Law Students

Being Fully Present

By Casebook Sherpa

When I started law school more than two years (!!!) ago, I happened across this article in LawPracticeToday from 2005. In it was this gem offered as advice for young lawyers aspiring to be outstanding lawyers:

Be fully present for each experience. Can you remember the last time you enjoyed someone’s undivided attention? Probably not! As our jobs become more demanding and we are precariously overcommitted, multitasking seems the norm. However, you will actually increase your productivity by concentrating fully on each conversation, activity or project. Even more importantly, clients, partners and others will respond positively to your undivided attention, which will enhance both your professional reputation and personal satisfaction.

The concept itself isn’t rocket science. Focus on the task at hand and only that task. Minimize other distractions be they internal (other stuff on your to-do list) or external (TV or music or people). Understand how to avoid rabbit trails that are sure to lead only to distraction and inefficiency. Seems simple. In practice, if this is an idea you value, it’s quite difficult given how many things vie for our attention in the age of multi-tasking.

This article came to mind today as I was considering how to address my overall malaise about law school and focus on how to (a) block out some habitual external distractions (i.e. TV) and (b) work more efficiently.

This idea of being “fully present” has become much more difficult this year. Actually, it’s always a challenge. But it’s become particularly acute of late. Whether it’s the cumulative impact of 2+ years of poor sleeping and eating habits or just the volume of work, I find that I might be dialed into that conference call but in the back of my mind I’m working over something I read (or had not read) for Corporations that night. Or I could be reading for Criminal Procedure and I’m chewing on a concept from my journal note in my head. You get the idea – I’m not pouring all of my energy into the task at hand.

Yet, the idea of being fully present strikes me as a critical lawyer skill to cultivate. (Yes, I know. It’s a critical skill for all professionals, not just lawyers.) A client’s immediate issue or question could seem quite mundane yet still obscure deeper, more complex issues that you might not see were you distracted by that big conference call you have tomorrow morning.

Law school doesn’t really help you deal with this. It does by default: if you want to do well, you figure out how to cope and focus. But, if anything, it makes the attention issue worse by piling on an inordinate amount of work that may or may not have any relevance to your ultimate practice of law. Certainly, the curriculum doesn’t focus on this. It’s interesting that it doesn’t, given how inquisitive about various non-legal things lawyers tend to be and how active lawyers tend to be in organizations beyond their job (i.e. community organizations and associations, government, etc). Practically speaking, a lawyer will have any number of things vying for his or her attention whether they are external obligations or internal interests. Granted, it’s nearly impossible to have a class on something like this.

However, I think the one that brings the issue into starkest focus (relatively speaking) is Professional Responsibility. An entire unit in our class focused on establishing a lawyer-client relationship. If you’re not careful, a friend or some guy off the street can seek legal advice and if you’re too focused on your “real” clients you’ve entered into a fiduciary relationship with that person. It strikes me that you need a level of focus (perhaps not all that “fully present” implied) but a high enough level that allows you to adequately grasp what the person is asking of you, a vague idea of the relevant law, and an awareness of what you’re saying so as to not promise too much by way of your performance or the merits of the person’s case.

So if you start from the notion that the relevant rules of conduct condition your continued membership in the bar on a level of competence, where does that take you on this question? Are there tricks or tools that you use to stay fully present or, if not “fully,” then more than adequately focused on the task at hand?

Or is it more natural than I’m assuming once you’ve settled into the practice of law?

Full post as published by Fight The Hypo on September 30, 2009 (boomark / email).