{"id":12922,"date":"2011-03-01T12:20:04","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T17:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=12922"},"modified":"2011-03-01T12:20:04","modified_gmt":"2011-03-01T17:20:04","slug":"the-power-of-one-lawyer-as-peacemaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2011\/03\/the-power-of-one-lawyer-as-peacemaker\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of One: Lawyer as Peacemaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Note: This is the third installment in a four-part series of blog posts; you\u2019ll find part one <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>, part two <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>, and part three <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The notion that lawyers are in a unique position to restore peace is far from new.\u00a0 Abraham Lincoln urged lawyers, \u201cDiscourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

As practitioners we are called to tap our creativity and compassion to see beyond, around, and within the limited solutions offered by the law.\u00a0 \u00a0Peacemaking is more restorative, more involved, and infinitely more work than ending a lawsuit with a dollar figure, or a criminal case with a period of years.<\/p>\n

About two years ago, Rachel Monaco-Wilcox took a bold step outside of the traditional estate-planning realm in which she had gained expertise and respect.\u00a0 \u00a0She had become increasingly frustrated with \u201cthe failure to implement appropriate legal solutions because humanness was being shoved into corners.\u201d \u00a0Underlying relational conflict would be ignored, then it would surface; the legal work would be stymied.\u00a0 She came to a place where she needed, in her words, to find a way to work in the law that was compatible with her gifts, or leave it altogether.\u00a0 Rachel needed to rekindle the passion that led her to law school in the first place.<\/p>\n

This kind of self-examination is, incidentally, foundational to peacemaking.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A mediator must constantly ask:\u00a0 What biases do I bring to this table? Can I move beyond them to mediate effectively, or must I honor my own integrity and the persons in this process, by referring the matter to another professional?\u00a0\u00a0 This is not unlike the process of evaluating one\u2019s own career choices, as so many lawyers do throughout their years in the law.\u00a0\u00a0 What biases have I developed as a\u00a0result of my work?\u00a0\u00a0 Am I able to objectively consider my choices? \u00a0If not, what help should I call on?<\/p>\n

Rachel\u2019s self-examination prompted her to train in mediation. \u00a0Now, Rachel helps people involved in an elder-related issues work through them with a very creative, flexible, and adaptive process.\u00a0 That process builds upon the law, but instead of the law driving the conversation, a wise understanding of the law is incorporated into the solution. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In any practice area, we can be agents of peace.\u00a0 We can help others define their conflict, and act as a guide as they decide how and when it will be resolved.\u00a0 We can offer a safe and creative space under the umbrella of the law, to foster peaceful resolutions and non-violent ways of arriving there.<\/p>\n

I do not suggest peace at any price.\u00a0\u00a0 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had it right when he observed that justice is a condition precedent to peace.\u00a0\u00a0 More often than not, pursuing justice involves necessary disturbance of peace.\u00a0\u00a0 Great imbalances of power demand rectification, for peace to be just.<\/p>\n

Some suggest that non-litigious ways of solving disputes subvert our legal system and erode the exercise of legal rights. \u00a0Old processes demand modification when they no longer fulfill the functions they were designed for, and our thinking must evolve.\u00a0\u00a0 The most important reason for pursuing peacemaking processes defies codification, or quantification.\u00a0\u00a0 It is simply this:\u00a0 by showing the way and helping others to learn how to work together to arrive at their own solutions, we best honor their, and our, dignity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consider.\u00a0\u00a0 A woman in her late 40s is ready to wash her hands and call adult protective services; she is so tired of trying to help her aging mom whose health is in jeopardy, but desperately wants to maintain her independence.\u00a0\u00a0 Their relational history is hard, and they are at an impasse, unable to speak to speak to each other without dissolving into argument and obstinance.\u00a0 Enter Rachel.\u00a0 After a mediation process involving pre-meetings and lengthy dialogue, they came to an agreement about Mom\u2019s care.\u00a0\u00a0 This tentative step toward reconciliation changed their way of communicating, and the results went far beyond the care plan arrived it in the mediation.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Peacemaking begins with ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0 The practice of law is under attack from within.\u00a0\u00a0 We need only look at the large number of blogs, websites, and social media populated by lawyers lambasting the profession, or decrying money \u201cwasted\u201d on their law school education.\u00a0 Books and consultants for lawyers about how to reshape career, or get into another one, abound.\u00a0\u00a0 Looking at the profession in a new way may breathe life into a lawyer\u2019s waning spirit.<\/p>\n

In the beginning of this four-part series, I talked about my pre-law school sense that there was \u201csomething more\u201d to the practice of law than simply knowing and applying the law.\u00a0\u00a0 The \u201cmore\u201d is recognizing that there are many, many solutions to the same problem, and the law provides only a piece of that puzzle.\u00a0 \u00a0The \u201cmore\u201d is being a good steward of the respect people and society afford us.\u00a0\u00a0 The \u201cmore\u201d is honoring the dignity of all persons.\u00a0 The \u201cmore\u201d is a commitment to changing society for the better.\u00a0\u00a0 The \u201cmore\u201d is understanding when and how to call upon our skills as counselors, advocates, peacemakers.\u00a0\u00a0 The \u201cmore\u201d is being deliberative about our careers, taking the time to figure out the highest and best use of our gifts and talents.\u00a0 The \u201cmore\u201d is knowing that You <\/em>possess the Power of One, and it is formidable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: This is the third installment in a four-part series of blog posts; you\u2019ll find part one here, part two here, and part three here. The notion that lawyers are in a unique position to restore peace is far from new.\u00a0 Abraham Lincoln urged lawyers, \u201cDiscourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-practice","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12922\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}