Friday, July 9, 2010

The 10,000 Hour Rule

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success, notes what he calls "the 10,000 hour rule" as a necessary part of individual success. Put briefly, the rule is that one must devote 10,000 hours to performing a specific task in order to become proficient at it. Mayor John Marks of Tallahassee mentioned this rule when he spoke to the Summer for Undergraduates students back in May.

Day by day, I am knocking out those 10,000 hours in regard to the practice of Florida personal injury law. I have completed reading Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law: Personal Injury Protection by Russel Lazega, and yesterday I passed the 600 page mark in Judge Sawaya's Florida Personal Injury Law and Practice with Wrongful Death Actions. Only about 900 more pages to go in that volume.

I am pleased with how much I am learning this summer. My torts professor did a good job covering the major areas during my first semester of law school, but these treatises are delving into great detail and providing me with Florida-specific statutes and case law. If my reading rate stays good, I should have time to tackle Ehrhardt's Florida Evidence before school starts back.

It is fair to say that I am learning more on my own than if I was working at a firm this summer- though I would enjoy getting paid.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

No comments: