Week 5: The Client Interview

Getting Students to Think Like Baby Lawyers

In lab this week, students conducted an interview of our client.  As I noted in my last posting, my good friend, Jessica, played the role of Fatma Alhamad, the co-owner of three gourmet chocolate shops in Qatar. She and her husband, Mohammed, want a competitor to quit using the same trade name, "The Chocolate Drops," and a similar trademark in his own chocolate shop business.  That's the basic outline of the simulation.

To supplement these facts, I have provided students with memos either from me or the "senior associate" about the client, the alleged infringer, and the chocolate industry. With this background information, I required them to draft ten questions for the client.  

The exercise helps students develop listening, note-taking, summarizing, strategic planning, and questioning skills. 

The students in the male section met first with the client.  I was excited to see that most of the students asked questions.  Most of the questions were quite good. They still need to work on listening skills.  I could tell because they often asked the same question twice.  In other words, they were not listening to each other or to the client's answer. 

The students in the female section went next. But, because they are a more introverted group, we discussed possible questions using the outline shown below.  With that help, they also did a great job of interviewing the client.

Jessica is a talented role-player and comes up with ideas I would not consider.  She is good about integrating technology in the simulation by giving facts tied to Facebook reviews, Snapchat and Instagram photos, and misdirection to the competitor's store caused by the use of Google Maps.  

I've told students that they are beginning to see how the rules of the applicable law shape the facts you hope to get -- no pray for -- from the client.  When you get a good fact, you want to kiss it. 

This week, they will continue to summarize the interview using their notes and the client-related memos they already have.

Reading More

"Extreme Reading Habits"

This morning I read this article on the habits of some well-known people. They read about five hours a week.  Just to learn stuff.

This transition to Qatar took a toll on my reading habits. Basically, I have been too tired to read at night.  Also, good books are hard to find here.  We have one book store and it mostly sells office supplies.  In addition, TV is just too easy an option.

So, as part of my 2017 reset, I am committing to reading five hours a week.  

This week, I finished the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs.  It focuses on the rise of populism, but it also had good articles on the leaders in Egypt and Turkey.  I am also about a third of the way through the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. This weekend, I started reading a book on the culture of Taiwan because I will be travelling there for the Chinese New Year later this month. Soon, I will start a book for my book club called An Unnecessary Woman. Yesterday, I dipped back into a book called The Wisdom of the Enneagram.  Finally, I am reading a book about Muslim prophets and messengers.  I am clearly launching 2017 with some success. 

I am starting this list for 2017 so I can keep track of other things I want to read. I will add items as I find them. 

• Top 2016 articles on educating law students.  Law scholars seem to be focusing on the science of cognition.  Time for me to catch up on this topic, especially because I am now teaching across cultures, across legal cultures, and across languages.  
• Eric Trager, Arab Fall: How the Muslim Brotherhood Won and Lost Egypt in 891 Days. I have many Egyptian colleagues, and I want to understand this chapter in Egypt's political history.
• Charles L. Glaser et al., Crude Strategy: Rethinking the US Military Commitment to Defend Persian Gulf Oil.  Qatar has the third-largest reserve of natural gas in the world.  The US military has a base on the northern coast of the country. Its Navy, as I understand it, patrols the Persian (aka Arab) Gulf. Time to learn more about that relationship. 
• Mehran Kawrava, Beyond the Arab Spring: The Evolving Ruling Bargain in the Middle East.  Again, I need to get to know the neighborhood. 
• Chandra Sriram, ed., Transitional Justice in the Middle East and North Africa.  Scaling up my knowledge of ADR.