legal sanity

Evelyn Rodriguez writes the very interesting and insightful Crossroads Dispatches blog. She recently started a series of posts on Fusing the Business of Your Soul with the Soul of Your Business. The inaugural post takes us to the crossroads of soul and business with the following guidance: "that's what the forty day series is about, not injecting something that sounds soulful to spiff up our flagging businesses and tune into a hot trend, but rather putting our whole higher self into it, no holds barred." As we travel along with Evelyn, I think each of us will find that there's no one way to create soulful work. That's because we each have unique passions and abilities to positively express in the world. When our business becomes a vehicle for this kind of meaningful self-expression, we're working with soul - to the benefit of ourselves, our families and many, many others. Chris Bailey of the Alchemy of Soulful Work is blogging along the same lines. In this recent post, he re-commits himself to creating a forum where he (and we) can "authentically discuss and generate provocative dialogue on livelihood."

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In this article, my friend Stewart Levine fuels an interesting conversation about the opportunity for personal growth and leadership presented to lawyers by Hurricane Katrina and other recent natural disasters. Stating that within "every tragedy lies an opportunity," Levine poses these questions for our consideration: "What is the leadership lawyers can provide? [ ] How can we assert ourselves in a way that fosters thoughtful discussion of issues and concerns? How can we engender a spirit of resolve, resolution and useful action? How can we be a stalwart resource for people close to us? How can we be a symbol, a beacon of hope in a darkened landscape?" He goes on to outline three core Leadership Competencies (Models of Reality, Personal Authority and Honor and Gratitude) and four Leadership Behaviors (Impeccability, Learning, Powerful Voice, Motivating Purpose and Meaning). Levine believes that each of us possesses these competencies and models these behaviors when engaged in our "best work" - which he defines as work that's "more a function of who you are than any schooling or learned skill." I've been contemplating Levine's inquiries, especially in light of the poignant, eyewitness accounts of Katrina and its aftermath provided by fellow blogger Ernest Svenson. It certainly seems that nature is compelling us all to consider our place on this planet at this time and to envision what we want to leave behind for our children and future generations.

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This article and this one chronicle lawyer Jill Mindlin's successful efforts to establish guidelines for protecting food allergic children attending elementary schools in our New York region. Jill's a friend of mine and the mother of a four-year-old with life-threatening allergies. She and another mom, Amanda Bromberg, realized that they needed to raise allergy awareness among educators to best safeguard their own and other severely allergic school-aged kids. So, they set out to draft a best practices guide to educate the educators. Knowing that this would be a massive undertaking, Jill turned to the pro bono committee at her firm, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. Schulte backed her with its vast resources and, some six months later, Jill attended a press conference at which local officials formally announced the guidelines' distribution to all of the county's schools. This is a great example of how law firms can reach out and support lawyers as they work to better their communities and serve the greater good.

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About six months ago, I had recently returned from LexThink! Chicago and shared my thoughts on this open-space gathering where we explored "innovative, intuitive and soul-satisfying ways to practice in our chosen profession." I had a terrific time there and, like my fellow bloggers here, here, here and here (among very many), am happy to share that the pioneering spirit of LexThink! is alive and well. On November 11-12, 2005, LexThink! alum and others will again gather in Chicago for BlawgThink 2005! Billed as "a bold new approach to learning about legal blogging," this "first of its kind two-day event brings together the largest group of legal bloggers ever assembled for two days of education, innovation, fellowship and fun." Given the roster of attendees and presenters, the conference promises to deliver the practical and insightful content, dialogue and action points we need to better our lives in the law. Attendance (on one or both days) is by invitation only. If you're interested in going, you can contact the event's organizer, LexThink! founder Matt Homann, at matt@lexthink.com.

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My post here announced that today is the fifth annual Mediation Settlement Day in New York. But, I've just learned that the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) has also proclaimed it the first ever Conflict Resolution Day. According to the announcement on its Web site, ACR hopes to "increase public awareness about conflict resolution and its many benefits" by "coordinating its efforts with other conflict resolution organizations and [ ] reaching out to local, state and international groups to build interest in holding local celebrations in conjunction with Conflict Resolution Day." Fellow blogger Chris Bailey - a great guy doing terrific work at ACR - discusses the day's events and import over at the Alchemy of Soulful Work. He nicely captures the gist of an e-mail I received from John D. Willis - the Director of the Graduate Studies in Dispute Resolution at Sullivan University - outlining ways we all can recognize and honor Conflict Resolution Day, including: (1) forgive, accept an apology and move on; (2) analyze why you are angry and get control of it; (3) tell the truth all day; and (4) sit with a lonely person and listen carefully to them.

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I recently received an e-mail about the LL.M Program in Dispute Resolution offered at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) School of Law. MU is widely recognized for its contributions to dispute resolution scholarship and practice. The 1-year residential program attracts a diverse student body and a faculty that includes some of the leading thinkers in the field. According to its online description, the program is designed "for those with an interest in serious study and practice beyond the J.D. degree" and aims to provide "practitioners and scholars with a deeper understanding of theoretical, policy, design and ethical issues in dispute resolution." You'll find a program overview here and a synopsis of admissions requirements here. You can read the latest newsletter from MU's Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution here (pdf).

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I've discussed the role of emotions in mediation before. There's a new book out by Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro of the Harvard Negotiation Project called: Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate. Fisher is well known for the cutting-edge negotiation theory he and William Ury set out in their seminal tome: Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. In their new book, Fisher and Shapiro expand on that theory by describing how we can harness emotions to get what we want in our everyday negotiations. At the heart of their paradigm is the recognition of five "core concerns" linked to our emotions during negotiations - "appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status and role." By understanding and working with these core concerns, the authors assert, we can cultivate helpful emotions in ourselves and others and negotiate better results for mutual gain. You'll find commentaries on Beyond Reason here, here and here.

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I recently cited an article questioning the power of conventional apology in legal negotiations. Here's a response piece asserting that sincere apology can be a vital and powerful recourse of "catalytic" proportion "in litigated or non-litigated cases where there is emotional or physical injury, or where there is a desire to continue a relationship." One of the central issues, the writer claims, is that there's no consensus on what constitutes a "full apology." And "we each have different needs that must be met before we can accept the apology and move on with our lives." The writer then depicts the continuum of apologies that people might find acceptable. These range from simple confessions (the "lowest level of apology") to open-ended offers to make things right (the "strongest level of apology").

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On November 17, 2005, the Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative (HNII) will present its 3rd Annual Fall Dialogue: Wisdom for a World in Conflict: An Evening with Kenneth Cloke and Tara Brach. Part of Harvard Law School's renowned Program on Negotiation, HNII aims to "explore what mindfulness and the great wisdom traditions have to teach us in the negotiation and dispute resolution field." You can learn more about HNII here and RSVP for the upcoming program here.

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The terrific 800-CEO-Read Blog recently offered a series of posts here, here, here and here on Moral Intelligence. A close relative of Emotional Intelligence (which I've discussed several times), Moral Intelligence is our "mental capacity to determine how to apply universal moral principles--such as integrity, responsibility, compassion and forgiveness--to our personal values, goals and actions." The "strong correlation" between Moral Intelligence and success in today's business world is the topic of this book and its companion Website where you can go to assess your "moral competencies and values." The book's premise is that "sustainable personal and organizational success requires moral competence, which is the active application of our moral intelligence." Although we come into the world with "moral hardwiring," we can enhance our moral competence throughout our lives in a fluid confluence of nature + nurture.

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I just returned from the Association for Conflict Resolution's Annual Conference where I gave a talk on Mediation Breakthrough: Aligning the Interests of Lawyers and their Clients to Optimize Conflict Resolution. This presentation is one of the offerings of my new training and development business and I was grateful for the opportunity to test-drive it and get some feedback. It was a fantastic experience all around. The presentation was very well received and I got to reconnect with many of the terrific people in the dispute resolution arena I've met over the years. There really was a sense of reunion and homecoming as we gathered to share ideas and our passion for finding ways to ease conflict in the world. It was great to be in this community of likeminded folks and it gave me even more incentive to carry on in my new venture. Back at home, I found this post from the Worthwhile blog that nicely captures my conference experience. It discusses the emerging Passion Economy in which people, "no longer content to exchange their time for money in the absence of meaning," increasingly seek out work that connects them to their personal values. Finding a job that we're passionate about in or outside the law is a topic I've repeatedly covered here, but it never seems to lose its luster.

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