Things guaranteed to start an argument: Chicago style vs. New York-style pizza, Star Trek vs. Star Wars, Pepsi vs. Coke. In the world of learning design, these debates are joined by one more: course evaluation surveys.   If the thought of course evaluation surveys – those questionnaires you fill out at the end of a CLE, often to receive CLE credit — causes anger, that’s understandable. But while these surveys aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, they do concern all of us indirectly.   Course evaluation surveys often focus on how you enjoyed the presentation, whether you learned anything, and if you would recommend the presentation to others. Now think back to law school. Imagine if your professors’…

Judge Alicia N. Washington Judge Debra B. Walker Women in the law have come a long way since the Supreme Court of Illinois denied Myra Bradwell’s petition for a license to practice law in 1869. However, while Illinois passed a law in 1872 providing that “No person shall be precluded or debarred from any occupation, profession or employment (except military) on account of sex,” significant challenges to equal representation still exist. The number of women in the…

The new normal is that there is no normal. That may seem to be the lesson from 2020. All is thrown into the air and determining a trend for how things might land is an impossibility. The same holds for the state of the legal industry being on tilt. Or is it?  From solo and small firms to BigLaw, the COVID-19 pandemic played no favorites in impacting organizations and their clients. The storm blew hard, and the waves were fierce as most just tried to…

Finding purpose in our lives is more important than ever. From the global pandemic, to the death of George Floyd, to the contentious election, 2020 has been beyond unpredictable and dispiriting. Yet, as the Buddhist teacher and author Pema Chodron asks, “What if rather than being disheartened by the ambiguity, the uncertainty of life, we accepted it and relaxed into it?” For lawyers, one way to relax into unpredictability is to take control of what…

Last Friday, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87. Ginsburg, affectionately known as RBG, was a trailblazing jurist who spent her career fighting for equal justice for women and other marginalized communities. She occupied the roles of U.S. Supreme Court justice, gender equality pioneer, and pop culture icon with decorum and humility, striving to use her position of power to benefit those less fortunate. She once said: “I tell law students … if…

Roughly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a partner at a BigLaw firm in Chicago shared an exciting revelation with me. “While I’ve become more physically distanced from my coworkers, I’ve actually become more personally connected to them,” he said. “We’ve stepped into each other’s homes and lives much more while working remotely.”  His discovery caused me to recall a discussion with a colleague about our mentoring program for new lawyers in Illinois. The year-long program pairs lawyers early in their careers with more experienced attorneys for a mentoring experience centered on skill-building and instilling the values of professionalism in the next generation of…