77. Stay Thirsty, My Friends: The Argument for Lifelong Legal Learning, with Veronica Finkelstein and Marisa Rauscher

Wilmington Law Associate Professor of Law Veronica Finkelstein and law student Dr. Marisa Rauscher discuss what it takes to become an exceptional litigator, from growing your essential hard and soft skills to unconventional ways of developing them, and transforming your personal values into a professional brand. They also explore why maintaining a beginner’s mind — curiosity that never quits — is critical at every stage of a rewarding legal career and recommend their favorite law-related social content that helps them do just that.Topics 5:24  Why to teach, and why to learn, law 7:60  Lacking skills out of law school10:01 Various toolkits for trial lawyers 13:39 What new lawyers should focus on15:37 Importance of writing and motion practice skills18:28 Going to trial: present and future27:35 Professional branding and marketing yourself as a lawyer33:40 Informal CLE through social media36:17 Younger lawyers have an advantage45:35 Signoff questionQuotes“Being an attorney means having a holistic set of skills. A lot of those skills are variations on each other, so the same skill that will serve you well at that Rule 16 conference, when you meet the judge and opposing counsel for the very first time, is an analog of a skill that you would want to have at trial.” Veronica Finkelstein“Great minds and well-intentioned people have tried to establish rules to play by, that serve all in a just fashion, and I want to be in that game, I really do. I want to know the law, I want to use the law for good, and I also want to cultivate the soft and hard skills of lawyering so that my advocacy rests on a strong foundation of excellence. That’s the goal. Know more, do more.” Marisa RauscherResourcesVeronica Finkelstein (LinkedIn)Marisa Rauscher (LinkedIn)Veronica in studio71 (podcast, podcast, webcast)Additional Advocacy Skills (program calendar)Law-related podcasts, vlogs, and YouTubes (PDF)