{"id":921,"date":"2015-02-04T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-02-04T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/?p=921"},"modified":"2015-04-14T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T15:49:13","slug":"case-writer-qa-nathan-cisneros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/02\/04\/case-writer-qa-nathan-cisneros\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Writer Q&A: Nathan Cisneros"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nathan Cisneros, a case writer for the Case Development Initiative at Harvard Law School, sums up his job as \u201ctalking with interesting people about interesting events and then sharing what I\u2019ve heard with interested people.\u201d Today he shares with us the importance of compelling questions and collaboration in case writing:<\/p>\n

EM: What subjects do you focus on? What sort of work are you doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NC: <\/strong>The Case Development Initiative writes cases about topics not usually covered in law school: How do you manage people? How do you weigh career options? How do you reform an organization? These are questions any professional might ask, but we are able to examine them through the eyes of a lawyer. For example, in 2014 we reported a great sponsorship program in a large law firm<\/a>, and investigated a major scandal at a large American company [forthcoming].<\/p>\n

We also examine big challenges confronting the legal services industry today: How does a law firm survive in a shrinking market that is more competitive than ever?\u00a0 How does a legal department wade through the proliferation of legal services options and still deliver quality service for the firm? We are finishing an update of a case about a major law firm that seemed to have uncovered the secret to successful law firm mergers. We are also looking at how traditional law firms deal with novel legal services products.<\/p>\n

EM: How do you approach the case writing process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NC: <\/strong>I\u2019ve always thought that it is best to start with an interesting question or surprising event. If you start with a compelling question you usually discover a compelling answer, whatever it may be. Since case studies are richly detailed narratives of real-world events, we can\u2019t choose our own ending. However, if we begin with a gripping question we invariably arrive at a captivating resolution. Needless to say, our primary objective is to create a useful tool for classroom discussion, not a page-turner, but they feed into one another. It is far easier to provide nuanced perspectives on a strategic challenge or professional dilemma in case studies built around a truly puzzling incident.<\/p>\n

EM: What challenges have you faced in the research and writing processes? How have you overcome them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NC: <\/strong>Case studies are primarily pedagogic tools. We want our cases to stimulate interesting classroom discussions about important decisions professionals are likely to encounter. I sometimes find myself slipping into journalist mode (what\u2019s the angle?) or social scientist mode (add a citation!), which pulls away from that primary goal.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the best way to overcome any writing or research challenge is to tackle it as a team! I work with two excellent case writers. I\u2019m never abashed asking a silly question or sharing first drafts because I know my colleagues will steer me in the right direction.<\/p>\n

EM: Do you have any tips for case writers or teachers in the legal classroom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NC: <\/strong>There is no standard text or curriculum on how to handle the business of providing legal services. However, that doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t be taught! The case method allows instructors and students to examine strategic and career challenges together to see what works and what doesn\u2019t. Students exposed to a broad range of cases in the classroom will have a deep well of experience from which to draw when they encounter professional challenges outside the classroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nathan Cisneros, a case writer for the Case Development Initiative at Harvard Law School, sums up his job as \u201ctalking with interesting people about interesting events and then sharing what I\u2019ve heard with interested people.\u201d Today he shares with us … 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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88578],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-development-initiative-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CR8M-eR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1061,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/01\/12\/vieira-de-almeida-vda-legal-innovation-pioneers-in-portugal\/","url_meta":{"origin":921,"position":0},"title":"Vieira de Almeida (VdA): Legal Innovation Pioneers in Portugal","author":"Amanda Reilly","date":"January 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. 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NC:\u00a0In February 2014 General Motors (GM)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chevy Cobalt, the car central to the ignition switch recall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2015\/03\/2005_Chevy_Cobalt_LS-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":603,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/09\/10\/new-beginnings-for-cdi-exec-ed-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":921,"position":3},"title":"New Beginnings for CDI, Exec Ed Leadership","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"September 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"HLS Professor Ashish Nanda\u2014who founded the Case Development Initiative, a leading contributor to the Case Studies portal\u2014was recently appointed Director of his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management\u2013Ahmedabad. Nanda held three appointments at Harvard Law School\u2014Robert Braucher Professor of Practice, Faculty Director of Executive Education, and Research Director at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/01\/14\/the-case-development-initiative-at-harvard-law-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":921,"position":4},"title":"The Case Development Initiative at Harvard Law School","author":"Lisa Brem","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI), including Ashish Nanda, Faculty Director and Robert Braucher Professor of Practice (pictured left), Dechert Fellow Nicholas Haas (right), and Program Coordinator Rachel Gibson (center), focuses on producing cases for use in a variety of business-oriented courses at HLS. \"We're currently working on a professional service\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2012\/01\/CDI-group-500x375.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1047,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/12\/08\/reforming-partner-compensation-at-mattos-filho\/","url_meta":{"origin":921,"position":5},"title":"Reforming Partner Compensation at Mattos Filho","author":"","date":"December 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. 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