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February 02, 2009
Keep your Beginner's Mind.
naughty child–
instead of his chores
a snow Buddha“Gimme that moon!”
cries the crying
child--by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue (and our heartfelt thanks to DG).
The ability "to think like a lawyer" is about 10% of what you need to be an effective lawyer. Lots of people finally acquire it. Some are famously better and faster at it than others. A revered Skadden M&A partner wrote years ago that, at a minimum, it requires thinking about something that is "inextricably attached" to something--but without thinking about that something to which it's attached.
Legal reasoning is critical--but it's never enough by itself to become an outstanding lawyer. The rest is frame of mind: energy, ambition, organization, logistics-sense, re-thinking everything all the time, a take-charge orientation, genuine people skills, and an urgent passion to solve tough problems. If you think you want to be a litigator or trial lawyer, you will also need Very Tough Hide--something which you can learn the hard way.
Finally, no matter what, you need Will, and Big Ones.
Almost all of students we have interviewed in the last five years made law review, and will graduate at the top of their class. Again, not enough. Lawyers need to learn to think and act on their own from the first day. You need the traits listed above. Think of it as an inside job.
If you are new, "steal our clients", please. Be that good. That will take a while. While you are learning, please understand that you are getting more than you are giving. You don't know much. So it's not unreasonable for us to ask you to try to do perfect research, editing and proofreading.
But we love your ideas, your first impressions, and the trick is to be confident enough to ask dumb questions and make comments. Often, your first impressions or "reactions" to a problem or project are very good--but we don't always hear them right away.
So maybe read Alan Watts. Or at least read a lot of David Giacalone at f/k/a..., an HLS grad who really gets it. Think of David as your spiritual leader and technical adviser in one person. Read, for example, his "Phoenixes and Beginner’s Mind". Keep reading him.
You may not know at first very much law, or how to apply it to facts for a fee, and then give the "right advice". But you have instincts evolving all the time--they have little to do with law school--that may surprise you. You had them all along.
Posted by JD Hull at 02:31 PM | Comments (1)
Brit King of Media interviews California ADR Vixen.
Howard, Oprah and now Charon QC. Mayfair's playful pundit. London's Charlie Rose. Albion's first Rioja Ranger. Charon (pronounced "Karen") just aired podcast No. 94, an interview with famous West Coast ADR princess Vicki Pynchon. Yanks who listened were pleased and grateful that Ms. Pynchon, who lives near Malibu, minimized expressions like "totally", "most heinous" and "some really tasty waves, dude".
Posted by JD Hull at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
Baby, We Were Born To Eat.
Super Bowl Halftime: Can we have the Kinks, Sting, Bono or B.B. King next year? Despite the hopelessness and self-pity in much of his lyrics--even in the unique rock anthem "Born To Run"--Bruce Springsteen is and always been an inspiring man, with a fine and authentic band. He inspired a whole generation of kids from certain New Jersey counties to eat, drink, watch MTV and totally give up on life with his "hey, there's nobility in being a turd and a loser" message.
We're kidding, well, a little. We do love seeing Clarence, and multi-talented Little Stevie. We admire the New Jersey spirit. But could a Super Bowl halftime show be worse? Nothing sounded very inspiring to us. And Bruce, you're pushing sixty but you're still a rock star. So, dude, get on a program. Ask Mick Jagger. Eat some carrots or something. Try 24-Hour-Fitness. And make Stevie sign up, too. We've seen the future and it's a slimmed down E Street Band.
Hey Stevie, easy on the canoles, dude.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:59 AM | Comments (0)