Oregon State Bar Bulletin — APRIL 2003
Law as a Healing Profession |
The adversarial model of law practice has survived for centuries and will continue to be a foundational tool for lawyers. As the old saying goes, though, 'If a hammer is your only tool, every problem begins to look like a nail.' While most lawyers are trained to approach every conflict as possible litigation, in reality, most legal disputes never make it to trial and are resolved earlier and earlier. This is especially true when the parties have an ongoing relationship.
In the last few years there has been an evolution of new theoretical approaches to practicing law, with new designs in practice models that complement and offer alternative tools. While pre-dispute and dispute-avoidance work has long been part of legal practice on the transactional side, with its focus on planning and prevention, such notions have gained firmer footing in the dispute resolution realm as well. These new practice models are responsive to the information age, to changes that have challenged our legal profession and society, and to what is wanted and needed by ever more informed and sophisticated consumers of legal services. In addition to very practical benefits to clients, more attention to these new models in legal education and practice has benefits for the lives and spirits of lawyers, individually and collectively. This is an exciting shift for lawyers and marks an important arena in which creative thinking and approaches to service can make an important contribution.
Susan Daicoff, an associate professor of law at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla., has been instrumental in bringing to the attention of the legal profession and legal education this shift to newer practice models. Daicoff, who is also a psychologist, was researching the high level of lawyer distress, and lawyer personality traits, when she discovered many lawyers breaking away from adversarial approaches and creating new ways of practicing law. She noticed that these lawyers expressed higher satisfaction and fulfillment with the practice of law, and began to study these new approaches. She began to see similarities and a common foundation that she says is a decided shift in approach. Daicoff refers to the shift as 'comprehensive law' or 'transformational law,' encompassing the notion of law as a healing profession. Others have coined terms like holistic law, therapeutic jurisprudence, preventive law, restorative justice, collaborative law, transformative (or transformational) law, creative problem-solving and procedural justice.
Daicoff sees all the comprehensive law practices as part of an overall evolution. For law, that evolution is akin to the more inclusive complementary health- care practices in the medical profession. It began with early mediation and alternative dispute resolutions programs that have now been integrated into traditional legal practices. The comprehensive law movement has expanded further from there — and now offers even more practice choices. Originally a math major, Daicoff calls the different legal practice approaches 'vectors,' a term that indicates both magnitude and direction. More of her views and teaching approaches can be seen on her website at www.fcsl.edu /faculty/daicoff/law.htm.
While each vector (or legal practice approach) is a bit different from the others, they all have common characteristics. They represent a move away from what is increasingly being considered the negative aspects of the adversarial process: the other-blaming, entitlement-oriented, position-taking and hostile one-upmanship behaviors in conflict resolution that have become the darlings of the media and sensationalized talk shows. The new approaches add more cooperative, comprehensive, humanistic, healing and even spiritual aspects to the traditional forms of law practice being taught and utilized in the profession. Their commonality is that they are focused on optimizing human well being by expressly seeking to eliminate brutal and contentious adversarial approaches to advocacy and problem solving, as well as to avoid legal problems altogether. Rather than defining problems only as legal concerns — strict legal rights and obligations demarcated by the boundaries of published statutes and judicial opinions — these more comprehensive approaches include humanistic values such as overall well being, relationships, feelings, needs, resources, meaning, values and goals; an idea that is described by the term 'rights plus.' Each vector has initially developed independently with its own name and focus. The so-called movement, however, includes these various approaches describing an overall evolution in law practice that seems to mirror a greater societal evolution likewise focused on such humanistic values.
By whatever name, each of these approaches offers support to a transformation of the legal system. Many of those engaged in them consider themselves to be indicative of the future of law practice, responsive to the rapid changes in society and a movement toward a workplace (both for lawyers and their clients) interested in personal and spiritual growth opportunities as well as vocational activities. While the approaches may sometimes seem different, and will be described in more detail below, there is a common connection of values and principles. They include the following:
Note that these new visions in law are not intended to replace traditional practice, but rather to provide and include alternative tools to address legal maladies for which traditional legal processes are not necessarily the best means to a successful resolution — and to make these tools more available to practicing lawyers, law students and professors, and particularly consumers of legal services. Litigation, jury trials and judicial interpretations will remain an important aspect of law practice and the development of societies governed by the rule of law. Defining and advocating for important rights and justice will always be a part of the role of lawyers. However, most litigation, often filed simply to preserve legal rights, never makes it to trial and is resolved outside of the courtroom. Thus, having more tools for such resolutions, in addition to the trial advocacy skills that receive the greatest focus in legal education, is a foundational part of these visionary new practice developments.
The inclusiveness of the comprehensive law movement also encourages lawyers to design practices that reflect the lawyer’s personality type, unique behavioral styles, values and goals, while being responsive to what works best for each individual client and situation. In doing so, they reveal new methods of legal service delivery more in keeping with the organizational culture and business style of people and companies that will seek and embrace such approaches as they become more known. That effort requires client education and attempts to de-mystify the law, approaches that can create greater client loyalty. Further, there has been greater dialogue among attorneys about dissatisfaction with the litigation style that has come to be described as 'Rambo-like.' Many lawyers complain of lack of civility; some are choosing to leave the practice of law. Since 1989, when the book Running From the Law was first published by the late Deborah Arron, a niche industry has grown up around career counseling for lawyers. The other practice models and approaches offer an alternative to leaving the practice of law, and they increase creative options and processes for addressing client legal issues.
The following is a short summary of some of the models and approaches, with reference or contact information that will allow the reader to learn more about each one.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence
Also called 'TJ,' this
is an interdisciplinary perspective that focuses on the
law’s
impact on the emotional and psychological health of
the participants, mostly the clients — the people
affected by the law as contrasted by (though not excluding)
the
people working within the legal system. The goal is
to bring sensitivity into law practice. Thereapeutic
justice focuses on listening to clients with an awareness
of psychological and emotional issues including stress,
confidence and trust. It also looks at the court system
and how it impacts society. Therapeutic justice provides
a new contextual platform by which to look at the
concept of jurisprudence and the underlying purposes
of the
legal system. In health-care systems, in employment
and patient relations contexts, as well as professional
negligence matters, this perspective allows inclusion
of concepts such as open dialogue and the role of
apology in the resolution process, in addition to
litigation
strategies and procedures. For more information, see
the International Network on Therapeutic Jurisprudence,
David Wexler, director, at www.therapeuticjurisprudence.org.
There is also a Healing in the Law project, sponsored
by Fetzer Institute, at www.healingandthelaw.org.
Collaborative
Law
The founder of 'collaborative
law' is
Stuart Webb of Minneapolis, Minn. Collaborative law
was originally a family law model in which the parties
and their attorneys contractually agree at the outset
that they will not litigate. They focus on resolution
and problem solving without the threat of court filings
and process. Thus, unlike other forms of alternative
dispute resolution in which a lawsuit is filed first
and then referred for mediation or arbitration, mutually
satisfactory cooperative resolution is the focus of
all parties from the outset. Collaborative lawyers
work with their clients and each other, volunteer information
to aid with resolution and strive for a collegial
atmosphere.
In collaborative divorce, a team of professionals
is assembled to assist in creating the foundation for
sustainable
solutions. Estate planning and probate practice often
requires coordination of family members, business
partners and other professionals (financial planners,
accountants
and so on), in fashioning a sound estate plan or reconciling
an estate tax audit. Similar examples abound in other
business law-oriented practices: business entity formation
and operations set-up; business growth and development
involving mergers and acquisitions; plans for downsizing;
employment or corporate benefit planning; and situations
requiring team coordination and cooperation to avoid
problems that might lead to litigation. The concepts
of collaborative law have evolved into an organization
called the International Academy of Collaborative
Professionals, governed by a multidisciplinary board
of directors and
advisory board. More information is available on its
website, www.collabgroup.com. The next annual conference
is in Vancouver, B.C., Oct. 17-19, 2003.
Holistic Justice or Holistic Law
Some
would say that all of these vectors are subsets of holistic
law, while others would say
that holistic law is a separate vector unto itself.
The basic focus in holistic law is looking at the
whole picture — the lawyer’s role, the client’s responsibility,
the impact on the community — and seeking an answer
to the situation that benefits the greatest good and
promotes healing and completion. Holistic lawyers
are often trained in other disciplines, from health-care
professions to counseling to energetic healing, and
may use those skills in their legal work as well.
The
International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers has a website,
www.iahl.org, and it hosts annual conferences for
holistic lawyers to come together to network, share
and provide
support for this approach.
Preventive Law
Pioneered by professor
Ed Dauer at University of Denver College of Law (UDCL),
preventive law refers
to an approach where the parties and their attorneys
are proactive in limiting their exposure to litigation.
This practice aims to minimize the risk of legal
disputes and maximize professional opportunities,
while providing
suggestions for practicing law or business in compliance
with the law so that individuals and corporations
can best use their resources and capitalize on their
profits.
according to the website for The Preventive Law Reporter.
The quarterly publication of UDCL for more than
15 years, it is dedicated to increasing the awareness
and practice
of preventive law. See www.preventive-law.org.
The need of the legal profession to support the growth of this approach has not escaped the notice of law schools. Founded originally at the UDCL in 1986, the National Center for Preventive Law is now housed at California Western School of Law (CWSL). See www.cwsl.edu. CWSL is also home to the Louis M. Brown Program in Preventive Law; see www.cwsl.edu/mcgill/mc_brown.html. The late Louis Brown’s work on preventive law dates back to the 1950s, based on the premise that 'the legal profession can better serve clients by investing resources in consultation and planning rather than relying on litigation as the primary means of addressing legal problems. This theory recognizes that while litigation is sometimes necessary to address past wrongs, the fact that one ends up in an adversarial proceeding may be evidence of a lack of planning or communication. By applying foresight, lawyers may limit the frequency and scope of future legal problems. For example, in a corporate setting, a legal department focused on preventive law would put its attention on training and educating managers to predict and prevent conflicts among employees and with others outside the company.
Creative Problem Solving
Also based at
CWSL, this approach encourages lawyers to use the broadest
array of creative problem-solving
techniques to achieve better results for their clients.
The law school teaches the kinds of creative thinking
processes that are often taught in progressive business
schools. It encourages lawyers to be trained in creative
thinking and to have many different tools — in addition
to litigation — at their disposal. Creative problem
solving seeks many points of view and examines problems
for their relational impacts at all levels: individual,
institutional, societal and international. It seeks
to develop solution systems based upon what is learned
about a problem, rather than what is habitually done.
It is a caring approach that seeks transformative
solutions to redefine problems, expand resources and
facilitate
enhanced relationships between the parties. Legal
educational programs that include such notions and
techniques set
a standard emphasizing the development of broader
and more encompassing approaches to legal professional
services.
Awareness of this development can be used to evaluate
legal education or continuing legal education options
for lawyers seeking to expand and enhance their skills
in practicing law. See www. cps.cwsl.edu.
Restorative
Justice
With more than 1,000 programs in North
America, more than 2,000 in Europe, Australia and New
Zealand and initiatives under way in Central and South
America, Asia and Africa, restorative justice has emerged
as a social movement for justice reform. Nationally,
almost every state is implementing restorative justice
at state, regional or local levels, and a growing number
of states have officially adopted its principles and
policies, with judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys
leading the way. The American Bar Association has issued
a formal endorsement and guidelines for application
of restorative justice programs and principles.
Rising rates of incarceration and corrections budgets have challenged the long-standing assumption that punishment (or retribution) is the only way or the best way to respond to crime. Our traditional system of punitive/retributive justice asks three questions: Who did it? What laws were broken? What should be done to punish (or in some cases, treat) the offender? Instead of viewing crime primarily as a violation of law (requiring punishment), restorative justice emphasizes one fundamental fact: crime harms people, communities and relationships. A restorative justice inquiry poses three very different questions: What harm resulted from the crime? What needs to be done to 'make it right' or repair the harm? Who is responsible for the repair?
Traditionally, offender accountability has been viewed as compliance with program rules or as taking one’s punishment. But accepting punishment is passive and requires no responsibility or affirmative acts from the offender. A restorative justice approach holds the offender accountable by facilitating and enforcing reparative agreements, including restitution. It recognizes that we must give offenders the opportunity to right their wrongs and redeem themselves, in their own eyes and in the eyes of the community. Victims and the community must have the opportunity to take active roles in the resolution of crime. Restorative justice views our crime problem as a community matter that can never be adequately addressed by delegating the sole responsibility to police, courts and correctional systems.
Restorative justice is not any one program, but rather, a different paradigm for understanding and responding to issues of crime and justice. It takes its most familiar forms in victim-offender mediation/dialogue (VOM) programs and victim-offender reconciliation programs (VORP). Other responses to crime include: family group conferencing; community sentencing circles; neighborhood accountability boards; reparative probation; restitution programs; restorative community service; victim and community impact statements; and victim awareness panels.
VOM and VORP programs bring offenders face to face with the victims of their crimes, with the assistance of a mediator or facilitator — often a community volunteer. Specialized training is required to ensure the safety, integrity and success of the process. (Program directors, staff, volunteers and board members are often attorney-mediators.) Victim participation is always voluntary; offender participation is voluntary in most programs.
In mediation/dialogue, crime is personalized as offenders learn the human consequences of their actions, and victims have the opportunity to speak their minds and their feelings to the one who most ought to hear them, contributing to the victim’s healing. Victims get answers to haunting questions that only the offender can answer. The most commonly asked questions are: 'Why did you do this to me?' 'Was this my fault?' 'Could I have prevented this?' 'Were you stalking or watching me?' Victims commonly report a new peace of mind, even when the answers to their questions were worse than they had feared.
Offenders take meaningful responsibility for their actions by mediating a restitution agreement with the victim to restore the victims’ losses in whatever ways possible. Restitution may be monetary or symbolic; it may consist of work for the victim, meaningful community service or other actions that contribute to a sense of justice between the victim, others affected by the crime and the offender.
VOM/VORP programs have been mediating meaningful justice between crime victims and offenders for about 30 years and are supported by a substantial body of research. Remarkably consistent statistics from a cross-section of the North American programs show that about two-thirds of the cases referred to programs result in a face-to-face mediation. More than 95 percent of the cases mediated result in a written restitution agreement. More than 90 percent of those restitution agreements are completed within one year. In contrast, the rate of payment of court-ordered restitution is typically only 20 to 30 percent. Recent research has shown that juvenile offenders who participate in VOM/VORP subsequently commit fewer and less serious offenses than their counterparts in the traditional juvenile justice system.
Most VOM/VORP programs limit their work to property offenses or offenses of lesser violence, committed by juveniles. The fast-growing trend is to expand the application to adult offenders and crimes of severe violence, including homicides. In juvenile offenses and in minor crimes committed by adults, restorative justice processes may be substituted for, or supplementary to, court action. In crimes of severe violence, restorative justice has seldom been a substitute for prosecution, but it has been used to create more meaningful sentencing for offenders and their victims.
VOM/VORP is not appropriate for every crime, every victim or every offender. Individual, preliminary meetings between mediator and victim, mediator and offender are essential for careful screening and assessment according to established criteria. Even if not appropriate for mediation/dialogue, the resolution of most crimes can benefit from some application of the principles of restorative justice.
For more information about restorative justice, consult the following: Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) Information and Resource Center, www.vorp.com; Victim Offender Mediation Association, www.voma.org; International Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, www.restorativejustice.org; Center for Restorative Justice and Peace-Making, http://ssw.che.umn.edu/rjp; or these print resources: Restoring Justice, Daniel Van Ness and Karen Strong (Anderson Publishing Co. 1997); Restorative Justice: A Vision for Healing and Change, Susan Sharpe (Edmonton Victim Offender Mediation Society 1998); Transcending: Reflections of Crime Victims, Howard Zehr (Herald Press 2001).
New Approaches to MediationThe first approach to transformative mediation is based upon a book by Robert A. Baruch Bush and Joseph P. Folger, The Promise of Mediation: Responding to Conflict Through Empowerment and Recognition (Jossey-Bass 1994). In this process the parties in conflict can change the quality of their conflict interaction. The focus is not only on resolution, but consciously emphasizes transforming the interaction from negative and destructive to positive and constructive. Practitioners use the complementary models of 'empowerment' (facilitating and supporting the considered, deliberate decision-making of the parties) and 'recognition' (highlighting opportunities for voluntary interpersonal perspective-taking and understanding). The focus is on revealing and understanding the underlying dynamics of the conflict, to both resolve the presenting issue and prevent future similar ones. For more information, see also the website for the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation at Hofstra School of Law, www.hofstra.edu/Law/isct. It demonstrates another educational option for anyone embracing visionary law concepts, particularly within professional practices focused on litigation or handling and resolving any other types of conflicts.
Gary Friedman and Jack Himmelstein, co-founders and co-directors of The Center for Mediation in Law, detailed at www.mediationinlaw.org, teach another transformative mediation model dedicated to integrating mediative principles into the practice of law and the resolution of legal disputes, with a focus on empowering the people involved. Their model is described as the 'understanding model.' In it, the goal is to reach deeper levels of values and meaning, and to attain the means to more lasting and healing resolutions generally not even addressed in adversarial proceedings. Such approaches often have the power to heal even profound social wounds.
Attorney Barbara Ashley Phillips, author of The Mediation Field Guide (Jossey-Bass, 2001), has still another distinctive approach that focuses on the 'inner aspects' of conflict resolution. She is director of the North American Institute for Conflict Resolution, and its website, www.crtraining.org is also a resource for materials on forgiveness. See particularly www.crtraining.com/forgiveover.htm#to.
Problem-Solving CourtsCommunity Lawyering
Community Lawyering,
or Community-Oriented Lawyering, is a movement where the
lawyers, especially
those in government, public interest and similar settings,
work together to address the underlying problems that
result in clients being in court, as well as to promote
the welfare of the community and each in relationship
to one another. Community lawyers take on projects that
get to the source of cases that recur in the court system.
Housing issues are an example of one issue addressed
by community lawyers. Instead of litigating one tenant
issue after another, a community lawyer might work to
create standards for rental units, for example. For
other examples, see the website of Roger Conner, a visiting
fellow with the National Institute of Justice in Washington,
D.C., at www. communitylawyering.org. He describes this
model as a way of practicing law by attorneys who take
a direct working interest in the peace and safety of
particular places, and work to generate outcomes the
community values in addition to winning cases. Community-oriented
lawyers work in a wide variety of settings, such as
prosecutors, police departments, municipal attorneys,
non-profits, private firms, criminal defenders, judges
and law school clinics.
Peacemaking
The focus in this approach
is on the peaceful resolution of disputes, and many
lawyers involved consider
themselves to be peacemakers. They express that
value in many ways. Some have actually created organizations
dealing with international conflict, like Ambassador
John McDonald, a lawyer, diplomat, former international
civil servant, development expert and peace-builder
concerned about world social, economic and ethnic
problems,
who spent 20 years of his career in western Europe
and the Middle East and worked for 16 years on United
Nations
economic and social affairs. His current work is
as chairman and co-founder of the Institute for
Multi-Track
Diplomacy, which can be reviewed at www.imtd.org.
Others seek to heal and bring peace at a more personal, energetic level like Jill Dahlquist and Johanna Halgren (an attorney and psychotherapist, respectively) facilitators of The Group Peace Process. Their work is described at www. grouppeace.com. Sharif M. Abdullah, a former lawyer, has written and spoken on campaigns for expanding the consciousness for peace, as the founder and director of www.commonway.org. His most recent completed project helped bring peace to Sri Lanka, ending a long-term war. Some mediators consider themselves to be peacemakers. And more than a few mainstream litigation lawyers, traditionally perceived as 'hired guns,' if asked would no doubt admit that they act as peacemakers in their work.
Contemplative Practice
Lawyers often seek
relief from personal stress through meditation and then
discover that meditation
leads to further growth. The Center for Contemplative
Mind in Society, www. Contemplativemind.org, has a
program focused on law. Through Contemplative Law retreats,
questions and ideas from both a contemplative and
legal
perspective are addressed, including the nature of
winning and losing, the role of compassion in adversarial
situations,
truth and 'right speech,' Socratic and contemplative
methods of inquiry, action and non-action, separation
and connection, and listening. Many lawyers are integrating
their spiritual and religious practices into their legal
life. Pioneered by Steven Keeva’s book, Transforming
Practices, Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal
Life (Contemporary Books, 1999), this approach
to law allows for the inclusion of the lawyer’s spiritual
values, as well as those of the client. Keeva’s book
looks at several different approaches based upon values
and life purpose viewing the practice of law as a 'ministry' focused
on healing, service, mindfulness, contemplation and
listening. See Keeva’s site at www. transformingpractices.com.
The
Project on Integrating Law, Politics and Spirituality
The
project is a group of lawyers and legal educators committed
to: 1) the integration of
spirituality and politics; and 2) the incorporation
of a spiritual-political understanding into American
legal culture. The national conference on the Politics
of Meaning, held in Washington, D.C., in 1996, drew
some 1,800 people committed to a new spiritual-political
vision of social transformation. Growing out of that
conference, the law task force has met by a monthly
conference call since that time, has held annual retreats
and has made presentations and organized several events
around the country. Members of the task force have
written and spoken widely on the need for legal culture
to transform
itself to address the social alienation — those distortions
in human relationship resulting from living in an isolated,
individualistic and materialistic culture blind to the
communal longings of the human soul — that is at the
heart of much social conflict. The project is hosted
by New College of California, where its leader, Peter
Gabel, teaches in its public interest law school as
well as its program on culture, ecology and sustainable
community. Gabel was a founder of the Critical Legal
Studies movement, is co-editor of Tikkun magazine,
and the author of many articles and essays, some of
which are collected in his book, The Bank Teller
and Other Essays on the Politics of Meaning (Acada
Books, 2000). For more information contact Washington
lawyer Paul Lehto at lehto@pmjustice.com.
Legal Counseling
This is a relatively new approach being
developed by Eva van Loon, a lawyer working on an
advanced counseling degree. Van Loon has noted that
many clients
are not even clear enough about their goals to choose
their lawyer or to make decisions through the process.
Van Loon’s program trains lawyers and others to help
clients identify their plan of action so they may
choose the appropriate lawyer and then pursue the
appropriate
course of action in their legal dispute. The approach
incorporates into law practice notions of informed
consent as they are applied in the medical context.
She can
be reached at Mettalaw@aol.com.
Coaching
Many lawyers have found practice support
by hiring a coach for themselves; other lawyers
find they are suited to the role of being a coach.
At times,
lawyers hire coaches to work with their clients.
A professional coach in this context is a trained
professional who
assists clients in creating their futures and designing
plans to achieve those futures. A coach is more
of a personal partner who works with clients and
helps them
make their own decisions and take actions consistent
with their commitments. This approach may enhance
the delivery or pursuit of legal services for some
clients.
A coach assumes the client has the answers, knows
what there is to do, but may need some guidance
in discovering
those answers and then implementing them for effective
long-term change. Coaching skills include deep,
committed listening, intuition and inquiry. Some
lawyers who apply
coaching skills with their clients may also take
on unbundling services, assisting pro se litigants
and
coaching divorce clients. Some lawyers are also
discovering that they enjoy coaching other lawyers
to find greater
fulfillment in their lives and the practice of law.
There are now many coaching schools and training
programs. See a list of coach training programs
accredited by
the International Coach Federation at www.coachfederation.org/training/programs.htm.
Coach U, Inc., one of the first coach training programs
in the world (see www.CoachInc.com), sponsors a
special interest group (SIG) of coaches who work
with lawyers,
which is held by telephone conference; and interested
lawyers are encouraged to attend. The SIG is co-hosted
by Warren Simonoff, a coach and former court reporter,
and Stewart Hirsch, a coach and attorney. For more
information on participating in the SIG calls, contact
Warren (warrensimonoff@
qwest.net) or Stewart (s.hirsch@ strategicrelationships.com)
directly. Other web resources for information about
lawyers and coaching include www.lawyercoaches.com
and www. renaissancelawyer.com.
Conclusion
The list of approaches described
above is not all-inclusive. The models philosophically
overlap
one another representing, like a web, separate developments
or directions in an overall cultural evolution of
considerable magnitude — hence their description as
vectors. In addition to these innovative models, many
lawyers have taken
it upon themselves to seek additional training that
supports their work as lawyers in this new paradigm.
Lawyers are learning conflict resolution skills and
are being trained in counseling, listening, coaching
and even massage therapy and energetic healing as
additional tools to resolve conflict. While some are
leaving law
practice for related careers, many are reclaiming
their calling as lawyers and refusing to fit into
the litigation
mold, creating their own unique approaches. Apology,
forgiveness and other healing tools have found their
way into the legal process and have altered the experience
of the legal system for many stakeholders. Such visionary
approaches offer hope for a new legal system that
truly works for everyone and raise issues of how to
train
lawyers for this new model.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Kim Wright recently joined the firm of Peace-Making,
Family Law Without War, in Portland and plans to sit
for the July bar exam in Oregon. She is the founder
and president of Renaissance Lawyer Society (www.renaissancelawyer.com),
a non- profit organization with the mission of creating
a legal system that works for everyone. Prior to relocating
to Oregon in 2000, she practiced holistic family law
in North Carolina. For more information, see www.jkimwright.com
or e-mail her: jkwright@peace-making.com.
Dolly M. Garlo is a founding member of the RLS board of directors. Licensed to practice law in Utah and Texas, she founded her own law firm in Austin, Texas (www.GarloWard.com), a general civil practice with a focus on legal services for health care professionals and facilities involved in governmental regulatory disputes, with an emphasis on preventive law and client legal education. Contact her by e-mail: DMGarlo@AllThrive.com.
© 2003 J. Kim Wright and Dolly M. Garlo