May - June 2006
Volume 30 Number 6
Highlights:
Mentoring helps new and experienced lawyers make the connection
It used to be that law firm partners took new associates under their wing, giving them a "post-law school education" in how to practice. Increasing time pressures seem to be making this model less and less common ... and bar associations are stepping in to help fill the need for mentoring. Some states feel so strongly about the importance of mentoring programs, they're making them mandatory. Here's an inside look at some bars' successful programs.Emergency planning: Voices of experience
Are you doing everything you can to make sure your bar can weather a natural or manmade disaster? A panel of experts who helped see their bars-and communities-through Hurricane Katrina, September 11, and other disasters shares their hard-won knowledge.The portable bar association: Podcasts help members stay connected
A number of bar associations are making their CLE programming available in an audio format that members can listen to on their iPods or similar devices. One bar is even creating original content just for members' listening pleasure ... and convenience. Should you add this new medium to your "message delivery toolbox"-and if so, how?
In his final column as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services, David S. Houghton stresses the importance of listening with an open mind-"open to change, open to the people we serve, open to the world around us, and open to the challenges facing our profession." As a leader, are you engaging in "defensive listening," or are you truly open to what you might hear?
