The Balancing Act

RabideauxWhen discussing my participation as a law student blogger with Professor Jessica Slavin, she suggested readers might find the variety of responsibilities and challenges a part-time student faces interesting.  I balked at the idea of writing about my own attempt at work-life-school  balance.  For starters, it’s been done before.   Further, I want to avoid portraying my burden as heavier than those around me, as everyone is busy and dealing with pressures of their own.  The lawyers, law professors and law students who read this blog are all active people pulled in different directions and I didn’t suspect they would have much sympathy for the schedule I keep.

Then it dawned on me that the challenge of work-life balance is probably one of the few things all the readers of this blog have in common.  Full-time students have different pressures than part-time students, litigators face different challenges than estate planning attorneys, who are all under different professional pressures than Law School faculty or administrators.  However, we all know what it is like be put in a position to prioritize between professional and family or personal obligations.

Additionally, the birth of my son, Callan, in June brought new weight to the “life” side of the balancing act and makes the topic of work-life-school balance particularly timely and relevant for me.  I’ve always known time to be precious, but the stakes are indeed higher with a child in the house.  Perhaps it is my Catholic guilt, but the weeknights in the classroom or on the road for work, and the all-weekend study sessions now feel a bit like time I’ve stolen from my family.

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Marquette Law Student Theresa Fallon Serving as ABA Law Student Division Liaison for the Dispute Resolution Section

I recently learned that Theresa Fallon, a 2L, was appointed by the ABA to serve as Liaison to the Section on Dispute Resolution for 2009-2010.  You can see a list naming Theresa and the other liaison appointees here.  Student liaisons to ABA entities such as the Dispute Resolution Section work to “serve as a line of communication between [their] respective entit[ies], Law Student Division, Division Circuits, and local law schools,” according to the front page of the Liaison website.

The competition for the liaison positions is tough, and it is an honor for Theresa to have been chosen.  In this position, Theresa will attend the section’s meetings and get to know its leadership, helping it to understand and serve the needs of law students.  She will also attend meetings for the ABA Law Student Division in the Seventh Circuit.  The liaison position is a wonderful opportunity for Theresa to make connections, serve the profession, and represent Marquette University Law School in national legal circles.

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The Apprentice

donald-trump2The National Law Journal recently reported that the law firm of Howrey & Simon has adopted an innovative training program for new associates.  Newly hired lawyers will serve a two year “apprenticeship” prior to being fully integrated into the law firm.  This program will reduce the number and the compensation of the law school graduates hired by the firm, and it is part of Howrey’s overall program to eliminate “lockstep” salary increases for its associates.

Lawyers in Howrey’s apprenticeship program will be paid significantly less than the going rate for first year associates at other large law firms.  During their first year, the new associates will take firm sponsored classes on legal writing and gain practical experience by working on pro bono matters.  During their second year, the associates in the program will spend several months “embedded” at client sites where their work will be charged at a reduced billing rate.  The law firm’s managing partner compared the apprenticeship program to the training programs typically employed in the medical and accounting professions.

 The Howrey program provides an opportunity to reconsider the entire continuum of legal education: a process that begins with undergraduate instruction, continues through law school, and is perpetuated by continuing legal education requirements.  From time to time, each stage in the continuum comes under scrutiny, as Rick Esenberg’s post on Reengineering Law School illustrates.  In my opinion, the continuum should be viewed holistically when we evaluate whether we are succeeding at training competent and ethical members of the legal profession.  Law schools, law firms and the state bar all need to cooperate in order to ensure that there are no gaps in the preparation that new lawyers receive as they start their careers.  As a member of the Wisconsin Legal Education Commission in 1996, I argued in favor of a program of mandatory skills-based CLE instruction for recent bar admittees.  Many of our students are undoubtedly pleased that the State Bar chose not to implement this particular Commission recommendation.

 Given my predisposition in favor of practical training, I should be supportive of the Howrey apprenticeship model.  Instead, I find myself troubled.  In particular, I am wary of the idea of embedding future corporate lawyers within a client’s legal department for any significant period of time.

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