Mindfulness for Law Students: Using the Power of Mindfulness to Achieve Balance and Success in Law School [Paperback]

Scott L. Rogers M.S. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0977345513 | ISBN-13: 978-0977345519 | Publication Date: July 30, 2009

Mindfulness for Law Students is a one-of-a-kind book that is specifically designed to introduce law students to fundamental contemplative practices as well as the cutting-edge research that shows how incorporating mindfulness techniques can alter the physical structure and function of the brain to reflect decreased levels of stress, increased levels of productivity and improved mental health. This book is based on the Jurisight® program - which uses legal terms and concepts to teach lawyers what they need to know about mindfulness and neuroscience to lead more balanced and effective lives - and written with input from law students, law professors and recent law school graduates to ensure that the lessons are accessible to law students and can be easily integrated into their busy schedules. "As a first-year law student, I found that I didn't need another book on the law school experience, nor a bevy of outlines and advice. What I needed was a way to help myself focus in the midst of a very intense and sometimes chaotic experience. Mindfulness for Law Students introduces mindfulness concepts in a way that will help law students remain self-aware and keep the law school experience in its proper perspective. " -- Dale Dobuler, second-year law student

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Rogers is founder and director of the Institute for Mindfulness Studies. He is the creator of Jurisight®, the acclaimed method for introducing law students and lawyers to mindfulness practices. Scott is the author of "Mindful Parenting: Meditations, Verses & Visualizations for a More Joyful Life," and "The Six-Minute Solution: A Mindfulness Primer for Lawyers" and conducts the "Mindfulness, Balance & The Lawyer's Brain" and "Worrier to Warrior" workshops and presentations for law students and lawyers. Scott has appeared on television and National Public Radio and been interviewed in newspapers and magazines nationally and internationally for his creative application of mindfulness teaching. Scott lives in Miami Beach, Florida, with his wife and two daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 134 pages
• Publisher: Mindful Living Press (July 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977345513
• ISBN-13: 978-0977345519
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly useful asset!, June 10, 2010

By 

Douglas Chermak "Doug" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mindfulness for Law Students: Using the Power of Mindfulness to Achieve Balance and Success in Law School (Paperback)

In reading Scott's excellent guide, I was struck by how incredibly useful this book could be for law students struggling to find themselves and achieves greater balance, happiness, and success. I say this based on seven years of professional experience working with lawyers and law students to integrate meditation and mindfulness into their lives.

Mindfulness for Law Students presents easy to access mindfulness tools keyed to specific concepts taught in law school. I could imagine the joy and relief students might experience in learning just a few of these tools and incorporating them into their legal studies! I've long toyed with ways to use everyday objects as cues to help me remember what's important - things like balance, happiness, feeling my breath and body, and feeling connected to others. Scott has created an ingenious method to use many concepts we learn in law school as reminders that help realize all of these things. It's like you could be sitting in class, studying - doing much of what you normally do - but with an enhanced perspective to cut through the doldrums and stresses and excel personally and professionally.

If you are a law student and would appreciate more balance in your life, a new way to relate to your studies, help focusing on your work while maintaining a connection to the bigger picture, skills to manage law school stress, or how to actually increase your joy while in the midst of the challenging law school experience, then please pick up a copy of this book and give it just a little bit of your time.

Douglas Chermak
Law Program Director
Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
Berkeley Law, Class of 2004

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For More Than Just Law Students - A Practical Guide to Mindfulness, May 26, 2010

By 

M. M. - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mindfulness for Law Students: Using the Power of Mindfulness to Achieve Balance and Success in Law School (Paperback)

A dear friend of mine recommended that I read this book. My first thought, as to why would a non-law student want to read such a book, was quickly put to rest after scanning a few pages. So, I decided to get my own copy and am glad that I did. From my perspective, I can tell you that this book is not really about using mindfulness as a vehicle for studying the law. It uses instead the study of the law as a vehicle for achieving greater mindfulness. Chapters with titles such as "Due Diligence," "A Living, Breathing Constitution" and "Gerrymandering" all begin with an explanation of a legal concept, and then delve into how such a concept relates to the functioning of the brain, living life and even reconciling with aging and death. For example, the page on "Hearsay" concludes with the observation, "like legal hearsay, many of your thoughts are inherently unreliable and warrant further investigation before you allow them into evidence..." In a world where legalisms like "stare decisis" can enter into conversations about current events (i.e., the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court justices), I see this book as a resource for all people, not just lawyers. The properly trained legal mind is a powerful thing, and Mr. Rogers' work here takes the first step in the discovery of mindfulness. That every single law student should have this book is a given. What's wonderful is the surprise that non-lawyers should read this book, too. I strongly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read; Very Practical, May 3, 2010

By 

Andrew B. Carrabis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Mindfulness for Law Students: Using the Power of Mindfulness to Achieve Balance and Success in Law School (Paperback)

In the words of Professor Leonard Riskin, "[Mindfulness for the Law Student] offers an exceptionally creative approach to bringing mindfulness into the legal profession." In my opinion, if the reader actively engages in the exercises throughout this book, the reader will learn valuable techniques that will allow him or her to become more mindful. If practiced routinely, this will ease the stress inflicted by the demands in law school and further help the reader facilitate into a more harmonious and balanced life that is in the present moment. The exercises do not take more than a few minutes to complete and the return on investment is substantial. If one feels agitated or vexed, there are a plethora of simple and quick exercises throughout the book that can help.

The Mindfulness and Jurisight programs can alleviate stress and tension, help you think more clearly, and design and construct new neuro-pathways for a lifetime of more fulfillment and happiness. The core of this book centralizes and details a message that one should allow life to happen as is, while also recognizing the accompanying thoughts and bodily sensations, and become aware of these events in a present moment, mindful manner.

In the chaotic world that is law school, it is tantamount to focus your mind when you need to, and this book helps you to do exactly that by giving exercises that can create intentional, mindful focus which will ultimately alleviate stress. When law students and attorneys incorporate mindfulness practices, they are better prepared to deal with the future and unforeseen events, however these events may arise. Additionally, law students and attorneys create and enhance their ability to be more mindful in the present moment for what arises in their interactions with others.

From creating present moment self awareness, to helping implement proper perspectives, Mindfulness for Law Students helps you focus with greater clarity on the focus on your attention. The result is a significant modification in well-being and joy in one's personal and professional life. In sum, this book teaches the law school student how to respond to stressful and uncomfortable events with greater ease, from a mindful place of harmony and balance. The end result is the mind is clearer and the moment is fresher, all while performance is optimized.