lawyering lessons from oscar the grouch
When she was little, my eldest daughter loved to watch Sesame Street. Sitting on the floor surrounded by stuffed versions of her favorite characters, she’d sing and comment away, all the while patiently waiting for the day when her age miraculously was the number of the day (it only happened a couple of times). It’s hard to believe that the show turned 40 this year. Many of its characters are truly ageless, like my personal favorite, Oscar the Grouch.
Cantankerous as can be, Oscar also has a some very endearing qualities, like the love and care he gives his pet worm, Slimey (BTW, if you haven’t heard/seen Tony Bennett sing Slimey to the Moon, you really must). Even as a toddler, my daughter could tell that Oscar has a good heart. He offers up a great lesson on seeing the whole of any person (or, monster) that we engage with as lawyers.
Echoing this lesson is a compelling post describing how one big firm associate very constructively dealt with an ornery senior partner. In my experience, the ability to look at a person in his or her entirety has a lot to do with empathy. As writer Katherine Bell posits, empathy is a not-so-soft skill that entails “an act of imagination in which you try to look at the world from the perspective of another person, a human being whose history and point of view are as complex as your own.” This kind of gestalt, or holistic, approach to relating is something that most lawyers could benefit from.
One organization dedicated to helping lawyers embrace this approach is the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers (IAHL). This year, the IAHL is hosting its annual conference on June 11-14 in Chicago. The theme is: Voices of the “New” Lawyer: Finding and Expressing Your True Voice in Your Practice. The conference features a comprehensive, interdisciplinary training on collaborative family law practice. Near and dear to my heart, there’s also a dinner/tribute program honoring my friend, Steven Keeva, on the 10th anniversary of his groundbreaking book, Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in Legal Life. You can register for the conference here.
