Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
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online
resources.
After I achieved
this, I would tell a
story and then ask
the students to show
me what they could
find. I set out with the
goal of using stories that
not only entertained and
simulated the practice of law
but also taught empathy, issue
spotting, and critical thinking
skills. This was a tall order, but I felt
it was doable.
The best stories teach lessons, are
memorable, relatable, and could have
happened to you or someone you know.
Not all legal work is interesting, so I
deliberately selected stories that were
interesting, funny, or compelling.
I told the students stories about
clients and what had brought them into
the law office where the students would
one day be working. These people were
looking for help. Something bad had
happened. They had been wronged, and
their problems were keeping them up
at night. They were stressed. Their lives
had been turned upside down, and they
had come to the law office looking for
a solution. They needed to be listened
to and for their problems to be cared
about. This is where I began to stress the
importance of empathy. Bedside manner
is important, not only to doctors, but
also to attorneys who want to build and
keep their client base.
Students were required to turn in
their assignments in Quick Memo
format, exactly like I did when I
practiced law. All of the memos were
addressed to me as Partner, and I read
and graded them as if I was reviewing
the work of an associate who I was
considering hiring. I provided feedback
exactly as if I were a partner and this was
an actual client and a real case. I had
more than one student tell me that these
exercises were the closest thing they had
in law school to actually practicing law,
other than Emorys two weeks of Trial
Techniques. I had another student tell
me that he thought my class should be
mandatory.
I told the students that the quality of
their writing mattered too. Other people
would be reading their work. It would go
in the clients file. Even distant attorneys
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AALL Spectrum
February 2014
Everything is Illuminated
As I said earlier, inspiration for your
stories can come from anywhere. In the
fall of 2012, I went to a book festival in
Decatur, Georgia, and heard many
authors talk about their books. The
message that one of them told was
disturbing. Armon Neel, the official
pharmacist for AARP, talked about how
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The Results
There was no stated length requirement
for the Final Project. I wanted to see
what the students would discover and
find relevant. Coupled with their writing
style, I was amazed with the results.
Many of them found and thought of
things that had not even occurred to me.
With some of them, I thought to myself,
I would hire you right now! Several
of them thanked me when they were
later studying for the Bar. They felt
more confident in their research abilities.
They knew better what would be
expected of them once they started
their jobs and that they would be able
to handle the work.
I used my Advanced Legal Research
Class as a vehicle to teach not only legal
research but also practice skills using a
pseudo-clinical approach. I designed my
own class model and used stories to help
reinforce my message of finding the best
answer and thinking creatively. The
stories I used were entertaining, but
they also achieved multiple instructional
goals. Librarians are in a good position
to help teach students practice skills.
What we know is of value. Waiting on
the sidelines can take years. Sometimes
you just have to take the ball and run
with it.
Elizabeth Christian
(elizabeth.christian@
emory.edu), Assistant
Law Librarian for
Reference, Emory Law
Library, Atlanta
AALL Spectrum
February 2014
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