Welcome to the video-blog of Hamline University School of Law

Dean Donald Lewis

Available in both video and text format for your convenience

Hi.  I thought I’d devote my blog today to lessons from a lawyer who made history.
Recently, Senator Edward Kennedy died at the age of 77.  He served 46 years in the U.S. Senate.  He was once a law student.

I assume that most of you-as did I-watched some of the media coverage of his death: the personal tributes and the celebration of his extraordinary political career.  I wondered how much a difference law school made in his life.

Ted Kennedy was a 1959 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School.  His older brother Robert was also a UVA graduate, class of 1951.  Years earlier, Ted Kennedy had been expelled from Harvard College for cheating.  But he managed to get into UVA Law.  Ted Kennedy was after all a Kennedy, and although UVA was an institution steeped in tradition and honor, it was also steeped in the culture of privilege.
I do find it very ironic that the two Kennedy brothers attended UVA.  It is a very fine law school.  But Virginia during the Jim Crow era was not a place known for leadership in civil rights or religious tolerance.  How could UVA produce two icons of liberal political thought, leaders of the fight for racial equality and economic justice?

Welcome to the video-blog of Hamline University School of Law

Dean Donald Lewis

Available in both video and text format for your convenience

Welcome to the video-blog of Hamline University School of Law

Dean Donald Lewis

Available in both video and text format for your convenience

Hello again.  It's May.  Graduation is approaching.  This is my last blogcast of the school year.  What would you expect me to do other than to congratulate those of you who will receive your JDs next week, and to offer some sage advice?  So here are my top 10 tips:

1.  Be flexible in your job search.  I've said this many times before- you will find your dream job during your professional journey, but not necessarily at the beginning.  Your interest, your opportunities will change over time.  I left law school wanting to be a government lawyer; look where I am today.

2.  Understand that you are a problem-solver.  Almost all clients detest the stress and cost of litigation.  They want to solve a dispute or make money in a deal.  That is something different than winning a lawsuit.  Help your clients achieve their objective, not your own.

3.  Remember that it's about client service.  Clients deserve and expect lawyers who are responsive, return their phone calls, provide candid advice, and who report bad news immediately.  Most often, it's the level of service that's more important than the outcome.