The Red Velvet Lawyer

Teaching Students to Serve Future Clients This week, I've been designing my class that will be a part of ASL's Introduction to Natural Resources Law course.  We are offering the course as a one-week intensive before regular classes start in January. Through it, we hope to encourage students to earn our Natural Resources Law certificate .   My day-long class will focus on shale gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays located in mostly Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York.  The class will include an overview, presentations by a couple of guest speakers, and then a simulated negotiation of a mineral lease.  I am expecting it to provide good coverage of the topic and a fairly interesting way to spend an 8-hour day of class. I am trying to frame perspectives from the industry, the environmental protection community, and health officials.   My slide show is almost done.  I've really enjoyed the required research and my discussions with

Happy Holidays  to my  Friends, Colleagues, and Students Hope you are enjoying the day with your families. P.S.  This modern interpretation of the three wise men comes from the photos I took in Dubai earlier this month.  I snapped it in the lobby of the Burj Al Arab, a six-star hotel on the Gulf that overlooks the man-made Palm and World Islands. 

Happier for Having Kept It For over three years, I have kept a gratitude journal at the suggestion of my entrepreneurial business coach, Christine Kane . Several researchers have found profound affect on emotional, psychological, and physical well-being associated with being grateful for all the wonderful things that come into our lives -- big and small. It enhances our social networks, personal relationships, and our careers. It enhances happiness overall.  I've noticed it helps me shift from being self-oriented to other-orientated,   The Harvard Medical School's Health Publications blog defines gratitude and then suggests ways we can cultivate it.  Note that the author suggests keeping a gratitude journal. Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier, or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people ref

Successful Growth Requires that You "Outlearn" Your Peers I've spent the last few days catching up on blog posts, my favorite shows on Hulu, and the New York Times, all of which I missed while spending a week in Dubai on vacation. One blog post really stuck with me as I was working on my goals for next yea r. In a post called, In 2015, Be the Best at Getting Better , author Dharmesh Shah talked about the simple commitment of being the best at getting better.  He explains: [C]ommitting to a one-time goal like learning to code or dropping 10 pounds can get lost amid the rush, assigned a lower priority, or just become uninteresting after a time.  A commitment to becoming the best at getting better requires only a fundamental admission that you’re not perfect and a desire to outlearn your peers on a daily basis. I love that!  I can handle that sort of personal and organizational commitment for 2015.  I can apply it to all my goals -- whether well-being, manifes

Live with Heart Last Year’s Words A year ago, I shared the three words I wanted to represent my goals for 2014. They were: Robin, Launch, and Wealth.  So, how did I do? Robin was a bit of a miss. I had wanted it to remind me to work towards greater fitness. But, year-long problems with my orthotic shoes, which compensate for a fused ankle and heel, made regular exercise difficult without access to an indoor swimming pool. Yes, I launched my web-based mediation training program – Mediation with Heart -- and got terrific feedback from enrolled students. Now, I need to implement my marketing program in connection with it. Yes, I generated more wealth and cash flow. I also shared more of that wealth with others throughout the year. Words for 2015 It’s time to select three words for 2015. Surprisingly, this process has not come easily this year.  Well-being came early to mind – both emotional and physical. I recently completed a book recommen

My Home Town's Journey This recent communication from my mediation community touched me deeply. From: Sandy Heierbacher [ mailto:sandy@NCDD.ORG ] Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2014 8:11 AM To: NCDD-UPDATES@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [NCDD-UPDATES] What can the dialogue & deliberation community do after Ferguson? Message to the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation community, from NCDD’s Director... Hi, everyone. Many of us are reeling from the events in Ferguson. Some of you may be involved in protests in your own cities right now. Last night, President Obama addressed the nation after it was announced that Darren Wilson would not be indicted. In his remarks, I couldn’t help but think he was talking about the work that many of you do. The juxtaposition on the split screen of Obama encouraging protestors to stay peaceful on one side, and tear gas canisters being thrown by police in riot fear [sic?] on the other side was bizarre. But what Obama ta

Keeping Track of Good Advice Several of the bloggers I follow write on solo practice.  I want to start aggregating their advice in one of my posts.  So, here I go: 20 Law Practice Empowerment Tips by Peggy Greunke. Product Development for Lawyers by Carolyn Elefant. Lead Management: 3 Steps to Slash Your No-Show Rate  by Steven Fairley. On Building a Digital Law Library by Jean P. O'Grady. The 12 Best Legal Marketing Tips from 2014 by Steven Fairley. Last Minute Guide to 2014's Best New Books for Content Marketers by Roger C. Parker.  You are Better Off Having Experts Manage WordPress Hosting Environment by Kevin O'Keefe. Law Firms Assume Known and Unknown Risks in Operating WordPress Blogs  by Kevin O'Keefe. The 12 Best Legal Marketing Lessons from 2014: #9. Why Aren’t Lawyers Getting Paid? by Stephen Fairley. New crowdfunding site helps individuals raise money for legal fees by Martha Neil. Podcast # 3: Carol Elefant on Advance Plann