Course To Help Lawyers Own Mistakes (Seriously)

Last Friday afternoon a good lawyer friend of mine forwarded a course offering from the American Bar Association entitled, "Admitting Our Mistakes: Owning Up to Lawyer Missteps and the Perilous Consequences of Trying to Bury Professional Error."  This is a webinar course/seminar being held on July 14, 2017 from 1pm to 2pm EDT.   Here is a link if you are interested.

Here is the marketing blurb for the course: "Lawyers provide human services and mistakes are inevitable. How a mistake is handled once it occurs, however, is critical. It can mean the difference between as-good-as-it gets crisis management on the one hand, and the fury of the courts, disciplinary self-destruction, civil liability, and the loss of professional liability insurance on the other.......In this program, the panel will offer real-case examples of results obtained by lawyers being forthright about their errors contrasted against outcomes where lawyers hid and compounded their mistakes through fraud and subterfuge. This presentation is designed to foster an attitude of accountability..."   

Wow....sounds very familiar to what we've been talking about for the last 12+ years. You know, I've heard from many attorney friends and law students who claim law schools (as well as continuing education programs) are placing a greater emphasis on teaching lawyers how to mediate and arbitrate disputes.  Instead of automatically fighting to death, litigators are now being taught how to be facilitators and problem-solvers. 

I hope this trend continues.  The "Admitting our Mistakes" Course will hopefully not only teach lawyers how to ethically deal with their own mistakes, but also show them how to more effectively provide counsel to clients who have made harm-causing errors.  How often have "frivolous defenses" further harmed already injured patients and families as well as guilt-ridden clinicians?  

We all must continue to improve, lawyers included.

Hey, fall is right around the corner and Sorry Works! makes a great CME presentation for Grand Rounds and ethics seminars.  To learn more, call 618-559-8168 or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net. 

Sincerely,

- Doug

Doug Wojcieszak, Founder,
Sorry Works!
618-559-8168 (direct dial)