Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2002

Keywords

J.D./M.S. Program, Joint degree programs, Employment discrimination, Employment-at-will, Labor relations and human resources, Soroka v. Dayton Hudson Corp., Rhode Island employment discrimination cases

Disciplines

Labor and Employment Law | Legal Education | Litigation

Abstract

Our task today is to celebrate, inaugurate, and educate. Lawyers demanded the education part of the talk because they love double counting whenever possible. The lawyers in our audience get Continuing Legal Education credits for attending. That's just one illustration of how to think like a lawyer--kill as many birds with as few stones as possible.

Lawyers are often accused of talking in an arcane language that no one else can understand. Labor-relations people are sometimes thought to be either pie-in-the-sky optimists or Marxist-inspired anarchists. Human-relations professionals are sometimes said to be hypocrites giving a fake smile to employees while looking solely at the bottom line. But these are just insults. I come to you tonight as someone who has been through a joint degree program myself. At times it is frustrating. At the very least, it teaches one how to deal with university bureaucracy. But at its best, someone who has advanced professional training in both law and in labor and human relations gets something better than what either can teach alone.

Publication Citation

Published in: Roger Williams University Law Review, vol. 7, no. 2 (Spring 2002).

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