Mind Mapping: A Tool for Clinical Professors in Training the 21st Century Attorney

Speaker(s):

Brett Stohs

Mind mapping is an analytical and organizational tool that clinical law faculty can use to improve student and client outcomes in a clinical setting. Characterized by visual representations of hierarchical information, mind maps usually take a central idea and surround it with connected branches of associated topics. Coupled with tactile electronic devices (like tablets and touch-screen computers), modern mind mapping software gives clinical faculty and students a new way to brainstorm, organize and process information, and to share the results with others in efficient, productive, and meaningful ways.

In an era of decreasing "apprenticeship" associate positions for new law graduates, there are a plethora of opportunities for clinical faculty to provide more effective mentorship to their students. One of these opportunities is the use of mind mapping software to tailor client assignments to meet individual student educational and professional objectives. Mind mapping is used in the University of Nebraska College of Law Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic to outline, organize, and maintain student attorney workloads. Learning objectives are matched with the unique pedagogical opportunities presented by each client through use of basic visual cues (e.g., colors, shapes, icons). The resulting blueprint provides clinical faculty with a clearer, more accessible picture of this complex set of variables, fostering efficient and effective experimentation with different student/client combinations.

The primary learning objectives for attendees of this session are as follows:

To obtain a functional overview of mind mapping software and its capabilities;
To explore potential applications of mind mapping software in clinical teaching and administration, particularly assignment of client matters to student attorneys, brainstorming of ideas, and student reflection;
To identify positive outcomes that can be achieved using mind mapping software in connection with client work, in the classroom, and in modeling use of reflective, forward-thinking professional tools in connection with the practice of law; and
To return to their respective institutions equipped with a new tool to use in their clinical or doctrinal teaching.

To achieve these learning objectives, the presenter will lead an interactive discussion and presentation regarding the application of mind mapping to assignment of client matters to student attorneys. Attendees will be provided with the following takeaways:

Printed examples of mind maps utilized in the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic (a sample is attached to this proposal); and
A bibliography of available mind mapping software, organized by platform, setting forth detailed capabilities and recent pricing information.

The presenter is Brett C. Stohs, Cline Williams Director of the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law. Professor Stohs has frequently utilized mind mapping techniques during the last three years, both as a brainstorming tool in initially creating the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic in 2013, and as an administrative and teaching tool in selecting clients, managing student attorney client assignments, and fostering reflection among student attorneys.

Slides and Documents: