In Your Practice, What Do You Focus on to See the Big Picture?
Last month, the ABA released a new book by J. Kim Wright titled Lawyers as Peacemakers: Practicing Holistic, Problem-Solving Law. Wright thinks that—in some disciplines, anyway, such as family law and juvenile justice—the adversarial legal system needs to evolve into something more collaborative.
“I did my first custody case: I won and my client was miserable,” Wright told the ABA Journal last year. “I said, ‘There’s got to be something better than this. I did everything they taught me in law school. I won, but she’s miserable.’ ” Another client who Wright had won a custody case for told her she’d rather give up her children than endure another court battle.
This week, Wright shared five tips with us on how practitioners can incorporate holistic lawyering into their practices. Persuade your clients to share the full context of their problems. Work with clients whose values align with yours. Take care of yourself. Be respectful of others. Keep learning.
So what we’d like to ask you: In your practice, what do you focus on to see the big picture of your role as a lawyer and what you want to accomplish for your clients? What tips would you offer on how to be a holistic lawyer?
Answer in the comments below.
Read the answers to last week’s question: What Title Would You Give Your Legal Thriller?
Featured answer:
Posted by BigDan: “Reversed On Appeal. It would be a series of novels that would be based on plotlines from CSI, Law & Order and other procedural shows. It would focus on the appellate process of what happens after the closing credits, and how all the misconduct and shenanigans during the investigations and trials would result in a reversal of the guilty verdict.”
