Leadership in Law (Sandman)
Faculty
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| James Sandman Distinguished Lecturer and Senior Consultant to the Future of the Profession Initiative james.j.sandman@gmail.com |
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Expository Writing
Other Professional Skills: Students learn how to develop and exercise good judgment, how to motivate others, how to manage change, how to build effective teams, and how to lead with integrity.
Grading
30% Participation,
70% Other (Students will maintain journals recording their answers to assigned problems and reflections (2-3 pages per week) on the subject assigned for each week's class. I will review your journal and give you feedback at least twice during the semester and will review your complete journal at the end of the semester for this portion of the grade. Your five-minute oral presentation will be considered as a component of class participation.)
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
- I have asked for volunteers in the class who are willing to take and share their notes on a regular basis with others who are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance.
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
W 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Silverman Hall 240B
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
2.0
This course will help you become an effective leader and to make a difference in your professional life, no matter what you do with your law degree. The course is for people of all backgrounds, experiences, personalities, and ambitions -- for introverts as well as extroverts, for people who have had some leadership experience and people who have had none, for people who plan to go into big law firms and people who want to lead social justice movements.
Lawyers occupy leadership positions across many segments of society -- not only in law firms, corporate legal departments, and public interest organizations, but in public service, business, academia, and a variety of non-profit organizations. But lawyers often come to leadership positions with less preparation and training than leaders in other disciplines. This course addresses that preparation gap.
Topics include characteristics of strong leaders, leadership styles, decision-making, achieving and exercising influence, managing change, strategic thinking, diversity in leadership, organizational dynamics, moral leadership, effective communication, leading for social change, and conflict and crisis management. Classes will feature guest speakers who are lawyer-leaders in law firms, the judiciary, public interest organizations, and academia. The format will be highly interactive and enjoyable, requires class participation, and includes many opportunities for consultation with and advice from me. Students in this course learn also a lot from each other.
Each student maintains a journal responding to weekly prompts. My prompts are based on the readings, guest lectures, and class discussions. Each student also does a five-minute presentation to the class on a subject of the student's choosing. I work with students to help them select a topic and prepare for their presentations.
I meet with each student one-on-one at least twice during the semester to provide feedback and mentoring, to help them prepare for their presentations, and to answer questions. I get to know my students well and maintain contact with them after the course ends.
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Professional Responsibility and Ethics Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Textbooks
"Leadership for Lawyers" by Deborah L. Rhode |