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Some studies showing the benefits of loving-kindness meditation, a practice that can improve lawyer-lawyer and lawyer-client interactions (even though it has kind of a hokey name)

Readers know I urge lawyers to consider for themselves mediation and mindfulness. But I must admit I wish loving-kindness meditation (LKM) had another name. The name sounds saccharine and kumbaya, and therefore may be, to many lawyers, off-putting. Nevertheless I think the practice of LKM and its benefits to the profession are worth considering and find the research on the practice very intriguing.

The practice is described in the research article "Open Hearts Build Lives: Positive Emotions, Induced through Loving-Kindness Meditation, Build Consequential Personal Resources" [pdf] (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology).

Like other meditation practices, LKM involves quiet contemplation in a seated posture, often with eyes closed and an initial focus on the breath. Yet whereas mindfulness meditation involves training one’s attention toward the present moment in an openminded (non-judgmental) way, LKM involves directing one’s emotions toward warm and tender feelings in an open-hearted way. Individuals are first asked to focus on their heart region and contemplate a person for whom they already feel warm and tender feelings (e.g., their child, a close loved one). They are then asked to extend these warm feelings first to themselves and then to an ever-widening circle of others.

The benefits seem to be many for interpersonal interactions. From the research article linked to above:

Blog Glob: "Entrepreneurialism Requires Risky Decision-Making"

Excerpt from "Entrepreneurialism Requires Risky Decision-Making" (Medical News Today):

Whether someone will become the next Richard Branson, Steve Jobs or Henry Ford may be down to whether they make risky decisions, scientists at the University of Cambridge have concluded.

The article, published in the journal Nature, asserts that entrepreneurs are riskier decision-makers than their managerial counterparts. Additionally, the type of decision-making essential to the entrepreneurial process may be possible to teach ... .

...

Entrepreneurs choose to start their own business ventures rather than working within an existing company. Whilst there is a potential for considerable profit in making the decision to 'go out on their own', these individuals accept the accompanying risks (to finances, reputation, family stability and even self-esteem) as many new ventures fail. The scientists propose that it is these types of decisions which differentiate entrepreneurs from others.

Click to read the rest.

Learn about the mind, the brain, and meditation by listening to these interviews

Here are some brain/mind-related interviews for you this weekend.

• First interview: Effects of Meditation and CBT [cognitive behavioral therapy] on The Brain with Philippe Goldin.
• Second interview: The brain and the mind with a panel of UK professors.
• Third interview: Meditation and the brain with Daniel Siegel.
• Fourth interview: Neuroscience, neuroleadership, and Proust Was a Neuroscientist with Jonah Lehrer.

These should pep up your learning muscles. Enjoy!

Are you a worried lawyer? This article has some worry-vanquishing tips

Julie Cohen has posted today at her blog Worry in the Workplace, an article reprinted from The Legal Intelligencer. According to the article, worry may be getting you nowhere—fast. Excerpt:

Do you find yourself spending time while you’re at work, and even when you’re not at work, worrying about your performance?  Thinking, for example:

• “How am I going to get this all done?”
• “I’m not cut out for this work.”
• “They think I’m better than I really am.”
• “I’m going to screw up eventually.”
• “Why am I even working here?”
• “I should get out now before I ruin my reputation.”

If any anxiety-producing questions are running through your head, they are not helping you be an effective professional, leader, team member, or human being.

Article subheadings show you what is ahead when you read Worry in the Workplace:

• No Place for Worry
• Why Do We Worry?
• Be Wrong, So What?
• ‘What’s Next?’ not ‘What Happened?’
• Banish the Imposter

Read the rest of the article for some recommendations on how to get rid of that nagging, productivity-sapping, energy-depleting worrying.

Related article: "The Benefits of a Stress Management Program for Attorneys" [pdf] (Minnesota Lawyer, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly).

New edition of THE JURY EXPERT is now online

The November edition of The Jury Expert is now up for your reading pleasure and learning. Articles (all pdf) include:

Anticipate and Influence Juror Reactions to Successful Women by Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm

What happens when women jurors see successful women attorneys, plaintiffs or defendants and how you can mitigate the often negative judgment against successful women. Trial consultants respond.

What Does a Juror's Generation Mean to Trial Consultants? by Patricia McEvoy, Eliza Shepherd

New data that allows examination of damage awards, attitudes, and values as they differ (and are similar) across the most common generations seen in the jury box.

Cross-Examination of the Narcissistic Witness by Douglas Keene

A reader-requested follow-up to last months’ feature on preparation of narcissistic witnesses. Recommendations on how to cross-examine this sort of witness.

Just World Jurors by Alison Bennett

A research review. You’ve heard of the “just world” belief. What is it? How does it have impact on jurors? What can you do to use this belief in support of your particular case?

The American Jury: A Book Review by Kevin Boully

A review of the book all about the American Jury.

Blog Glob: "Chocoholics Benefit From A Brisk Walk"

Excerpt from "Chocoholics Benefit From A Brisk Walk" (Medical News Today):

Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that a walk of just fifteen minutes can reduce chocolate cravings. The benefits of exercise in helping people manage dependencies on nicotine and other drugs have previously been recognised. Now, for the first time, newly-published research shows that the same may be true for food cravings.
...

Professor Adrian Taylor comments: "Our ongoing work consistently shows that brief bouts of physical activity reduce cigarette cravings, but this is the first study to link exercise to reduced chocolate cravings. Neuroscientists have suggested common processes in the reward centres of the brain between drug and food addictions, and it may be that exercise effects brain chemicals that help to regulate mood and cravings. ...

Click to read the rest.

Colorado Governor Ritter and Denver Mayor Hickenlooper declare November 18 Social Enterprise Awareness Day

Below is the press release. If you are in Colorado, I strongly urge you to get involved with this extremely worthwhile effort. As you can probably tell from my enthusiastic words, I believe in the value of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise.

Now the press release . . .

RITTER, HICKENLOOPER PROCLAIM NOVEMBER 18TH SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AWARENESS DAY: AUTHOR CHRIS LOWNEY TO SPEAK AT EVENTS
 
Business, political, academic and nonprofit leaders form coalition to explore sustainable solutions to global problems
 
Denver, CO – November 11, 2008 – The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) in Denver, the University of Denver, and Regis University are hosting a series of events on Tuesday, November 18th to create awareness of social enterprise as a model for global change. Chris Lowney, author of Heroic Leadership, will be the guest speaker at Tuesday’s ACG monthly luncheon and will make appearances at events throughout the day. Governor Ritter and Mayor Hickenlooper issued separate proclamations declaring November 18th Social Enterprise Awareness Day in recognition and support of creating a coalition for social enterprise.
 
A Colorado coalition for social enterprise was first conceived in 2007 by Christopher Pelley, ACG board member, Ashoka Support Network member, and Managing Director of Denver-based Capital Investment Management. Says Pelley, “The world’s problems, such as poverty, starvation, energy and global warming, will not be solved solely by governments and traditional charities. It’s the creativity, courage, experience and skills of the business community that will make the difference in addressing poverty, starvation, global warming and other problems worldwide. Business minds and skills are the ones that drive world class solutions.”
 
Social enterprise applies the business principles of sustainability and replicable, system-wide solutions to solving world problems. Mr. Pelley sees a window of opportunity for Colorado to become a global center for thought leadership and activism in social enterprise. “By creating a collective effort that pulls together business, political, academic and nonprofit leaders, we will create a snowball effect that engages entire Colorado communities in solving the world’s most pressing problems,” he explains.
 
Chris Lowney, a former Jesuit who “morphed into the corporate man” when he joined JP Morgan, will draw on his unique background to provide insights on principles that have held true for 450 years, and apply equally to leadership in social enterprise. He will draw from his book, Heroic Leadership, in addressing the ACG audience at the Denver Athletic Club over lunch. He will also speak at Regis University that evening. Lisa Nitze, Vice President of Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, will also appear at ACG and Regis.
 
Other events on November 18th include: a social enterprise leadership breakfast with First Lady Jeannie Ritter at the Phipps Mansion; a panel on social entrepreneurship and display of related student projects at DU in the afternoon; and a faculty dinner followed by a 7 p.m. public forum with guest speakers Chris Lowney and Lisa Nitze at Regis University.

 
Contact information:

Contact:     Sherry Law                   
Title:         ACG-Denver Media Relations Chair
Telephone:    303-623-5178
Fax:              303-623-0115
E-mail:             Sherry@EvergreenCommunication.com
Web Address:    www.acg.org/Denver

New! Lawyer Avenue: An impressive and complete one-stop resource for lawyers

Take a trip on Lawyer Avenue to see a valuable new online site serving the legal profession. Plan to spend a few minutes (at least) at the Avenue to explore all that is being offered. You will find resources for

• Career (includes career counselor locators, career books, and a job bank)
• Practice (legal outsourcing, trial consulting and support, practice/performance coaches, and much more)
• Self and family (a wide range from personal finance to a lawyer assistance program locator)
• And even Travel (several offerings to make your trips easier)
• Plus a blog with law-related posts.

From the About Us at this brand-new lawyer Web site:

LawyerAvenue Press, and its imprint – DecisionBooks – has been publishing books for a life in the law since 1989.

Our books – among them, Solo By Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be – have been endorsed by the ABA, adopted by law schools and bar associations throughout the country, and have become classics in the field of legal career counseling (selling nearly 200,000 copies in the process).

This year marks our most significant expansion with the introduction of LawyerAvenue.com, a legal Web site unlike any other that brings together career and practice resources AND an online shopping platform that provides select items for the legal community and their families.

What you see today is Phase One, and we hope you’ll return. In the meantime, we look forward to your suggestions (and first impressions). Send them to editor@lawyeravenue.com.

Send your suggestions and impressions. I have known the publisher of Decision Books for several years and know that Mark Jaroslaw is not only knowledgeable about our profession but also very responsive. He listens. Congratulations, Mark, on a valuable and resource-rich new Web site for lawyers.

I recommend that you click now to start exploring Lawyer Avenue.

Blog Glob: "Narcissists with Big Egos Lead Many Law Firms, Consultant Says"

Excerpt from "Narcissists with Big Egos Lead Many Law Firms, Consultant Says" (ABA Journal):

Narcissists who like to exert control and reject collaborative decision-making are leading many large law firms through major changes, according to a consultant and Altman Weil.

“Narcissistic leaders are distinguished by their big ideas, big personalities, big egos and general indifference to the opinions of others,” consultant Douglas Richardson writes in an Altman Weil publication. “They resolutely reject the status quo, thus affronting all those tied to tradition and cautious about change. They want to reshape the world to their vision. They don’t much care if others label them vain and self-centered; they count on the power of their vision and their personal charisma to drive them to the top during periods of great upheaval or change. Their style is at best despotic, and often coercive.”

Click to read the rest.

Blog Glob: "Building a Better Admissions Test"

Excerpt from "Building a Better Admissions Test" (Inside Higher Ed):

What if a standardized test managed to predict much more than first-year success? And what if there existed the possibility of having standardized tests that didn’t have ethnic or racial gaps, but better predicted long-term success?

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have been engaged in a long-term research project to produce such tests for use in its law school — and they think they have a model that does those things exactly: predicts success as a lawyer (not just as a first-year student) and finds success across demographic groups. Given that law schools exist to produce lawyers, not first-year law students, Berkeley officials think their findings are significant and they are now releasing them for public view [pdf] and — they hope — for testing on a national scale.

...

[T]he law school, accepting the premise that a national comparison is needed, had Berkeley professors devise the research project that has now been released. First they looked for models to “predict effective lawyering,” by conducting a series of interviews and surveys with more than 2,000 Berkeley law alumni. Eventually, they focused in on 26 factors that relate to success as a lawyer. Then the researchers started compiling a series of additional tests that could be used in some way to evaluate prospective law students — these included existing personality tests such as the Hogan Personality Inventory and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory. Customized tests were also developed, such as a review of situational judgment and an analysis of biographical information.

Click to read the rest.

Note (added November 11, 2008, 8:55 PM Mountain): I see that Diane Levin at Mediation Channel weighed in on this topic since my posting: Testing for negotiation skills, creativity: an LSAT for the 21st century.

Blog Glob: "A President, Not a Savior"

Excerpt from "A President, Not a Savior" (Christian Science Monitor):

What moved Barack Obama to seek the presidency was "the basic idea of empathy" and the notion that if "we see somebody down and out ... we care for them." Republican John McCain explained that he was running "to inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their self-interest."

Noble sentiments, to be sure, but in the original constitutional scheme, the president was neither Empath-in-Chief nor a national life coach. His role was to faithfully execute the laws, defend the country from attack, and check Congress with the veto power whenever it exceeded its constitutional bounds.

But there's a reason candidates talk the way they do. Their rhetoric faithfully reflects the public's outsized expectations for the office: Grow the economy. Give us better, cheaper healthcare. Protect us from hurricanes. Stop global warming.

Live to be 100: Some tips for would-be centenarians

Some advice on living a very long life can be found here at the Blue Zones Community, in the new books The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest and The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life, and in this article "Find Purpose, Live Longer" (AARP Magazine).

Image credit: bjwebbiz.

Kevin Ochsner podcast: "Stay Cool Under Pressure"

In this short podcast resulting from the recent North American NeuroLeadership Summit, Dr. Kevin Ochsner talks about emotion regulation. Listen to "Stay Cool Under Pressure." He describes five strategies I blogged about a while back at Brains on Purpose™. Ochsner also gives some wise advice about staying calm during these somewhat challenging times, and about moving towards goals.

Read here Ochsner's post The Science of Managing Fears.

The podcast and the post hold some helpful information for lawyers (and anyone else) under stress. Both are brief and succinct; take a few minutes to absorb his counsel.

Worrying about your brain sliding into cognitive decline? Here are ways to sharpen your lawyer brain

A new and excellent American Medical News article provides many tips for neuroboomeritis prevention, and ways to keep your brain in great shape. In "Steps to a nimble mind: Physical and mental exercise help keep the brain fit" you will read many suggestions for keeping that brain of yours nimble, bright, and lively. The article includes many ways to challenge your brain to form new connections, new synaptic paths, and gain new brain strength. Everything from learning a new skill to doing habitual things in a new way to exercising your memory.

So what keeps some brains younger than their chronology? Experts point to a prescription of neurobics. This concept includes life-long learning, trying new things, a healthy diet, social interactions, sleep and physical activity. "Exercise can actually increase neurogenesis and increase the size of the hippocampus," says Dr. [Vincent] Fortanasce, ... . "Exercise also increases youth hormones. And novelty, doing new things, builds branches."

I plan to take a look at Dr. Fortanasce's newest book to see if there is anything helpful to pass along to idealawg readers. Have any of you read it?

Image credits: FreeFoto.com.