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Lawyers on The Creative Lawyer

  • Andres V. Gil, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell

    "The Creative Lawyer addresses the professional needs of a lawyer's most often ignored client: her/himself. With clear, direct prose and a dose of humor, The Creative Lawyer provides a practical roadmap for achieving professional satisfaction by lawyers regardless of seniority or career path. It should be in everyone's in-box."
  • Gretchen Rubin, blogger, The Happiness Project; former editor-in-chief, Yale Law Journal

    “There is no book on the shelves to compare with The Creative Lawyer. Funny, well-researched, and provocative, it’s an invaluable guide to understanding yourself better––not just as a lawyer, but as a person. It’s full of useful exercises, relevant case histories, and powerful insights, delivered in unlawyer-like concise and entertaining prose. should be required reading for anyone who has taken The bar exam – or, for that matter, anyone who is considering taking the LSAT.”
  • Joe Hodnicki, Associate Director for Library Operations, University of Cincinnati Law Library; editor of Law Librarian Blog

    "Michael F. Melcher's The Creative Lawyer should be handed out to every graduating class of law school students at their hooding ceremonies."
  • Jeremy Blachman, author/blogger, Anonymous Lawyer

    "The Creative Lawyer is a terrific workbook to help lawyers -- or anyone -- start to figure out how to find fulfillment in their careers. I think law students especially will find value in it... I definitely wish I'd had it to read while in law school, in part just to know there are options out there, and lawyers who are balancing their lives and finding happiness in the profession."
  • Richard I. Beattie, Chairman, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

    “The Creative Lawyer is an invaluable resource for every lawyer looking for ways to gain satisfaction from the profession, as well as in his or her life.”
  • Henry Robles, Television Writer

    “Thousands of lawyers and law students will be thanking their lucky stars that someone took the time to write such a helpful and insightful book. The Creative Lawyer empowers all lawyers to find true career satisfaction by providing them with the tools to take an unflinching look at themselves and take control of their own futures. A book full of applicable wisdom and practical exercises designed to conquer the problem keeping so many lawyers unhappily toiling in unfulfilling careers: lack of self-knowledge.”
  • Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder & President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC

    "The Creative Lawyer is a must-read. It combines practicality with ingenuity to help lawyers to live more fulfilled, productive and successful lives. It's invaluable guide for lawyers to take the concrete steps and develop the skills they need to live enriched lives and thrive as lawyers."
  • Noah Feldman, Professor, Harvard Law School

    “Whether you are living the law or leaving it, you need wise counsel to make your career meaningful. One part Socrates, one part Deepak Chopra, and one part cheerleader, Michael Melcher is the ideal advisor for lawyers contemplating their options. The Creative Lawyer should be mandatory reading for anyone who has ever set foot in law school.”
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March 03, 2008

Twenty-five ways of starting a personal board of directors

I sometimes advocate creating a personal board of directors. It's basically a set of people you rely on for advice throughout your life and career. Click here to read my recent guest-post on the subject for the Shifting Careers blog of the New York Times.

A lot of people think this is a good idea, but figure they don't really know that many useful people. Au contraire! You actually know a lot more people than you think, and some of the best members of your potential board might be people whom you regularly contact for other purposes.

To brainstorm who might be good members of your board, answer the following prompts (adapted from my smash-hit bestselling book, The Creative Lawyer), as quickly as you can.

Write the name of someone you know who:
1.    Is incredibly organized
2.    Knows how to have fun
3.    Knows everyone
4.    Can give you encouragement in tough times
5.    Can talk to you straight about your weaknesses
6.    Is unfailingly logical
7.    Is deeply empathetic
8.    Is spiritually advanced
9.    Can handle a crisis
10.    Has known you since childhood
11.    Is politically connected
12.    Is entrepreneurial
13.    Is good at raising kids
14.    Is an expert on money
15.    Is an expert on relationships
16.    Is an expert on health
17.    Is an expert at work/life balance
18.    Is an expert in the type of work you do
19.    In an expert in a type of work you are interested in
20.    Gives good advice about office politics
21.    Gives good advice about professional development
22.    Gives good advice about how to get ahead
23.    Thinks you are great at what you do
24.    Thinks you have great talents other than your present career
25.    Thinks you are a great person

Other potential nominees, and their area of contribution to your life:
1.   
2.   
3.   
4.   
5.   

Review the names you’ve written.  Circle between six and ten names to be on your personal board of directors. 

Adapted from The Creative Lawyer. Copyright 2007 Michael F. Melcher. All rights reserved.

Posted at 06:59 PM |

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Comments

Ali Khan

Thanks for the good advice...

Posted by: Ali Khan | March 04, 2008 at 06:39 AM

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What's the book about?

  • The Creative Lawyer: A Practical Guide to Authentic Professional Satisfaction is a self-help and career-management book for lawyers of all levels of experience.

    Authored by Michael Melcher, one of America’s leading career coaches who is himself an attorney, the book is a step-by-step method for imagining and realizing your path to personal and professional satisfaction. Brilliantly written, consistently practical, and filled with scores of illuminating exercises, The Creative Lawyer is the book that the profession has been waiting for.

From The Creative Lawyer

  • “The process of creating a life that works for you does not unfold logically. It proceeds in fits and starts, involves unlearning as much as learning, and requires you to push forward amidst ambiguity. You have to act before you’re ready to act, consider that your true interests and preferences might surprise you, and defer evaluation until you have collected a lot of evidence. You have to get out into the world, seek out new experiences and connect with new people.

    "I try to stick to these principles not because they’re always easy, but because I’ve learned they work.”

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