What a treat it was to be part of the CLF National Student Conference in Windsor, Ontario last weekend. The students heard from lawyers, law profs, doctors, and pastors from the US and Canada, encouraging them to follow Christ as students and lawyers.
I can't say enough about the hospitality of the CLF staff and the students who organized the event. Special thanks to Liz Sinnott, a law student who took time out from her dual-degree studies to help make the conference go.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters practicing law in Canada as they seek to follow Christ in a very important and influential ministry to their nation. Click here for more info on CLF.
(Cross-posted at Justitia Blog).
Feb 16, 2008
Thinking About Law at Jubilee '08
More later on the fantastic Jubilee Conference happening now in Pittsburgh. But just a quick note on two workshops I presented today.
The first workshop was a discussion about despair-- how to avoid it in the face of the sin-twisted state of "the system." We may be tempted to become discouraged in light of the favoritism, racism, corruption, and gamesmanship we run into now and again in our legal institutions. Can true justice prevail in the American legal system? It’s easy to become disheartened by the evil and corruption we see around us, especially when it manifests itself in institutions and individuals entrusted with a ministry of justice.
About 60 college students discussed these challenges. My contribution was to challenge students to avoid the deadly sin of sloth-- acedia-- spiritual apathy caused in part by our failure to cheerfully embrace our callings as human beings created in God's image.
My second workshop was more practical: we discussed the idea of law as a call to Christian service, and then brainstormed specifics. How can ordinary law practice have redeeming value in God’s kingdom, and, in what ways does he “call” us to the legal profession?
I'll post more on some of these ideas and some things I learned from these bright college students.
And I can't say enough about the Coalition for Christian Outreach and their great work at Jubilee and beyond.
The first workshop was a discussion about despair-- how to avoid it in the face of the sin-twisted state of "the system." We may be tempted to become discouraged in light of the favoritism, racism, corruption, and gamesmanship we run into now and again in our legal institutions. Can true justice prevail in the American legal system? It’s easy to become disheartened by the evil and corruption we see around us, especially when it manifests itself in institutions and individuals entrusted with a ministry of justice.
About 60 college students discussed these challenges. My contribution was to challenge students to avoid the deadly sin of sloth-- acedia-- spiritual apathy caused in part by our failure to cheerfully embrace our callings as human beings created in God's image.
My second workshop was more practical: we discussed the idea of law as a call to Christian service, and then brainstormed specifics. How can ordinary law practice have redeeming value in God’s kingdom, and, in what ways does he “call” us to the legal profession?
I'll post more on some of these ideas and some things I learned from these bright college students.
And I can't say enough about the Coalition for Christian Outreach and their great work at Jubilee and beyond.
Feb 6, 2008
An Ash Wednesday Hymn
Dear Jesus, in Whose life I see
All that I would, but fail to be,
Let Thy clear light forever shine,
To shame and guide this life of mine.
Though what I dream and what I do
In my weak days are always two,
Help me, oppressed by things undone,
O Thou Whose deeds and dreams were one!
John Hunter, Hymns of Faith and Life (1889).
I find the second stanza particularly edifying for a busy lawyer.The tune is available at cyberhymnal.org.
Feb 5, 2008
Culture Shock: Suits and Billable Hours
Apparently, the new generation of young lawyers is having just as much trouble with a professional dress code as with a billable hours requirement.
On the fashion front, last week's WSJ piece Law Without Suits: New Hires Flout Tradition, notes that in today's world of "business casual," it can be "difficult to get young associates to shift gears and don traditional dress when the need arises." While the article is heavy on fashion sense, it highlights problems of both cross-generational expectations in law firms and the role of image and created persona. (See the discussion in the comments section of the WSJ Law Blog, for more fun on this issue).
For the record, while I've severely criticized role-morality and the common practice of donning false "lawyer identities," I have to side with the traditionalists here. If we really desire to love our client-neighbors and employer-neighbors in and through our law practice, sacrificing a little comfort or a little cool is the right thing to do.
On the billable hours front, young lawyers may be catching a break. In keeping with the blaring headline of the August 2007 ABA Journal, THE BILLABLE HOUR MUST DIE!, firms are experimenting with alternatives. The February issue features Taming the Billable Beast, an article that describes three ways that firms are tinkering:
I am agnostic at present regarding the billable hour's consequence to the lawyer seeking to serve/love his or her client. It seems nothing more than a tool to help evaluate value. But, like every other lawyer, I've seen abuses, and I understand its unintended consequences, especially in the large firm culture. It's a topic worth chewing on and discussing.
On the fashion front, last week's WSJ piece Law Without Suits: New Hires Flout Tradition, notes that in today's world of "business casual," it can be "difficult to get young associates to shift gears and don traditional dress when the need arises." While the article is heavy on fashion sense, it highlights problems of both cross-generational expectations in law firms and the role of image and created persona. (See the discussion in the comments section of the WSJ Law Blog, for more fun on this issue).
For the record, while I've severely criticized role-morality and the common practice of donning false "lawyer identities," I have to side with the traditionalists here. If we really desire to love our client-neighbors and employer-neighbors in and through our law practice, sacrificing a little comfort or a little cool is the right thing to do.
On the billable hours front, young lawyers may be catching a break. In keeping with the blaring headline of the August 2007 ABA Journal, THE BILLABLE HOUR MUST DIE!, firms are experimenting with alternatives. The February issue features Taming the Billable Beast, an article that describes three ways that firms are tinkering:
- Do away with first-year associate billing altogether;
- Do away with billable hours completely, moving to fixed-price and flat-fee billing;
- Drastically reduce the billable hour requirement for associates.
I am agnostic at present regarding the billable hour's consequence to the lawyer seeking to serve/love his or her client. It seems nothing more than a tool to help evaluate value. But, like every other lawyer, I've seen abuses, and I understand its unintended consequences, especially in the large firm culture. It's a topic worth chewing on and discussing.
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