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CONFLICT version 3: | |
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< | I. Innocence
1. Innocent?
2. Does innocence matter?
II. Women and children v. men
III. Journalist's purpose and impact
IV. Conclusion | >
> | I. Seams Illogical | | | | |
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< | Whenever there is a suicide bombing or, let's say, an air strike or a missile strike going on, the victims seem to include women and children. The media is very quick at telling us that “innocent women and children“ have died in the incident. Although the statement is made quite often, no one seems to realize the implicit statements. In the following, I would like to show the views expressed by the “innocent women and children died” statement for the purpose of showing that people need to be aware of the (often implicit) values expressed by other people and “society”. | >
> | Seams Illogical
We are often told that going to law school will not teach us how to be a lawyer. It will teach us how to think like. So, summer internships and associate positions are seen as a kind of residency: a chance to learn how to be a lawyer by doing (and seeing) what lawyers do. I am finding that there are ample opportunities for only certain kinds of residencies, and for other kinds, scarcity is the norm. | | | | |
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< | I. Innocence | >
> | One of my passions is fashion. I think it is amazing how a person’s personality, behavior, and how they are perceived can change depending on what he or she is wearing. The creative and social intuitions that inspire fashion are interesting to me, but so are the legal and management aspects of creating a brand that people respect and that maintains longevity. One career aspiration that I have is to meld my love of fashion with my problem solving skills and put my law school degree to use by running a fashion company. In preparation for learning more about this legal arena, I have been researching different brands and companies that I like and inquiring about internships. | | | | |
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< | 1. Innocent?
In our suicide bombing scenario, the first question every journalist should confront himself with is: If the women and children are innocent, they are innocent with respect to what? If a journalist claims that somebody is innocent, he must be able to identify in which respect such person is innocent. Or, to pose the question in a different way: Guilty of what? Guilty of the bombing/air strike? The war? Climate change? Today's weather? We do not know the answer, the journalist would not tell us what he believes the victim is not guilty of. But since the answer to that question is not self evident, every journalist should provide his audience with his answer to it.
In addition, the claim is usually made quite soon after the incident happened, usually at the very next day. But how does the journalist know that the victims are innocent? The exact identity of the victims might not even be known at the time he writes his article. And even if, do journalists really read the victims' biographies before claiming their innocence? | >
> | Only two of the seven companies that I have contacted have legal internship programs, even though all of them have in-house legal departments. Initially, I was dismayed by this because it meant that I may have to forgo the possibility of having an internship at one of the fashion houses. Then I realized that there was a greater implication to this: lack of opportunities for legal training for would be in-house attorneys. An executive at one of the fashion houses told me, rather bluntly, that internships at their offices are design and finance focused and that they have never had a legal internship position or program and were not considering a change. | | | | |
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< | 2. Does innocence matter?
Once he have answered the first question, we may proceed to the second one: Does it matter whether the dead are guilty or innocent? Let's assume that these women and children are guilty, that they caused the war, the climate change, today's weather. Does that make the killings any better? Is it better to kill guilty people? The journalist who expressly states that the killed are innocent implies that killing guilty people is different (otherwise, he would not have stated the innocence). | >
> | In a day and age when more lawyers are running companies (eg, Kenneth Chenault—American Express; Gerald L. Storch—Toys “R” Us; John Chidsey—Burger King) I thought there would be more internship programs designed to train us in this capacity. Granted, I am interested in the niche area of the fashion industry, but I would gladly participate in in-house/general counsel training programs if more existed. The Association of Corporate Counsel only offers one internship program in partnership with Cardozo Law School. Generally, legal internships with corporations are rare and there seems to be a push to encourage lawyers to attend business school rather than opening positions in corporate legal departments. | | | | |
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< | II. Women and children v. men
That leads us to the third and last question we have to pose: Is it important that women and children have been killed and not men? In the classic ship wreckage scenario, the “women and children first” policy might make some sense since men are considered to be stronger and therefore better equipped to rescue themselves. In suicide bombings or air strikes, however, it seems to me that men are as vulnerable as women and children. If that is true, why is it that journalists still explicitly mention the death of women and children? Again, by telling us that women and children have died, the journalist wants to tell us something. Is it that the death of a young human being is worse than the death of an old person (or, for that matter, an old man)? Or shouldn't we assume that each human life is worth the same, that we cannot balance one human life against another? | >
> | I think there should be more training to enable lawyers to run companies. Two reasons come to mind. First, lawyers can maintain and monitor the ethical practice of a company. A lawyer can advise as to the direction and actions of a company against the backdrop of the relevant laws and guidelines that are in place and enforced by the government. With this oversight power, a lawyer can keep the company from engaging in endeavors that are illegal or likely to incite lawsuits because they are detrimental to society or cause some harm. With such an important role, it is disappointing that in-house legal departments are viewed as an overhead expense rather than an important asset that requires dedicated investment.
Increasingly, before major decisions are made, companies turn to their counsel for approval. It would be all the more beneficial to the company and to society, if such lawyers were trained on how to run a company. The questions that a general counsel usually addresses are varied and reflect a more general practice as opposed to specialization in a particular area. If there are internship programs that law students can participate in, they can gain exposure to these various fields and be well-rounded advisors. | | | | |
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< | III. Journalist's purpose and impact
What the media does here is changing the world using words. In my view, journalists are implicitly expressing at least two opinions: First, it is better to kill guilty people than innocent people. Second, it is better to kill men than women and children. Since these statements may be controversial, they are not expressed explicitly. They are well packaged and transmitted indirectly. However, there is a good chance that the reader will consume this viewpoint and internalize it. Most consumers are not asking the questions I just raised above, they prefer to accept the views (implicitly) expressed. The journalist helps the consumer in his passivity by not expressing his point of view directly. | >
> | My second reason for wanting more internship and training opportunities for lawyers who want to run companies is tied to my love for fashion. Beyond the legal considerations that counsel for a fashion company has to weigh, there is a focus on the company’s bottom line. In-house attorneys have to understand the implications of the companies’ business strategy, in order to protect the companies interests and sell clothes. What better way to learn about a brand, its aesthetic, target consumer, and growth and development than by interning in their offices? | | | | |
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< | That being said, I am not quite sure whether every journalist actually knows what he is doing or whether the reference to “innocent women and children” is a mere reflex: suicide bombing automatically entails innocent victims. (Whenever the German government promises monetary help to the victims of natural catastrophes, such help is necessarily “quick and unbureaucratic”).
CONFLICT version new: | >
> | Mickey Drexler is the merchandiser praised for making the clothing store The Gap into an apparel behemoth whose t-shirts and jeans can be found in practically every home in the US. After Drexler left The Gap, the company had a series of failed management teams and struggled to regain profitability. One of the major criticisms of Drexler’s successors is that they did not understand the brand or merchandising. Thus, the company was no longer satisfying its clientele and no longer making clothes that people wanted to buy. | | | | |
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> | For many understanding design, fit, fabric choice and trends is not intuitive. An attorney who has had exposure to the design and merchandising aspects of a company can be a trusted savant in making decisions relating to these aspects, which affect the company’s profitability. Internships in in-house legal departments would allow exposure to the production side of the company, leading to the crafting of business strategies that advance the companies interest in selling apparel. It is unfortunate that not many opportunities for such internships exist. | | | | |
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< | As you might have guessed, the attitude just described not only applies to journalism, but to everyday life – we are surrounded by implicit views, opinions and values every day. Most people however do not seem to realize this fact (or did you ever question the “innocent women and children” statement?). Be it gender stereotypes perpetuated in television (in the news, TV ads and TV series) or other political or moral statements portrayed by society. Why do so many women still chose to stay at home and look after the children instead of pursuing their professional career (and having the man staying at home)? Is that due to a completely conscious decision or is it due to internalized and unquestioned traditions and views shown in almost every TV series?
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IV. Conclusion*
It is not my purpose to suggest answers to the questions raised above. I am not saying that the death of innocent people is worse than the death of guilty people. I am not saying the the death of children is worse than the death of men. I am not saying that women should not stay at home and look after their children. What I would like to say is that we should be aware of the fact that many views and opinions are not expressed explicitly but much in a much more subtle way and that everybody should be careful to identify and recognize these views and to question them. Furthermore, I suggest that everybody treat the views offered by others very carefully and think even about the most simple proposition. Certainly, this applies all the more to lawyers. | >
> | Companies may not have the budgetary freedoms of big law firms when it comes to recruiting and training, but they can at least open their doors and provide unpaid internships that can serve as invaluable training for law students. It is very disconcerting that certain areas of the practice of law are so absent from the training field. Going into law school, I knew that there would be less funding and pay because of the state of the economy. But, I did not realize that certain opportunities for training would not exist. While I am in law school, I will think like a lawyer, but there is no guarantee that I will practice how to be one. | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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