A Lawyer's Lessons From The Bear

When Summer temperatures rise, our analytical ambitions drop. Torpor sets in, and it sets in hard. It is no accident that it is in July and August when our posts are most likely to contain more pop culture than precedent. (Here is one of our favorite examples.) Meanwhile, this is also the time of year when we tinker with the lesson plan for the litigation strategy class we teach each Fall at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. One of the points we've been pounding home in that class over the last thirteen years is that lawyers can learn a lot from other occupations.

Lawyers, more than other learned professionals, seem allergic to systems. But systems, routines, habits, etc. can be useful, even vital. For example, we've tried to show our students how lawyers can apply the medical profession's SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) process when advising clients. We also discuss the utility of the sorts of checklists that airline pilots go through when