which often does not feel like work at all. It
simply feels like living. Like being. So, in this
privilege to profess, there is great purpose. In
this freedom to teach, there is deep meaning.
And it is through these things that you have
helped me to feel wholeness. And for that –
for all of it – I am profoundly and unutterably
grateful, and will be for the rest of my life.
And there is so much more to learn and
discover, whether in classrooms, courtrooms,
or rooms of our own. The longing to know,
the quest to understand, is eternal. And that is
eternally comforting. That is the gift curiosity
gives. It heralds that there is more than the
present moment, more to come in the pursuit
of personal growth, at any age, at any stage. It
is renewal within reach, always.
* Patti Alleva is the Rodney & Betty Webb Professor of Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law. Before coming to North Dakota,
Professor Alleva practiced law for six years in the Litigation Department of Proskauer Rose in Manhattan after clerking for Clarkson S. Fisher,
Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey.
1. See, e.g., DEBORAH KENN, LAWYERING FROM THE HEART 67–68 (2009) (describing teaching to the “whole person” in the clinical
setting).
2. See, e.g., Anthony G. Amsterdam, Clinical Legal Education–A 21st-Century Perspective, 34 J. LEGAL EDUC. 612, 616 (1984) (describing the
importance of teaching students, in supervised settings with rigorous feedback, “how to learn systematically from experience” by placing them “in
role” in real or simulated “problem situations of the sort that lawyers encounter in practice”).
3. ANTHONY T. KRONMAN, THE LOST LAWYER: FAILING IDEALS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION 2 (1993).
4. Cf. MODEL RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT r. 2.1 cmt. 2 (AM. BAR ASS’N 2018) (stating that “[a]dvice couched in narrow legal terms may
be of little value to a client, especially where practical considerations, such as cost or effects on other people, are predominant. Purely technical legal
advice, therefore, can sometimes be inadequate”).
5. See, e.g., Louis D. Bilionis, Professional Formation and the Political Economy of the American Law School, 83 TENN. L. REV. 895, 907–08, 914 (2016)
(offering a blueprint for a “purposive program of professional formation” spanning the law school experience and recognizing self-awareness as a
“key dimension” of the formation process); Benjamin V. Madison, III & Larry O. Natt Gantt, II, The Emperor Has No Clothes, But Does Anyone Really
Care? How Law Schools Are Failing To Develop Students’ Professional Identity and Practical Judgment, 27 REGENTS U. L. REV. 339, 343, 377-86
(2015) (urging law schools to adopt an “incremental” and “integrated [professional formation] program designed to help students learn skills such as
self-awareness before they advance to exercises that develop reflection and decision-making skills”).
6. See BUILDING ON BEST PRACTICES: TRANSFORMING LEGAL EDUCATION IN A CHANGING WORLD 260 (Deborah
Maranville, Lisa Radtke Bliss, Carolyn Wilkes Kaas & Antoinette Sedillo Lopez eds., 2015) (observing that “[a]lthough every skill or value cannot
be cultivated solely by self-awareness, self-awareness appears to be a foundational skill on which developing lawyers should focus as they begin the
process of forming a professional identity”).
7. See Patti Alleva & Jennifer A. Gundlach, Learning Intentionally and the Metacognitive Task, 65 J. LEGAL EDUC. 710, 724 (2016) (examining the
importance of metacognition to learning, and, in turn, to lawyering, given that “a metacognitive consciousness should assist students in both seeing
and making connections between the different dimensions of professional work”).
8. See Barbara Lentz, Incorporating Reflection into Law Teaching and Learning, in EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION IN THE LAW SCHOOL
CURRICULUM 17, 39 (Emily Grant, Sandra Simpson & Kelly Terry eds., 2018) (“focusing on reflection” can help law students to “take control of
their own learning [and] increase self-motivation and autonomy leading to greater self-confidence”); see also Madison & Gantt, supra note 5, at 373
(arguing that “[w]ithout education that prepares students to exercise practical judgment using all of the elements that form sound decisions, students
are receiving less than they deserve”).
9. Cf. Key Findings, in HOW PEOPLE LEARN: BRIDGING RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 10 (M. Suzanne Donovan, John D. Bransford
& James W. Pellegrino eds., 1999) (noting that “[s]tudents come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial
understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught . . . .”).
10. See, e.g., SUSAN BRYANT, ELLIOTT S. MILSTEIN & ANN C. SHALLECK, TRANSFORMING THE EDUCATION OF LAWYERS:
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CLINICAL PEDAGOGY 15 (2014) (explaining that “[inhabiting the lawyer’s role] allows students to
explore the interplay between normative visions of a lawyer’s role and each student’s vision, linking their personal identities, values, and aspirations
with those of the profession”); see also Madison & Gantt, supra note 5, at 348-56 (discussing the connection between developed professional identity
and good judgment skills–including self-awareness–and a better quality of life as a lawyer).
11. E.g., ROY STUCKEY ET AL., BEST PRACTICES FOR LEGAL EDUCATION: A VISION AND A ROAD MAP 66 (2007) (advising
that “[t]he entire law school experience should help students become expert in reflecting on their learning process, identifying the causes of both
successes and failures, and using that knowledge to plan future efforts to learn with a goal of continuous improvement”).
State Bar of North Dakota Members -
Are you getting the most out of your
bar membership?
Casemaker – A comprehensive legal research database is available
for free to all bar members. Bar members get access to case law,
statutes and more for all 50 states and Federal jurisdictions.
North Dakota Jury Instructions are included! And cases and
statutes that are cited in the Jury Instructions are linked to make
your life even easier.
To access Casemaker visit www.sband.org and click on the
Casemaker link.
If you have questions contact Casemaker Support at 877.659.0801
www.casemakerlegal.com
10
THE GAVEL