Continuing Education Tools for the Busy Practitioner
| Publication year | 1985 |
| Pages | 1643 |
| Citation | Vol. 14 No. 9 Pg. 1643 |
1985, September, Pg. 1643. Continuing Education Tools for the Busy Practitioner
During the past few weeks, this author surveyed lawyers in a variety of locations, from San Francisco to Boston and from Dallas to Washington, D.C., to determine normal weekly working hours. While the results are not a statistically accurate sample, they may be of interest to readers of this column.
According to the survey, less than 10 percent of those polled work forty hours per week or less. Approximately 20 percent admit to working from forty to fifty hours per week. The vast majority, well over 50 percent, estimate their normal work week at from fifty to sixty hours per week. The remaining 20 percent work in excess of sixty hours per week.(fn1)
It is apparent that most lawyers have very long working hours, and that this heavy time commitment affects many aspects of legal practice. This column discusses methods the attorney may use to stay in touch with continuing legal education and improve law office management while maintaining long working hours.
Most attorneys satisfy mandatory continuing legal education credit requirements well in advance of the deadline date. However, it is often difficult to attend attractive programs due to other practice commitments, such as trials, that restrict the time available. It is often impractical to attend many of the live programs that are offered. It is not the purpose of this column to discourage attendance at live CLE programs, but to discuss alternative educational opportunities, such as the use of audio cassettes and a new workbook published by the American Bar Association's Economics of Law Practice Section.(fn2)
One of the easiest educational tools available today is the audio cassette. These cassettes may alleviate time-crunch problems by allowing the busy lawyer to use discretionary time to enhance education in areas which might otherwise be bypassed. Live presentations are often recorded on audio cassettes and offered to those who could not attend the original presentation, but who have an interest in obtaining the information. Although this "talking head" type of tape may lose some of the vitality of a live presentation, it still can communicate ideas effectively. If there...
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