Betsy Gutting and I just presented a workshop, Giving Voice to a New Vision: Cultivating Passion and Presence in Your Legal Career, at the annual conference of the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers (IAHL) in Chicago. It was an inspiring conference and a great time to be in Chicago (the Blues Festival was there!). I can dance all night to the blues (and almost did).
As part of the conference, the IAHL presented an award to Steve Keeva (he was a columnist for the ABA Journal for many years) for his book, Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life. If you want to read it, you are in luck, because the ABA is going to reissue it later this year. I cannot recommend the book enough. It is not only beautifully written--it is also packed with stories and practical information about how to create your own transforming practices in your legal endeavors.
Stu Webb , who developed collaborative law, came as a trainer and presenter. His genuine presence and stories inspired our confidence in the collaborative approach to both family law and other civil litigation cases.
As John McShane pointed out at the conference, we are at a tipping point. If you have ever run a marathon, you have experienced the last 6 miles. Hard. You know you can make it and at the same time, it is the toughest part of the race. What am I talking about? Holistic Law. You can use other names like Therapeutic Jurisprudence, but bottom line is that lawyers and their clients are whole people. Made of flesh and blood. All looking for meaning and happiness in our lives. (If you aren't, please go read another blog!) And, there has been a strong movement afoot to support an approach to legal practice that reflects our wholeness as well as the roots of the law as a healing profession in the community.
Cutting Edge Law (a free online publication) gives a comprehensive history of the movement as well as podcast interviews with key people in the movement. One of our own, Stella Rabaut is featured in one of those interviews. Here is the Cutting Edge description of the movement.
In November, 1999, in Marathon Key, Florida, the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers held a conference that catalyzed a budding movement. In June, 2001, a group of legal professionals met in Las Vegas, Nevada and created the Renaissance Lawyer Society. In May, 2002, about fifty lawyers gathered for the annual collaborative law conference.
Those early gatherings inspired a Movement in the Law. Those who attended that 1999 IAHL conference have gone on to write, speak, train, inspire and develop new approaches to law, new ideas and new models. Holistic Law, Humanizing Legal Education, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Spiritual Revitalization of the Legal Profession, Drug and Problem-solving courts, Law as a Healing Profession, Collaborative Law and their cousin Restorative Justice have grown to impact the mainstream. The new approaches call lawyers to apply new skills and challenge law schools to offer a new approach to legal education. CuttingEdgeLaw.com supports the growth of this movement.
The Movement is filled with exciting, creative and dynamic individuals in all branches of law. They are Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and humanitarians (and others) who are integrating their spiritual and personal values into law. They are men and women. They are gay and straight. They represent a diverse group that crosses national, cultural and racial identities. They offer a dynamic combination of intellect and heart. They come together and sometimes they sit alone. We share a common passion to transform the way law is practiced, to be the peacemakers, problem-solvers, and healers of the world.
Interested in the movement? Join IAHL and make a donation. Subscribe to Cutting Edge Law. Buy Steve Keeva's book. Connect with your own values, desires and humanity. Become a leader. We only have 6 miles left!
Great blog entry, Jane! I came back from Chicago revitalized in my committment to transform the way law is practiced on this planet. We only have six miles left to go!
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