National Jurist - February 2009 - (Page 6)

ENTERTAINMENT Get organized New book offers tips and tools to develop and maintain a more organized space Take a good look at your desk at home or at work. Do you have things compartmentalized or is it looking pretty unorganized? Either way, Kelly Lynn Anders believes everyone has a particular organization style that impacts how we view our things, live with them, and keep them organized or disorganized. In her new book, The Organized Lawyer, Anders says that anyone is capable of becoming organized, provided the right equipment is used. Anders, who is an associate dean for Student Affairs at Washburn University School of Law, also works with attorneys and students to sharpen their time management, business etiquette and organization skills. Here she provides an excerpt from her new book. There’s more than one way to be organized, but you wouldn’t know it from most books and television shows. There’s so much more to creating and maintaining an organized space than purchasing a bunch of plastic bins and attractive containers from the local office supply store. Add stress and time constraints and multiple types of items to control and it’s a recipe for failure — or a belief that organization is impossible. It all starts in law school — or possibly before. We all remember first year. So much information to process, and a new language to learn. The average textbooks in law school must be sold by the pound because they are as heavy as they are expensive. So, information overload begins the day you set foot through the door of your law school. And feeling lost and helpless in managing that information is just as immediate. While the amount of information continues to increase, the amount of space we have to work with has decreased. In many workplaces, offices are smaller, cubicles are the norm, and, like other professions, the legal profession lacks the stability it used to enjoy. So, not only is there more information to manage, but there’s less space in which to do it, and because of job movement, that information is passed on in various forms of disarray from one person to the next. How does one prioritize with all of these competing interests Study Abroad with the University of Baltimore School of Law As part of its comprehensive international law program, the University of Baltimore School of Law and its partner schools offer two unique study abroad programs designed to introduce U.S. and foreign law students to a broad array of transnational law issues. Both programs are ABA-approved. Haifa, Israel July 2, 2009—July 31, 2009 http://law.ubalt.edu/haifa For more information: krolfes@ubalt.edu or 410-837-4689 Aberdeen, Scotland June 29, 2009—July 31, 2009 http://law.ubalt.edu/ aberdeen For more information: aberdeen@ubalt.edu or 410-837-4615 and maintain a workspace that inspires confidence from clients who depend on us and colleagues we are either trying to impress or by whom we at least want to appear capable, reliable, and on top of our game? Sadly, many of us are dropping the ball. On a regular basis, attorneys are sanctioned for many misdeeds that can be traced back to disorganization. Examples include commingling of funds, failure to produce records to opposing counsel, failure to file in a timely manner, being inaccessible to clients, and seeming ill prepared to represent clients during hearings. Just the thought of all of the responsibilities attorneys need to handle can be overwhelming. How does one do so and remain organized? No one expects to see a space that is entirely clutter-free, but most people feel more comfortable in an office that offers a clean chair, small space to lean or set down personal items, and surroundings that demonstrate control over one’s workload. When a client comes to you for help, he or she wants to feel like you can handle it. How can they be expected to trust you with lifeimpacting decisions when you don’t appear to have control of your own affairs? That may sound harsh, but perceptions matter— especially in the legal profession. [From The Organized Lawyer. Copyright 2009, by Kelly Lynn Anders. Reprinted by permission of Carolina Academic Press.] 6 THE NATIONAL JURIST February 2009 http://law.ubalt.edu/haifa http://law.ubalt.edu/haifa http://law.ubalt.edu/aberdeen http://law.ubalt.edu/aberdeen

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - February 2009

National Jurist - February 2009 Contents Entertainment: Get Organized! The Firm Report: The Part-Time Lawyer News: Keeping Ethics Intact, New Law Deans, Latest Survey Findings Seattle Law Students Secure Asylum for East African Women Laptops in the Classroom Attorneys Dissect Health Law Law Students Contribute to 2008 Election Process Remembering Professors Obama and Biden Bar Exam Diaries How Well Balanced are Law Students? How to Choose a Summer Program Career Hotline Linguistic Gymnastics Disturbing the Peace

National Jurist - February 2009

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