Undercover Boss

There's a new show on TV. It was on after the super bowl, its called Undercover Boss. The CEO's of some of the worlds most recognizable brands are going undercover and joining their employees on the front lines. They are interacting with employees, customers and taking to heart the policies they put in place.

This show was incredibly inspirational. The CEO of Waste Management joined his team cleaning toilets and picking up trash. I though he did a good job embracing the tasks and getting started. He also accepted responsibility for failed policies and recognized awesome employees.

I'm fortunate to work at a company where the managers are great, but many companies, especially large companies, could benefit from managers at the local level. There is an important lesson in this show, and there is much to be learned on leadership.

If you're looking to restore your confidence in corporate America and build faith in quality CEO's, check out the Undercover Boss, Sunday nights on CBS.

The Bulldogs are ON

The Drake Men's Basketball Team is on a role. They overcame Creighton in one of the BEST games I have seen in several years!! I see a lot of talent in this group of players, reminiscent of these guys:

Find Yourself in a Job Shadow

As the summer draws closer and more people begin to consider their plans for the summer, I've had several people comment to me that they have no idea what they want to do. So how are you suppose to figure out what you want to be when you grow up?

Start with a job shadow. If you are interested in a particular industry, or company, find a way to connect with someone who works for that company and ask about doing a job shadow. It doesn't have to be for the whole day, but an opportunity to spend some time with a professional can be very valuable!! Discovering professions you like, and do not like is an important step in finding a career you love.

If you do job shadow at a company that you really enjoy, that is a great start to building a relationship with that company. Be sure to keep in touch with the people you meet and continue to build relationships.

Iowa Capitol Tour

Friday afternoon the 1L class took a tour of the Iowa Capitol to hear from elected representatives and learn more about the Legislative Practice Certificate available to Drake Law Students.

The Legislative Practice Certificate allows Drake students to intern with a Representative or Senator during the spring of their 2L year, and with a lobbyist during the spring of their 3L year. The spring semester coincides with the legislative session. Students get to work hands-on with legislators as the develop pieces of legislation that could become laws. This allows students to gain specialized insight into how the legislative process happens and what influences help create laws.

During our day at the capitol we heard from a variety of speakers and got a tour of the building. Our tour included visits with State Auditor David Vaught and a tour of Iowa Governor Chet Culver's office. We heard from a variety of Drake Law School Alumni including people from a variety of agencies, offices and lobbyist in state government. It was very interesting to get their perspective and see alternative career paths.

Here is Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal

Here is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy

In Governor Culver's Office listening to a Drake Law Alumni and speechwriter for Governor Culver

First-Year Trial Practicum

One of the most unique aspects of the Drake Law School First Year Experience is the Trial Practicum. A real, live case will be tried on the campus of Drake University. All the parties will be brought in to our trial class room with stadium seating and the trial will be live. We will spend the entire week of February 8th watching the live trial. Classes will be canceled and we'll spend all day "in the courtroom." This is not a mock trial or moot court trial, this is the REAL thing.

The case we will watch could be about pretty much anything, but it will be tailored to our first year subjects, possibly a criminal case, a torts case or a contracts case. The cases in the past have ranged from auto negligence all the way up to a murder trial. It's not clear yet which case we will get to see, but it will be a great learning opportunity.

This is going to be an exciting opportunity, and a great deal of people have worked very hard to make this program possible. I've never seen a live case start to finish, and that's exactly what we are going to get to see. There is a great deal of responsibility that comes with watching this trial, I'm excited to get closer and learn more about it!!!

I'll keep you posted with more details as we get closer!!

2nd Semester Classes

We are off and running!! We have completed the first week of the second semester. We even got a snow day because of the ice that layered Des Moines on Wednesday. I wanted to offer some information on how this semester is different from last semester.

We added 2 classes this semester and dropped 2 classes from last semester. We added Property Law and Constitutional Law and we dropped Criminal Law and Torts. I think a lot of my classmates are very excited for Constitutional Law, and I'm excited for it too, but I'm most excited for Property Law. With my interest in real estate, I think it is going to be a very interesting class!!! Our discussion the last couple of days has been very interesting. We have been discussing why property is important in American society, and the reasons for protecting private property rights.

I know our Constitutional Law class is going to be very interesting also. We have a very diverse group of students and there will most certainly be a wide array of opinions and view points. I'm looking forward to the discussion.

Last semester our Legal Writing class was focused on writing legal memos from the prospective of an attorney. This semester our class will be focused on writing an Appellate Brief for a case on appeal. This is going to be very interesting because we will get to be persuasive in our writing. Last semester we focused on writing objectively and based on fact, and while, of course, we will still do that, we get to add in persuasion!! We then will present our case during oral arguments later in the semester to a panel, much like the real panel of judges in a real appeal!!

This semester is already off to an exciting and busy start!!!

Back to Law School

Tuesday kicks off my second semester at Drake Law School. Many people look forward to the first few days of school because it "syllabus week," where nothing really happens except going over the syllabi.

No so in law school. Our first day assignments are posted online so that when we arrive for classes we are ready to hit the ground running.

It is nice to not have to waste time going over paperwork that I can read on my own. The only down fall is that we have homework before classes start. But it feels good to be getting back into the work and getting back to seeing everyone. Take a look at our first day assignments here:

http://www.law.drake.edu/academics/?pageID=assignments