{"id":462,"date":"2013-06-25T09:35:39","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T13:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/?p=462"},"modified":"2013-08-28T16:58:07","modified_gmt":"2013-08-28T20:58:07","slug":"suffolk-law-launches-problem-solving-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/06\/25\/suffolk-law-launches-problem-solving-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Suffolk Law Launches Problem Solving Workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Kathy Vinson<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI have no doubt in my mind that this will be the most memorable course I have taken,\u201d said Suffolk Law student Thomas Lessard on his last day attending the Problem Solving Workshop<\/a>. At the beginning of this year, Suffolk Law adapted Harvard Law School\u2019s Problem Solving Workshop<\/a> for its first-ever January intersession. Taught by Kathy\u00a0<\/a>Vinson<\/a>, Professor of Legal Writing, and David Abrams<\/a>, adjunct faculty and former Program Director of the Problem Solving Workshop at HLS, the course combined law, theory, and practical judgment to show students how to channel their knowledge toward client needs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In the lightning-fast, five-day offering, students met for five hours daily. The students tackled four case studies, three of which were HLS offerings: <\/span>The Case of the Lead Toys<\/a>, <\/span>The Case of the Federal Defender\u2019s Advice<\/a>, Prisoner\u2019s Lawsuit (developed by Columbia Law Professor James Tierney), and <\/span>The Case of the Landlord\u2019s Dilemma<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

David Abrams<\/p><\/div>\n

Vinson and Abrams tailored the student work to the intersession constraints. \u201cAll my students had full time jobs, and many commuted from fairly far away, so I had to allow them to do their assignments during class time,\u201d Abrams explained.\u00a0 The hands-on objectives, as well as the imperative of quick thinking, lent themselves to a variety of in-class tasks. \u201cI structured the work product to include memos, email, outlines, the client interview and an oral assignment,\u201d said Abrams. \u201cSince all students now seem to have access to iPhones and laptops with microphones, I had them record an interview with a second group member playing the defendant in The Federal Defender<\/em> problem, then we listened and critiqued each group’s efforts as a class.\u201d<\/p>\n

No doubt, it was tough\u2014students said the problems \u201cpulled [them] in different directions,\u201d \u201ctaught [them] how to think on [their] feet and within tight time constraints,\u201d and helped them \u201cto think outside the box.\u201d \u201cSo much information is missing and so many questions need to be answered,\u201d said Lessard, that it truly makes you think\u2014not memorize\u2014think.\u201d\u00a0Student evaluations rated the course highly across the board.<\/p>\n

In addition, the case study format allowed students to face their own personal challenges. Nicole Alfon found the skills of \u201cpatience, listening, and, most important, honesty\u201d while working with her teammates. Kristi Panduku said the class helped him develop presentation and client relations skills. For Katelyn Burke, it was about \u201cfinding her voice.\u201d The course helped Nathan Carlucci understand how the \u201chuman element\u2026 must be balanced with legal considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Problem Solving Workshop, said one student, empowers future lawyers to see that solutions are within their reach: \u201cI really liked how we did not have to be an expert on the law to actually focus on the problem solving aspect of it.\u201d Seth Urbanoski added, \u201cFive years from now, when presented with a new problem or situation, I will think back to this class as a source of confidence and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

But perhaps one student\u2019s feedback said it best: \u201cThis is what lawyers actually do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Review copies of the case studies for the <\/em>Problem Solving Workshop<\/em><\/a> are available free to educators and are 99\u00a2 per student use.\u00a0 To adapt the Problem Solving Workshop for your educational needs, contact <\/em>Lisa Brem<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Is your school using a problem solving approach? If so, tell us about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI have no doubt in my mind that this will be the most memorable course I have taken,\u201d said Suffolk Law student Thomas Lessard on his last day attending the Problem Solving Workshop. At the beginning of this year, Suffolk … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5482,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88569],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-problem-solving-workshop-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CR8M-7s","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2012\/12\/20\/information-law-and-policy-advanced-problem-solving-workshop\/","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":0},"title":"Information Law and Policy: Advanced Problem Solving Workshop","author":"Lisa Brem","date":"December 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"HLS Visiting Professor Susan Crawford taught the Information Law and Policy: Advanced Problem Solving Workshop this fall at HLS. 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