Earlier this summer my wife was visiting w/ one of her law school classmates on a leisurely Sunday morning. As they were catching up, the friend mentioned that someone in her office had agreed to renew as an adjunct at one of their local law schools. Originally, the friend’s colleague was asked to teach Property, but declined because she’s a criminal lawyer. The last time she thought about Property was when she was studying for the bar exam. So the school offered her another class to teach which she then accepted. As my wife’s friend related, their conversation went like this:
- So, what class are you teaching?
- It’s mediation and three other words I can’t remember.
- Are they alternative dispute resolution?
- Yeah, that’s it.
Seriously !?!?! Sad, but true.
“Alternative”? Mediation has been around forever. It’s the “norm”, per se, to not go to mediation, but that has the “divide and conquer” principle behind it. As long as there have been cultures, there has been mediation. Perhaps in smaller enclaves, but still there.
Michael:
Your comment and Art’s post reminded me of a story I heard from a colleague who served as a dean at a university in New York. A managing partner at a law firm in NYC contacted the dean about teaching a course during an upcoming sabbatical that the managing partner was planning to take from the firm. The managing partner, who had no previous experience teaching at a university, said, “This will be good for all – I’ll share my knowledge and experience with the students and get to be a professor. How hard could it be?” The dean replied, “Interesting idea. And I can run your firm while you’re teaching.”
Hope all is well.
Chuck.
That dialogue is almost a haiku, Art.
The saddest haiku I’ve heard in a long, long time…