The Red Velvet Lawyer

Best Mediator?  Best Approach? Interesting post on the use of mediation in energy-related disputes. Frames the debate about substantive expertise vs. process/people skills and about evaluative mediation that can drift into ethically impermissible legal advice. 

Strongly Committed  to its Mission Last night, Jackie Pruitt, Director of Admissions issued the following press release, which elaborates on the changes the law school is experiencing. I've added links to topics I've covered as The Red Velvet Lawyer . For Immediate Release Jackie Pruitt Director of Admissions jpruitt@asl.edu 276-935-4349, ext. 1245 www.asl.edu APPALACHIAN SCHOOL OF LAW MAINTAINS STRONG OUTLOOK  DESPITE REDUCED DEMAND BOARD OF TRUSTEES REMAINS COMMITTED TO  PROVIDING QUALITY LEGAL EDUCATION As the Appalachian School of Law anticipates smaller incoming class sizes in the fall, the Board of Trustees remains committed to offering quality legal education, promoting the school’s nationally recognized educational programs, maintaining a strong community, supporting the school’s alumni, and providing the region with practice-ready lawyers.  Grundy, Virginia.   March 22, 2014 -...

Appalachian School of Law Team Among Top 8 Teams  Amanda Coop and Amanda Kash entered the quarterfinals today as the #1 seed in the 38th Annual Robert F. Wagner Labor and Employment Law Competition held March 19–23, 2014. They had to argue off-brief, and so, while they performed extremely well, they did not advance to the semi-finals.  We are very proud of them.  Out of 46 teams, they made the top 8!  A special thanks to assistant coaches Nick Kalagian and Jason Morgan who worked hard this weekend keeping the team focused and prepared. Each spring, the New York Law School Moot Court Association administers the Robert F. Wagner National Labor & Employment Law Moot Court Competition in honor of the late U.S. Senator and distinguished alumnus. The competition is the nation’s largest student-run moot court competition and the premier national competition dedicated exclusively to labor and employment law. For over 30 years, schools f...

The Mission of the Appalachian School of Law Sets up Grads for Happier Lives A new study reported today in the ABA Journal Law News Now reports that money and prestigious jobs obtained after graduating from a higher ranked school do not lead to happier lives as lawyers.  The survey measured lawyers’ “subjective well-being,” a combination of life satisfaction and mood. More than 7,800 bar members in four states responded to the survey; the study focused on about 6,200 who provided complete data and said they worked as lawyers, judges or in related positions.  The survey found that lawyers in “prestige” jobs, who had the highest grades and incomes, aren’t as happy as lawyers working in public-service jobs for substantially lower pay. Judges, however, were happiest of all.  “Prestige” jobs included lawyers working in firms of more than 100 lawyers and those working in areas such as corporate, tax, patent, securities, estate-planning and plaintiff’s...

Big City Food, Big City Shopping, Big City Wine, Big City Colleagues Just spent two days with the fabulous women (and men) who are growing heart-centered businesses with the help of business coach, Christine Kane . 

New Experiential Learning Programs As part of our practice-ready, experiential curriculum , we are adding two bridge-to-practice components. Here is how Professor Derrick Howard describes them. Beginning in the summer of 2014, the Appalachian School of Law will unveil its Bridge to Practice Fellowship Program. This Program has two distinct aspects vital to the maturation of future practitioners: mentoring and training.   The mentoring component links first-year law students with upper classmen to impart a greater understanding of the rigors of law school. ASL alumni are also paired with upper classmen to prepare them for life as attorneys upon graduation. The second aspect of this Program involves the placement of rising second-year students and recent ASL graduates in internships and fellowships with legal providers whose services complement ASL’s educational concentrations in Natural Resources Law and Litigation/Alternative Dispute Resolution.   Approxim...

Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets Today, Tom Asacker provides a nice discussion of why the opposite of success is not failure. Instead, failure leads to success because it gives us lessons, insights, and opportunities to change. With that new information, we are better positioned to succeed.  He suggests that failure leads to success in the same way that exercise leads to fitness.   A second blogger today discussed the criteria Google uses to hire employees.  It looks for three things: cognitive processing and problem-solving on the fly; emergent leadership; and a sense of responsibility that leads to humility and ownership.   Both posts reminded me of the book I read last month  by Carol S. Dweck, a world-renowned Stanford psychologist, called: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success -- How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential (2007).   It describes two mindsets -- fixed and growth. The publisher describes the theme of the book as this: ...

Help a Reporter & Voila, Instant Marketing Dustin Christensen, writing at the blawg called Lawyerist.com -- the law practices survival guide , describes a relationship -- through Help Out A Reporter (HARO) -- lawyers can establish with reporters to showcase their expertise and, as a by-product, gain some free marketing. For more information, check out this post . When I viewed the website, it offers paid subscription packages , but also "Basic Free" opportunities delivered to your inbox, three times a day.  I assume Dustin was describing this free relationship. Be sure to read the comments to the post.  They are interesting, too. 

Entrepreneurs as Freaks? Chris Brogan, whose blog I follow daily, is promoting his latest book , The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdos, Misfits, and World Dominators.   He also offered this reading list "for freaks" that looks very interesting.  Ender’s Game . Forget the movie. This is how to think differently. Escape from Cubicle Nation . A classic. A must. Everything I Know – if you know Paul Jarvis , he’s a freak. No really. Everything that Remains . If you’re not following the Minimalists, you need to rectify that. Choose Yourself . Not only is James Altucher quoted and interviewed frequently in relationship to this book, he’s one of the most successful freaks I know. Unlabel . Learn to be a freak from one who has made over a billion dollars from being himself. I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This . Still have to work for the man? Kate White’s brilliant. She’s a ninja of what to know. The In Between . Not...

How Lawyers Can Respond  to a  More Demanding, More Competitive Legal Market Kandy Hopkins, at the Attorney at Work blawg, has nicely pulled together some of the presentations, commentary, and reviews of the conference in New York on the topic of reinventing the practice of law. I've blogged on this topic here , here ,  here , here , and here . Kandy's overview says: The daylong conference in New York City gathered more than 800 attendees who watched nearly 40 speakers, in an event “devoted to law, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the legal services industry.” The word on the web from those who attended? While the conference didn’t answer exactly how or when technology will transform the legal industry, it did offer two things not often seen in the industry: hope and possibilities. Here’s some scoop on more things bloggers and others are sharing about the conference and its innovation theme. She then organizes links int...