some thought-provoking commentary.      

Tips and tools for your job search and career development

Are you looking for a summer internship or a job?  Do you contemplate a career transition?  If so, here is a round-up of some tips and tools that can help you in the process. 

Each of you has had a variety of experiences in you life that have helped you to develop certain skills that are valuable to your potential employer.  But when time comes to prepare your resume or answer questions at a job interview, you may not remember this valuable information.   This inventory list will ensure you give yourself credit for all the wonderful things you have accomplished in life.   It has two parts:  Part I discusses “Sources of Evidence That You May Possess Skills, Experiences, and Attributes of Interest to Employers” and Part II lists “Skills, Experiences, and Attributes You Have That Might Be of Interest to Employers.”   It’s a good check list to go through and make sure you are not forgetting anything important.  And you may be surprised at how much you already know.  Also, if you need to add some action to your resume, check out Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs. 

Do you need help with job interviews?  Lifehack discusses a new tool – InterviewTrue -  which allows you to practice your interviewing skills virtually. You can customize your interview by choosing from the database of 1000 questions from the leading companies.  You record yourself with your own webcam as a virtual interviewer asks you questions.  After the interviewing session is over, you receive a transcript of your interview.  You can watch the recording to evaluate your body language and analyze your responses in a transcript.  The InterviewTrue site has a demo and a free trial option. 

Here’s another interesting way to play out your interview scenario.  It comes from the area of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).  As you do the exercise, you visualize the desired behavior and build confidence. 

As you network for success, don’t make The Ten Biggest Networking Mistakes, described by Harvey Mackay.  Instead, focus on developing the Seven Habits of Successful Rainmakers, shared by Sara Holtz in The Complete Lawyer.    

If you aspire to build a solo practice, Build A Solo Practice blog by Susan Cartier Liebel will guide you in the right direction. 

Perhaps, you want personalized advice in exploring various career options.  If so, visit Life at the Bar blog by Julie Fleming-Brown, a professional and personal coach for lawyers.

Related posts:
5 questions to ask when you evaluate job options
Find out your networking quotient

How to find a mentor

Do you have a mentor?  If not, maybe, it is time to add the task of finding one to your list of New Year’s resolutions.  Your relationship with a mentor can be instrumental to building a successful and satisfying career.  A young attorney faces many choices.  Asking the right questions is a prerequisite for making good decisions.  How do I choose a practice area or a niche?  How can I get more work to fulfill my requirement for billable hours?  How can I prioritize my personal and professional obligations?  What is the best way to stay current in my field and gain expertise?  These are examples of questions you can ask your mentor.  “OK, I get it, it is a good idea to have a mentor, but how do I find one?”  Here are a few things you can do:

• Start with assessing your needs.   Which areas of your life could use a mentor?  What do you want to gain from the relationship with a mentor?  How would you know if the mentor is a good fit for you?  Do you have a preference for the means of communication with your mentor?  These days, you don’t have to meet the person face-to-face.  Email or phone conversations can work well, although some would argue that nothing beats a good old lunch.  If you had a mentor in the past, evaluate that relationship form the standpoint of what worked for you and what didn’t.   
• Think of what you can bring to the table.  Mentorship is a two-way relationship.  Your unique background and experiences, your knowledge of technology, your fresh perspective can be of value to others.
• Make a list of the characteristics of your ideal mentor.  Be open-minded about it.  You and your mentor don’t have to work in the same place.  Your mentor does not have to be much older that you are. There is a benefit to having a mentor who has recent memories of the issues you are facing. 
• Now it is time to see who fits your ideal mentor profile.  Do you know anybody you would want to be your mentor?  Put them on your list of candidates.  Look closely at the people around you.  Who do you go to for advice?  Whose opinion do you value? Perhaps, you already have a budding mentor relationship.  Share your plans and the profile with your relatives, friends, acquaintances.  They may know of someone and may be willing to broker your initial contact.  Don’t underestimate your “weak ties.”  According to Keith Ferrazzi, your acquaintances may be even more valuable than your close friends.  The reason is that you and your close friends often hang out with the same people, whereas your more distant acquaintances may broaden the search pool.  And don’t forget, you can have several mentors, there is no one-mentor-per-mentee limit.
• Decide how you want to approach your potential mentors.  You can summarize your strategy in a simple table where all the important information is written out, so that all you need to do is to execute on your plan. Download how_to_find_a_mentor_table.doc [Word, 25KB]. Contacting people is the scary part for many, so creating a plan helps to avoid unnecessary deliberation and hesitation.  Most people are flattered when they are asked to become a mentor even if they are too busy to take on this responsibility.  Remember that rejections are part of the process.  Also, if someone cannot be a mentor for you for some reason, ask if he or she can recommend somebody else.
• You may also want to research organizations that offer mentorship programs for lawyers.  For example, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division of the American Bar Association offers Law Student Mentoring Certificate.  The State Bar of Georgia launched the Mentoring Program in early 2006.  The Ohio Bar piloted the Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program.  The Missouri Bar also has a mentoring program.  These are just the ones I know of, there may be more.
• For additional resources on mentoring, check out Law Practice Today.  Here is a link to an article that discusses more internet resources on mentoring.  Finally, you may find useful this How to Find a Mentor Worksheet.

Good luck and let me know if these tips work for you.

* This post is part of the Networking Carnival hosted by Legal Andrew, where you can find many more great tips on networking.

6 reasons why lawyers should have a personal knowledge management system

You have probably heard of knowledge management at the organizational level when business companies and law firms implement the best practices for capturing and sharing knowledge.  Lawyers are knowledge workers, they process information all the time.  They are also life-long learners whose expertise depends on keeping up to date with the increasing body of law and business practices.  Is it possible to apply the knowledge management principles to the work of an individual?  Is there a benefit to doing so?  Many experts believe that the answer is “yes.”  Let’s look at the three main areas of personal knowledge management:  “know-what,” “know-who,” and “know-how,” and see how lawyers can benefit from this concept.

Know-what.  This is about the content of knowledge.  What do you need to know in order to achieve your goals?  What are the sources of your knowledge? What’s the context for the knowledge application?

Know-who.  This category is about who you know.  What are your networks?  Who are the experts you go to for knowledge?  Who is in need of your knowledge?

Know-how.  This is about how to perform the knowledge-related tasks so as to increase productivity.  What are the best ways to harvest knowledge in the right context just-in-time, make sense of it, create new knowledge, share it, and use it? What’s the role of technology in this process?

Lawyers have routinely done all the above activities without any system, so why do they need personal knowledge management now? Here are a few reasons to consider.

• First, there has been a dramatic increase in information available to us on a  daily basis.  Things change faster than they used to.  As Kineo’s company website says:  “Don’t wake up dumber than you went to bed.” A well-devised personal knowledge management system can help to conquer the information overflow and gain control over your learning experience.  I like to use the information funnel analogy.  Ordinarily, we pour in lots of information through the wide opening of the funnel to bottle up only a few drops of knowledge.  What if we turned the funnel over and introduce a system of filters that would allow only relevant information to come in when we need it to produce a much larger knowledge output.  Isn’t it worthwhile to invest some time and effort in developing such a system?

• Second, the personal knowledge management system can help you to align your everyday activities with your values and goals.  For example, I get easily  sidetracked by some interesting information that I stumble upon on the internet and can spend hours just reading about it.  The system helps me to stay focused and disciplined about my projects, or at least, that’s the hope. 
• Third, lawyers are in the service profession, and service is about relationships.  How much time do you spend on consciously developing and nurturing your important relationships?  Do you know who the experts are in your field?  Who can you turn to for help?  The personal knowledge management system will force you to take responsibility for this important aspect of your life.
• Fourth, technology helps us to stay productive, but technology is developing very rapidly these days.  It takes a purposeful effort to keep up.  The personal knowledge management system can help you to make choices about what technology is important for your business and get updates when something new comes to the market. 
• Fifth, the personal knowledge management system can help you to organize, classify and retrieve the necessary knowledge efficiently.  Do you have a system to index and file your documents and email messages?  Do you use news aggregators?  What search tools are available to you? There is a lot you can do to save time and effort.   
• Finally, the process of developing your knowledge management system can reveal some new insights about you as a learner and build self-awareness.  Your system should be about you and how you learn.  It should capitalize on your strengths and drive you to achieve the best results you can.

Do you already have a personal knowledge management system?  Do you want to develop one?  Please share your experiences.