Sometimes they're just clueless-you can't blame 'em for that.
When I was in New York City last week, I attended a preview of the Broadway show Oleanna. I was offered two free tickets to attend because of my blogging on this blog.
OLEANNA has electrifying dialogue, blazing emotion and an ending that will leave you talking for weeks. In this riveting drama, a college professor and his female student become embroiled in a war of words that takes a dangerous turn. As their serene campus transforms into a battleground for justice, Mamet's explosive masterpiece dares you to take a side . . . if you can.
It was an unbelievable performance. The setting was the professor's office and the only two actors throughout the play were the professor and his female student.
I only skimmed the description of the show prior to attending it, and when I first sat down, I thought that the professor actually assaulted, or at the very least, inappropriately touched, the student. So throughout the first scene, I kept waiting for signs of that to occur.
I thought the professor was very old school, and noted that he always used the word "he" as the default pronoun--a fact that I found to be annoying, but nothing earth shattering.
Throughout the first scene, the student and the professor had a strange,off kilter, slightly charged discussion about her poor grade on a paper. She was very intense, and he was quite distracted at first, but later became a bit excitable. But, he was never inappropriate--just a bit flaky.
So imagine my surprise when in the second scene, we learned that she'd brought charges against him before the tenure committee based upon their prior interaction in his office.
Ultimately, you realize that the student, who was involved in some sort of "group" that you never learned about--was arguably seeking to make an example of this professor, essentially ruining his life in the process.
First off, I easily identified with her outrage and anger with our culture. It is extremely frustrating to exist in a society where you are, by nature of your chromosomal make up, subjugated to the status of a second class citizen.
For example, until very recently, most medical testing was done on white men and only male symptoms of medical events, such as heart attacks, were studied or disseminated.
Womens' scores in musical auditions increased greatly once screens were put up between the musician and the grader, thus preventing the listener from knowing the gender of the musician.
Psychological studies consistently prove that test graders routinely provide better grades to essays believed to have been written by a male, while providing lower grades to identical essays with a woman's name on the top. For that very reason, I used to write my "anonymous" law school exams in block print, so that the professor would have a more difficult time determining my gender when grading the exam.
In Oleanna, it was clear that this professor was sexist. He talked down to women students, wasn't aware of his innate bias against women and preference for the male norm. It was annoying, but, all things considered, pretty harmless. He wasn't a bad guy.
He definitely could have used some enlightenment. But making an example of him--ruining his life, both professional and personal, was ridiculous and extreme.
Her outrage was understandable. Her target was questionable. Her methods were outrageous. In the end, the only person I sympathized with was the clueless, sexist professor.
It's not the law firm's fault-the clients keep stealing all the women!
It's the blame game. Women and minority numbers in law firms are low, but it must be someone else's the fault: the women, their uteri, the economy, or--the clients!
According to a 2008 study of more than 1,500 law offices across the country by the Association for Legal Career Professionals, the number of minority partners among all law firms was 5.9% of the total, while the number of minority women partners was 1.84%.
At 24 Charlotte law offices with 728 partners, 4.26% of the partners were minorities, while 1.37% were minority women.
Increasing the number of minority partners at firms is a particular challenge in Charlotte, she says, because of the opportunities to work in legal departments at large companies such as BofA and Duke.
At Microsoft, for example, the software giant uses carrots such as providing bonuses to firms that have measurably improved their diversity numbers. And BofA requires its top 100 firms to disclose on a quarterly basis how much of the bank's work is being handled by minority or women associates and partners.
Duke is considering sterner measures such as taking legal work away from firms that don't improve the diversity among their ranks.
Go figure. The women and minorities would rather jump ship than work at firms sitting on their laurels, relishing in the good ol' days and the good ol' boy network--resulting in zero women partners in 1/3 of the law offices in Charlotte.
The fourth episode of lawtechTalk is now available.
This screencast (a recording of computer screen output along with video of me discussing what is seen) will focus on using online tools to assist you with brain storming and organizing your thoughts for all aspects of a case, from drafting a complaint to preparing for trial. We'll discuss web applications for brain storming, mind mapping, creating flow charts, and time lines, among other things.
This episode is a little under one half hour long and is available for viewing for a limited time at no cost. Simply contact lawtechTalk for information regarding how to access this screencast.
If you're a foodie, check out my newest blog, The Epicurean Esquire. Thanks!
Free Screencast- "Web-based Law Practice Management Systems"
For a limited time, the 3rd episode of lawtechTalk, "Web-based law practice management systems" can be viewed for FREE.
This screencast (a recording of computer screen output along with video of me discussing what is seen) will focus on three web-based law practice management systems. We'll discuss the concepts of SaaS (software as a service) and "cloud computing" and will explore the main features of each to help you figure out which will best meet your needs.
This screencast is a little under one hour long and is sponsored by the three SaaS (software as a service) companies featured in the screencast: Clio, LawRD, and Rocket Matter and will be available for viewing at no cost until Sunday June 14th. Simply contact lawtechTalk for information regarding how to access this screencast.
I've started a new blog called Legal Tweets, which covers legal topics trending on Twitter, the micro-blogging service that many lawyers have joined in recent months.
Check it out and tell all your friends!
I'm thrilled to announce that I've joined the faculty at Solo Practice University™, a web-based educational community that will help you learn about the one thing that most law schools fail to teach: the "practice of law."
At Solo Practice University™ I'll be teaching a course about web productivity and organization for lawyers.
The marriage of law and technology is a passion of mine and I've been fascinated by technology and computers for as long as I can remember.
My love affair with computers began in the early 1980s with the TRS-80. I learned how to use the BASIC programming language and from that point on I was hooked.
My freshman year in college, I took a computer programming class and for my final project created the game "Mastermind" using the Pascal programming language.I was really proud of that project.
In 1995, the fabulous World Wide Web was revealed to me. Things have never been the same since.
I began blogging in 2005 and currently publish 4 blogs. I am a social media enthusiast and am addicted to discovering and exploring the latest Web 2.0 web applications.
I find the intersection of law and technology to be particularly fascinating and am doing all that I can to facilitate the fusion of these two seemingly reluctant soul mates.
Therefore, I look forward to teaching my fellow legal professionals about Web 2.0 technologies and how emerging technologies can simplify the practice of law.
Another reason I'm so excited about my faculty position at Solo Practice University™ is that it perfectly complements a new business venture I'm in the process of launching--lawtechTalk. lawtechTalk will consist of webinars about the use of emerging Web 2.0 applications in your law practice.
The practice of law and technology are both fascinating fields. I look forward to exploring them with you!