Humanizing Ideas: Law Firm idea

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In my large, first-year Contracts course, I divide the class into
three- or four-person law firms, based on where they sit. (At our school,
seating charts are produced before the first class, so I can actually divide up
the class and hand out a list of law firms in the first class.) On the first
day of class, explain the law firms to the students, and discuss their
purpose.  

Law, I tell the students, is
a profoundly social exercise.  The
practice of law is all about people, and avoiding, mitigating or solving their
problems.  I emphasize that once students
enter practice, they will be working closely with other lawyers and with their
clients. There is, I say, no need to fly solo in law school. In fact, it is
helpful to practice and refine communication and collaboration skills from the
get go. I tell them that the law firms are an effort to encourage and support
that endeavor. I expressly tell them that I want them to feel that they always
have someone pulling for them and supporting them in this classroom.

I explain that over the
course of the semester, the various firms will take on representation of
clients that come up in our discussions, so that the students can get in the
habit of thinking like a counselor and advisor. I also tell them that we will
set aside time periodically to break into firms and to allow them to discuss
things with their law firm colleagues. Likewise, I tell the students that if
they ever feel like they are on the spot in class discussions, and they would
like to take a moment to confer with co-counsel, they should feel free to say
so.

Throughout the semester, I
try to draw the law firms into our class discussions and activities.  For instance, if we are discussing a
hypothetical problem, I divide the law firms among the parties involved in the
hypothetical, and give the students five minutes or so to discuss their
client’s position among themselves. Often, I ask them to choose one person to
speak for the firm. I then reconvene the class and the discussion really takes
off. Since there are many law firms separately discussing the same client, the
students are interested to find that there are often differences in approach,
and that no one answer is clearly right or clearly wrong. Further, everyone
participates in the discussion every class, even if only in small groups. My
perception is those who speak up regularly tend not to get the reputation of
“gunners,” but instead are seen as leaders for their firm. 

Over the course of the
semester, the students get to know the other people in their law firm, and they
seem to welcome the opportunity to discuss issues among themselves in class.
When students are absent, I have noticed their law firm colleagues expressing
concern, and finding ways to get notes to them or otherwise bring them up to
speed.  Overall, I hope this system
ameliorates some of the isolation that students tend to feel, particularly in
their first year of law school.

This idea is not original
with me.  Someone else suggested it,
forgive me but I don’t remember who, and I adapted it for my purposes. I have
found it to be easy, it can work in a classroom of any size, and it requires
only minor adjustments to my teaching style. 
I have also tried this technique in my upper division classes, but with
less success. Perhaps that is due to the fact that the upper division students
have already internalized an individualistic approach to law school; perhaps it
is because the students tend not to sit in the same place in every class; or
perhaps there is something else going on that I don’t yet understand. If anyone
else uses this technique or something like it in upper-division classes, I
would be interested to hear about it.

Author	Message
cwallinger Admin Group Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Topic: Law Firm idea Posted: 17 Dec 2007 at 1:23pm
	In my large, first-year Contracts course, I divide the class into three- or four-person law firms, based on where they sit. (At our school, seating charts are produced before the first class, so I can actually divide up the class and hand out a list of law firms in the first class.) On the first day of class, explain the law firms to the students, and discuss their purpose. Law, I tell the students, is a profoundly social exercise. The practice of law is all about people, and avoiding, mitigating or solving their problems. I emphasize that once students enter practice, they will be working closely with other lawyers and with their clients. There is, I say, no need to fly solo in law school. In fact, it is helpful to practice and refine communication and collaboration skills from the get go. I tell them that the law firms are an effort to encourage and support that endeavor. I expressly tell them that I want them to feel that they always have someone pulling for them and supporting them in this classroom. I explain that over the course of the semester, the various firms will take on representation of clients that come up in our discussions, so that the students can get in the habit of thinking like a counselor and advisor. I also tell them that we will set aside time periodically to break into firms and to allow them to discuss things with their law firm colleagues. Likewise, I tell the students that if they ever feel like they are on the spot in class discussions, and they would like to take a moment to confer with co-counsel, they should feel free to say so. Throughout the semester, I try to draw the law firms into our class discussions and activities. For instance, if we are discussing a hypothetical problem, I divide the law firms among the parties involved in the hypothetical, and give the students five minutes or so to discuss their client’s position among themselves. Often, I ask them to choose one person to speak for the firm. I then reconvene the class and the discussion really takes off. Since there are many law firms separately discussing the same client, the students are interested to find that there are often differences in approach, and that no one answer is clearly right or clearly wrong. Further, everyone participates in the discussion every class, even if only in small groups. My perception is those who speak up regularly tend not to get the reputation of “gunners,” but instead are seen as leaders for their firm. Over the course of the semester, the students get to know the other people in their law firm, and they seem to welcome the opportunity to discuss issues among themselves in class. When students are absent, I have noticed their law firm colleagues expressing concern, and finding ways to get notes to them or otherwise bring them up to speed. Overall, I hope this system ameliorates some of the isolation that students tend to feel, particularly in their first year of law school. This idea is not original with me. Someone else suggested it, forgive me but I don’t remember who, and I adapted it for my purposes. I have found it to be easy, it can work in a classroom of any size, and it requires only minor adjustments to my teaching style. I have also tried this technique in my upper division classes, but with less success. Perhaps that is due to the fact that the upper division students have already internalized an individualistic approach to law school; perhaps it is because the students tend not to sit in the same place in every class; or perhaps there is something else going on that I don’t yet understand. If anyone else uses this technique or something like it in upper-division classes, I would be interested to hear about it.

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taotao Newbie Joined: 25 May 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5	Posted: 25 May 2009 at 10:46pm
	1.One is always on a strange road, watching strange scenery and listeningto strange music. Then one day, you will find that the things you tryhard to forget are already gone 2.Happiness is not about being immortal nor having food or rights inone's hand. It’s about having each tiny wish come true, or havingsomething to eat when you are hungry or having someone's love when youneed love. (wow power leveling,)　　 3.Love is a lamp, while friendship is the shadow. When the lamp is off,you will find the shadow everywhere. Friend is who can give youstrength at last. 　 4.I love you not for who you are, but for who I am before you. 5.If you can hold something up and put it down, it is calledweight-lifting; if you can hold something up but can never put it down,it's called burden-bearing. 6.We all live in the past. We take a minute to know someone, one hour tolike someone, and one day to love someone, but the whole life to forgetsomeone. 7.One may fall in love with many people during the lifetime. When youfinally get your own happiness, you will understand the previoussadness is kind of treasure, which makes you better to hold and cherishthe people you love. 　　 8.When you are young, you may want several love experiences. But as timegoes on, you will realize that if you really love someone, the wholelife will not be enough. You need time to know, to forgive and to love.All this needs a very big mind. 9.When tomorrow turns in today, yesterday, and someday that no moreimportant in your memory, we suddenly realize that we r pushed forwardby time. This is not a train in still in which you may feel forwardwhen another train goes by. It is the truth that we've all grown up.And we become different. (world of warcraft power leveling, )　 10.If you leave me, please don't comfort me because each sewing has to meet stinging pain. 　 11.Don’t forget the things you once you owned. Treasure the things youcan’t get. Don't give up the things that belong to you and keep thoselost things in memory. 　 12.I love and am used to keeping a distance with those changed things.Only in this way can I know what will not be abandoned by time. Forexample, when you love someone, changes are all around. Then I stepbackward and watching it silently, then I see the true feelings. 13.Is there anyone who hasn't suffered for the secret love? We alwaysthink that love is very heavy, heavy and could be the heaviest thing inthe world. But one day, when you look back, you suddenly realize thatit's always light, light. We all thought love was very deep, but infact it's very thin. The deepest and heaviest love must grow up withthe time. 　　 14.If a woman is not sexy, she needs emotion; if she is not emotional, sheneeds reason; if she is not reasonable, she has to know herselfclearly. coz only she has is misfortune. 15.In your life, there will at least one time that you forget yourself forsomeone, asking for no result, no company, no ownership nor love. Justask for meeting you in my most beautiful years. 　 16.Idon't think that when people grow up, they will become morebroad-minded and can accept everything. Conversely, I think it's aselecting process, knowing what's the most important and what's theleast. And then be a simple man.　　 17.When you feel hurt and your tears are gonna to drop. Please look up andhave a look at the sky once belongs to us. If the sky is still vast,clouds are still clear, you shall not cry because my leave doesn't takeaway the world that belongs to you.
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lmaomao Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5	Posted: 02 Jul 2009 at 1:13am
	The Einstein of the fish world may be the nine-spined stickleback, suggests new research that determined this common European fish possesses an unusually sophisticated capacity for learning not yet documented in any other animal, aside from humans. The unassuming, small-headed fish proves tiny brains can yield "surprising cognitive abilities," according to project leader Jeremy Kendal, whose team discovered the stickleback can compare the behavior of other fish with its own experiences in order to make better choices. This learning method, known as "hill-climbing," is necessary for cumulative culture and was thought to be unique to humans. archlord power leveling "Cases such as nut-cracking in chimpanzees, or tool use in New Caledonian crows, are potentially consistent with such a strategy, but the strategy has yet to be shown unambiguously (in these other animals)," Kendal, a Durham University anthropologist, told Discovery News. For the study, published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, he and his colleagues caught 270 nine-spined sticklebacks in Leicester, England. The fish were organized into experimental groups. These fish groups then took turns as either free swimmers in a tank with worm-yielding feeders at the end, or as "learners" in a transparent, partitioned-off area of the specially designed tank. aoc power leveling One of the two feeders released more worms than the other. The fish quickly gravitated to this "rich feeder." When these fish then went into the observation semi-circle portion of the tank, the researchers swapped the feeders. The new free swimmers, as before, made a beeline for the feeder with a more plentiful worm reward. When the observation fish group was released back into the part of the tank with the feeders, 75 percent were "clever" enough to know from watching the other sticklebacks that the feeders had been switched, so they didn't just rely upon their own experience with the feeders. archlord gold Additional research conducted by the same team of scientists found that the likelihood of copying the behavior of another increased with the rate at which this other individual fed. The fish aren't therefore just mindlessly copying each other. They are instead "being selective about when and who they copy." buy archlord gold Kendal thinks the nine-spined stickleback might have been "forced to learn" this rather complex strategy because the species is scrawnier than many other fish, with an anatomy that doesn't offer significant protection from predators. Instead of risking being eaten while searching for food, it benefits the fish to find out exactly where the best sources are at ahead of time and to go directly to them. archlord money Health Top Tips Nutrition Love Lifestyle Happiness Weight Loss "It is possible that, rather than evolve to become more sturdy, it is less costly for the nine-spines to evolve the capacity to exploit foraging information provided by observing others," he explained, mentioning that tougher three-spined sticklebacks don't seem to have such a brainy solution to foraging challenges. Culum Brown, a University of Edinburgh researcher and editor of the book "Fish Cognition and Behavior," told Discovery News, the study "shows that fishes are using a mixture of their own knowledge and weighing it up against cultural information." "In many ways," Brown said, "fish are just as smart as other animals." While fish seem to exhibit frequent flashes of mental brilliance, the stickleback's hill-climbing strategy has yet to result in more human-like, high-tech capabilities, probably because fish habitats are so unstable. "A massive constraint for the fish is that the environment can change rapidly, so information about a good foraging site can become redundant after a short time," Kendal said. "This resets the cumulative process and the fish have to start again acquiring new information." "This means we might not expect any spectacular cumulative cultural evolution like seen in humans," he said, "but watch this space. We know so little and are constantly surprised about what they can do!"
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Amy Bushaw
Humanizing Ideas : Large-lecture class ideas & resources : Amy Bushaw