UA News

Two College of Law deans co-author a book geared toward law students, new lawyers and interns.

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if, at the outset of your career, someone handed you a manual of sorts full of information on ways to avoid painful situations in your new vocation?

Turns out two law school deans at The University of Arizona wrote that exact book.

Titled “Excellence in the Workplace: Legal and Life Skills in a Nutshell,” Kay Kavanagh and Paula Nailon’s 412-page paperback details ways to handle situations in the office, in court and in social settings.

But the book is about more than just avoiding embarrassment. It’s also a “reality check,” said Nailon, assistant dean for professional development at the James E. Rogers College of Law.

With intermittent quotes and “student journal” entries detailing the thoughts and experiences of would-be lawyers, the book also talks about ways to network, communicate, conduct legal research, make presentations, how to build a career plan, negotiate pay and even how to overcome shyness and manage stress.

“It’s all in a nutshell,” Nailon said. “This book is meant to be your lifeline. It’s tailored, easily digestible and easy to find what you want.”

In fact, its introduction reads: “This is the book we both wish we’d had when we started working in our first law jobs. It’s intended as a safety net, to help you with challenges you’ll likely face in your first days, weeks, and months on the job.”

Because lawyering and law school can often be stress-filled and highly competitive, the co-authors hope the book will give people license to think about “balance” in life without feeling inadequate, and to also figure out ways to manage life and work in a healthier way.

“Employers want happy people, so everybody needs to focus on these issues,” said Kavanagh, associate dean for academic affairs at the law college. “But it’s not that easy because we all have so much going on.”

Yet people are already paying attention to the advice.

The co-authors are encouraging students at the UA to read the book and know of at least one law school that has handed the book out to its students, and another that has incorporated the text into its curriculum.

With recent happenings in the industry, the co-authors said it makes logical sense that this type of book would have broad appeal.

A focus on professional development has been a growing trend in the legal field for the last decade with more firms and agencies hiring individuals into that capacity, Nailon said.

More employees also are offering additional training and support for their staff, and career courses for lawyers are more common, she added.

The traditional “up or out” attitude – which basically says lawyers move up the ladder or out the door – does not always hold true anymore, the co-authors added, saying that firms attempt to cultivate and nurture their talent more often today.

Seeing the benefit of spreading the information found in their book, the two already have begun focus groups for what they hope will result in a subsequent book for a more general audience.

Much of the current book is geared toward new lawyers, law students and interns.

Chapters 2 and 3 are all about “social graces” – how to make introductions, socialize and the like, what to wear, what not to wear and what “business casual” really means in the lawyering world.

Flip to page 40 and begin reading about the benefits of networking, which include finding an unexpected mentor or learning about different ways to help clients.

The book also has a section about generational differences and talks about what ambitions younger and older groups tend to carry and how each prefers to communicate.

Page 170 offers advice about realizing one’s personal limits and why it is important to firmly acknowledge them.

Chapter 20 is all about stress management, and even provides suggestions for those who are prone to worry, people with performance anxiety and others who simply need help getting beyond the bad days.

The book also has a “writing checklist” with common punctuation errors found in legal writing.

“We wish students would just read the book,” Kavanagh said, and admitted that even she has changed a bit after having written it.

For one, she picks up the telephone and makes office visits more often, rather than just sending off an e-mail. “We put everything we know in the book.”