Leah Teague and Stephen Rispoli are hosting a webinar on Monday, June 26, 2023 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST. They will be joined by Neil Hamilton, Holloran Professor of Law and Co-director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The Holloran Center is the national leader in the professional identity formation movement. The conversation will focus on how professional identity formation efforts and leadership development programming align and complement each other. We invite you to join us to share how you are using leadership development programming to satisfy the new ABA Standard 303(b) requiring law schools to provide substantial opportunities for “the development of a professional identity.” Please click this link to register.
Below are the other sessions this summer and fall. You can register for each by clicking on the date and time:
Wednesday, July 19, 2023 – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST – Joan Heminway, Interim Director, Institute for Professional Leadership, Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law, The University of Tennessee College of Law and Martin Brinkley, Dean and Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina School of Law
This year, the AALS Section on Leadership is hosting several Zoom webinars for Section members to get together for fellowship and learning from one another.
On the first webinar, a roundtable discussion was held for attendees and guests to discuss the leadership programming they have implemented at their schools. These conversations sparked ideas for everyone to consider applying to their own programs. The discussion was hosted by April Barton, Dean and Professor of Law, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University, Aric Short, Professor of Law & Director of Professionalism and Leadership Program, Texas A&M University School of Law, and Tania Luma, Assistant Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Clinical Professor, Loyola Chicago Law School. The recordings will be made available to Section members soon.
Leah Teague and Stephen Rispoli are hosting the second webinar on Monday, June 26, 2023 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST. They will be joined by Neil Hamilton, Holloran Professor of Law and Co-director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The Holloran Center is the national leader in the professional identity formation movement. The conversation will focus on how professional identity formation efforts and leadership development programming align and complement each other. We invite you to join us to share how you are using leadership development programming to satisfy the new ABA Standard 303(b) requiring law schools to provide substantial opportunities for “the development of a professional identity.” Please click this link to register.
Below are the other sessions this summer and fall. You can register for each by clicking on the date and time:
Wednesday, July 19, 2023 – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST – Joan Heminway, Interim Director, Institute for Professional Leadership, Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law, The University of Tennessee College of Law and Martin Brinkley, Dean and Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina School of Law
Civil Discourse Training through Public Deliberation Workshops
Last week, in Training Law Students to Respectfully Engage One Another, I shared a new addition to our extended orientation program for entering students. In the second week of law school, our students participate in a Public Deliberation Workshop to teach better methods for engaging in conversations in law school and beyond. In this post, I want to share some of the feedback from our students through surveys conducted after the workshops.
On the survey, students were asked, “What, if anything, might you do differently as a result of this forum?” I grouped the representative quotes into the following categories of “themes” I saw in the responses:
Listening skills:
“Listen to understand rather than listen to be understood.”
“Be sure to listen and not just wait to respond.”
“Seek to listen fully before speaking; ask more questions.”
“I will now listen to others with more intent.”
More sensitivity to others’ perspectives and different life experiences:
“I have a new perspective now for understanding others’ opinions.”
“I can now see perspectives I didn’t previously consider.”
“Be more aware of how big of a problem it is, even though it may not be personally a problem of my everyday life.”
“I will deliberate on sensitive topics differently, attempting to listen better.”
Less judgmental and more respectful:
“I hope to be more open to listening and responding positively instead of looking for areas of disagreement.”
“Really work on “learning” someone instead of judging them.”
“I think I will treat opinions with more respect in general.”
More Open-minded:
“I’ll try to be respectful and allow others to speak and listen with an open mind.”
“I came into the discussion ready to defend an option and my answer, but I came out understanding the other options better.”
“Now, I will be more open-minded to solutions that don’t immediately appeal to me.”
Application of skill beyond law school:
“I will bring skills learned in this forum to my personal life to communicate with my family better.”
The workshop facilitators guide the participants through a conversation about three possible approaches to the issue. When students were asked, “Are you thinking differently about this issue now that you have participated in the forum,” they responded with answers such as:
“Yes, I had little knowledge on the subject, and hearing different experiences changed my perspective on the topic.”
“Hearing about others’ perspectives shifted my perspective from starting strongly in Option 3 and shifting more towards Option 1.”
“Yes, I am thankful for the opportunity to hear the opinions of others without trying to squash someone’s opinion before we can fully understand the topic.”
We are encouraged by the responses, and we hope these Public Deliberation Workshops will result in students listening more earnestly and respectfully to others with different life experiences and viewpoints. The goal is to help participants find shared values and build a community that can lead to innovative problem-solving together. What a difference we can make if law students enter the profession with this approach to building relationships in their organizations and communities.
I write to tell you about a fun and valuable experience we added to our orientation program for all our entering classes. Beginning with the Fall 2022 quarter, we introduce each entering Baylor Law student to a model for civil discourse through a workshop developed in partnership with Baylor University’s Public Deliberation Initiative. We conducted this workshop for our Summer 2023 entering class earlier this week. You may still be in spring finals, but we just started the second week of our summer term!
Through these Public Deliberation Workshops, we encourage students to adopt a better way to engage in conversations with one another in law school. This skill also can be used in the future as they represent clients or causes.
Public Deliberation training encourages participants to earnestly and respectfully listen to others with different life experiences and viewpoints. The goal is NOT to change others’ minds on the issue at hand; instead, we want students to find shared values and build community that can lead to innovative problem-solving. We desire to help our students embody professionalism, model civility, and advocate more effectively. This approach also can create a culture of respect for colleagues with different backgrounds and perspectives that will enrich our classrooms and programs, support our efforts for student well-being, and better equip our students to be difference-makers in society.
Second- or third-year law students serve as workshop facilitators during the sessions. Trained to be public deliberation facilitators during our Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) course, they keep the workshop participants on task while remaining neutral. After training and participation, the law student facilitators receive certificates as public deliberation facilitators. For more information on the program, please see my most recent post on theProfessional Identity Formation Blog, titled Training Law Students to Converse Respectfully: Public Disclosure Workshop. You are also invited to contact me. I am happy to help you consider how to offer a similar training at your law school or organization.
As I reflect upon the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting, I am struck by the number of conversations about helping law students figure out who they are as lawyers and what they want to do with their careers. When I started attending the AALS Annual Meeting 10 years ago, there were not nearly as many conversations about these topics. The discussions focused primarily on substantive areas of law and ways that we could better teach students about the law. It has been refreshing to see that these conversations are now being bolstered with discussions regarding how law students can use the tools that they are learning in substantive classes and combine them with their passions and interests in order to make a difference for an individual or their community.
Although I was not able to attend as many sessions about Standard 303 as I would have liked (just too many good programs this year!), I did get to attend some that addressed professional identity formation, how it can be taught, and how to get buy-in from others at your school. Generally, the advice was to look for your champions and those who recognize the value of the new standard beyond what is simply required for compliance. Other advice included considering your resources and your capacity for new programming; identifying target audiences and data sources; assessing program, surveying participants, and summarizing results; getting feedback from other departments in the law school; and working collaboratively to develop programming. Some schools are also considering breaking it down into different focuses by year: Self-assessment for 1Ls, Self-direction for 2Ls, and Leadership for 3Ls.
As Leah and I were de-briefing these sections and the Leadership Section’s program, we started to discuss how Standard 303 and Leadership fit together. Although we have written about the overlap several times [see e.g.,Using Leadership to Teach Professional Identity Formation Well Being and Diversity and Belonging, and Amendments to ABA Standards Support the Objectives of Leadership Development Programming] we believe that there is a unique space for leadership. While Standard 303 focuses primarily upon the professional development and self-actualization of the individual, we do not believe that is enough for our law students or for society. Our law students need to strive for more than that, and our society needs more than that from them.
It must be more than helping them form their identity as a lawyer – it must also help them understand the role of the lawyer in society, the benefits of diversity, how to be well in order to reach their capacity for doing good (i.e., self-actualization), and how they can serve their communities in addition to their families and clients. This is the essence of leadership, and we believe it is important that it does not get lost as schools figure out how to comply with Standard 303. Professional Identity Formation is important, but we cannot stop there.
As a sample of what law schools are doing in this Professional Identity Formation and Leadership space, Aric Short, from Texas A&M Law School, shared the four dimensions of professional identity that are covered in his award-winning required course at Texas A&M:
Personal Identity: Personal values, life goals, strengths, passion.
Values of the Legal Profession: honesty; integrity; continuous personal development; respect for the judicial system, the rule of law; and diversity, equity, and inclusion
Competencies Expected by Employers: self-directed; grit, resilience; diligence; work well on teams/with others; well-being; leadership
Right Fit in the Practice of Law: practice setting, practice area, skills utilized, opportunities for development, overall positives and negatives
What sessions did you attend? What did you learn from them? Where do you see the potential for teaching leadership as law schools work to incorporate the new standards?
As always, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out at any time.
Part 1 was a discussion of the new requirement in ABA Standard 303(b) requiring law schools to “provide substantial opportunities to students for … the development of a professional identity.” Part 2 of this series addressed the requirement in ABA Standard 303(c) to “provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism.” In this Part 3, we focus on the need for law schools to provide students with “information on law student well-being resources” in accordance with ABA Standard 508(b).
Part 3: Caring for One’s Well-Being is Critical to Success as Lawyer and Leader
The amendment to ABA Standard 508(b) requires law schools to provide students with “information on law student well-being resources.” The proposal also calls for the law schools to work to remove the stigma of accessing mental health and well-being supports on campus and within the legal profession.
New Interpretation 508-1 reads:
Law student well-being resources include information or services related to mental health, including substance use disorders. Other law student well-being resources may include information for students in need of critical services such as food pantries or emergency financial assistance. Such resources encompass counseling services provided in-house by the law school, through the university of which the law school is a part, or by a lawyer assistance program. Law schools should strive to mitigate barriers or stigma to accessing such services, whether within the law school or larger professional community.
New Interpretation 508-2 reads:
Reasonable access, at a minimum, involves informing law students and providing guidance regarding relevant information and services, including assistance on where the information and services can be found or accessed.
This addition to the Standards signals the importance of law schools’ effort to care for all aspects of our students’ development. For students to use their legal knowledge, skills and competencies to achieve their goals (i.e. self-actualization), they must learn to care for themselves and tend to issues related to mental and physical health. Law school is our opportunity to help students develop the healthy strategies they will need to deal with the stress of the practice of law, maintain healthy relationships with family and friends, and manage their time wisely so that they can continue to enjoy the hobbies and passions that are important to them.
Leadership development programs recognize the importance of well-being and provide opportunities for students to identify and adopt healthy practices that will benefit them as they enter the profession. In Fundamentals of Lawyer Leadership, Chapter 11 (The Importance of Well-Being: Thriving in the Legal Profession) discusses the dimensions of health and shares resources and techniques for long-term practices and habits. In Leadership for Lawyers Chapter 2, Rhode discusses the evolution of well-being, the underlying causes of stress in the legal profession, and suggestions for positive strategies.
Modern law schools are called to go beyond teaching law students to “think” like a lawyer to preparing them for success as whole or complete lawyer (i.e., how to “be” a lawyer) – and a healthy one at that! The efforts to increase professional identity/formation and leadership development programming at law schools are national efforts to address the Carnegie Report’s description of the third stage or apprenticeship of the development. See Growing Number of Leadership Programs and Courses Supports Professional Identity Formation for a further discussion about developing well-rounded lawyers who will be find meaning, satisfaction and success in life using knowledge and skills that are learn (or at least introduced) in law school and developed throughout their careers.
Thank you for your efforts and keep up the good work!
Part 1 was a discussion of the new requirement in ABA Standard 303(b) requiring law schools to “provide substantial opportunities to students for … the development of a professional identity.” This post is Part 2 of this series and focuses on the requirement in ABA Standard 303(c) to “provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism.” Part 3 will be a future post to discuss the need for law schools to provide students with “information on law student well-being resources” in accordance with ABA Standard 508(b).
Part 2: Valuing Diversity and Inclusion, Understanding Bias, and Developing Cross-cultural Competency are Fundamental Aspects of Leadership Development
New efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion and cultural competency education resulted in the addition of ABA Standard 303(c), which reads:
(c) A law school shall provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism:
(1) at the start of the program of legal education, and (2) at least once again before graduation.
For students engaged in law clinics or field placements, the second occasion will take place before, concurrent with, or as part of their enrollment in clinical or field placement courses.
The updated Standards also include new interpretations. New Interpretation 303-6 reads:
With respect to 303(a)(1), the importance of cross-cultural competency to professionally responsible representation and the obligation of lawyers to promote a justice system that provides equal access and eliminates bias, discrimination, and racism in the law should be among the values and responsibilities of the legal profession to which students are introduced.
New Interpretation 303-7 reads:
Standard 303(c)’s requirement that law schools provide education on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism may be satisfied by, among other things, the following:
(1) Orientation sessions for incoming students; (2) Lectures on these topics; (3) Courses incorporating these topics; or (4) Other educational experiences incorporating these topics.
While law schools need not add a required upper-division course to satisfy this requirement, law schools must demonstrate that all law students are required to participate in a substantial activity designed to reinforce the skill of cultural competency and their obligation as future lawyers to work to eliminate racism in the legal profession.
New Interpretation 303-8 reads:
Standard 303 does not prescribe the form or content of the education on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism required by Standard 303(c).
Many find this important but sensitive subject difficult to teach but these topics have been a mainstay in lawyer-leadership programs from the beginning. Leadership courses and programs have already developed methods for teaching these concepts in a respectful and meaningful manner designed to engage students and prepare them for the future. For example, Chapter 17 of Fundamentals of Lawyer Leadership is titled “Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Intelligence” and combines the coverage of diversity and inclusion with bias and cross-cultural competency. We also include several exercises and discussion prompts in our Teacher’s Manual to assist with these conversations. Chapter 8 of Leadership for Lawyers is titled “Diversity in Leadership.” These issues have always been present in Deborah Rhode’s leadership books but the recently released third edition textbook includes additional material on diversity and inclusion, as well as updated exercises, problems, and media resources.
We note that we are adopting a term we learned from Professor Neil Hamilton. We now refer to this topic as “Diversity and Belonging” which calls us as leaders to seek ways to help each member of our team or group or organization, especially those who have different backgrounds and life experiences, feel valued as a contributing member of the effort. Together we can make a difference as we positively influence those around us, seek ways to meaningfully impact our communities and inspire our students to do the same!
Thank you for your efforts and keep up the good work!
In Part 1 below, we focus on the new requirement in ABA Standard 303(b) requiring law schools to “provide substantial opportunities to students for … the development of a professional identity.” Part 2 of this series addresses the requirement in ABA Standard 303(c) to “provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism.” Part 3 discusses the need for law schools to provide students with “information on law student well-being resources” in accordance with ABA Standard 508(b).
Part 1: Professional Identity Development is Now Required in Legal Education
Lawyers’ role as leaders in society IS a fundamental part of lawyers’ professional identity!
ABA Standards 303(b) was amended to require law schools to “provide substantial opportunities to students for: … (3) the development of a professional identity.
Also adopted was new Interpretation 303-5 which reads:
Professional identity focuses on what it means to be a lawyer and the special obligations lawyers have to their clients and society. The development of professional identity should involve an intentional exploration of the values, guiding principles, and well-being practices considered foundational to successful legal practice. Because developing a professional identity requires reflection and growth over time, students should have frequent opportunities for such development during each year of law school and in a variety of courses and co-curricular and professional development activities.
Leadership development IS professional formation. At the core of leadership development efforts is awakening law students to “the special obligations lawyers have to their clients and society.” For a visual model of the development of a law student’s professional identity, see the Holloran Center’s Model for How Law School Learning Outcomes Build on Each Other to Foster Student Development. The model presents five groups of competencies in a visual layered progression of law school learning outcomes to help students “grow[] from being a new entrant to the profession to being an integrated effective lawyer serving others well in meaningful employment.” In Group 5 (complex, compound competencies) is “Leadership and Influence in Organizations and Communities.” For a discussion of these competencies, see Neil Hamilton’s Mentor/Coach: The Most Effective Curriculum to Foster Each Student’s Professional Development and Formation. For a discussion of the role of lawyers as leaders in society, see the Preface and Chapter 2 of Fundamentals of Lawyer Leadership and Chapter 1 of Leadership for Lawyers.
Leadership development goes beyond professional identity to teach students how to work well with others and to encourage students to use their education and training to serve others and benefit society. At Baylor Law we see the broader mission of our values-based leadership development program as three-fold:
encourage law students and lawyers to embrace their obligation to serve clients and society,
better equip law students for positions of leadership and influence, and
inspire law students to boldly seek opportunities to make a difference in their communities and the world.
The proposed amendments to Standards 303 (professional identity), 206 (bias, cross-cultural competency and racism) and 508 (student well-being) align with this mission and are important aspects of a law student’s preparation for professional life after law school. Notably, both of the leadership textbooks for law students address all three of these issues. One, of course, is Deborah Rhode’s Leadership for Lawyers (a third edition has recently been released) and the other is our textbook, Fundamentals of Lawyer Leadership.
These amendments reinforce our duty to tend to whole development of our students’ professional formation through self-assessment, reflection upon values, and focus on techniques for better decision-making and goal-setting, in addition to the teaching of legal knowledge and skills. The amendment distinguishes professional identity from ethics and professional responsibility courses that are already required in law school: “The development of professional identity should involve an intentional exploration of the values, guiding principles, and well-being practices considered foundational to successful legal practice.” This is likely part of a larger scheme to improve lawyer well-being, which is supported by the amendment to Standard 508. The objective is to equip students with knowledge, skills and priorities that will better enable students to become successful, healthy and impactful lawyers.
With every conversation with leaders in our profession, the importance of our efforts and need for leadership development in law schools is confirmed! Thank you for your efforts and keep up the good work!
Stephen Rispoli
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Strategic Initiatives
Director of Innovation and Scholarship, Executive LL.M. in Litigation Management
Baylor Law.
Pat Wilson
Associate Dean and Professor of Law Baylor Law.
Liz Fraley
Professor of Law
Co-Director,
Executive LL.M. in Litigation Management
