Using the Law to Heal ... Both Lawyers & Clients

This story is about a living legacy in which I have had the opportunity and distinct honor of participating.

After practicing in the arena of family law for awhile, attorney J. Kim Wright noticed that the confrontational winners and losers approach in the legal system wasn't always that helpful to the conflict resolution needed in such cases -- and might actually be causing more harm than good. For example, "winning" the so-called "custody battle," often didn't produce the best long term resolution for all family members, especially the kids. The traditional legal model for divorce and child custody matters didn't seem to work as well as it could. 

Moreover, Kim discovered some disconcerting information about her own profession: while lawyers had traditionally been viewed as community leaders and public servants, over time that view has been eroded.  Lawyers and the profession had become the butt of jokes, public scandal and ridicule in a system where even colleagues failed to respect one another and the litigation process had become a battleground.  Research even showed that 1/3 to 2/3 of lawyers wanted to leave the practice, at least 1 in 5 had symptoms of clinical depression, as many as 1 in 11 thinks of suicide on a regular basis and too many lawyers are actually killing themselves.  (There are even lawyer jokes on the subject).

Alarmed, Kim began investigating how law could be more of a peacemaking profession. The result of that investigation was the discovery that around the U.S. and other parts of the world, lawyers were developing innovative legal resolution approaches outside the traditional models.  Alternative dispute resolution, like mediation and arbitration, had been around for awhile, but many new creative, preventive, and educational approaches were being utilized to minimize and alleviate conflict.  See an article about her early network of colleagues and their mutual ideas: http://www.noetic.org/publications/review/issue62/r62_Holland.html

Kim's exploration led her to gather a group of like-minded colleagues (not all lawyers, but all lovers of the rule of law and protection of individual rights) for further discussion.  They met for the first time in Las Vegas, NV in June, 2001 and the Renaissance Lawyer Society was born.  See: http://www.renaissancelawyer.com/History.htm  The organization operates as a non-profit, tax exempt 501c3 membership organization, whose purpose is:

help create a legal system that works for everyone by bringing together lawyers; judges; legal assistants, secretaries and administrators; other legal professionals and members of the legal community; and all others interested in the law and the legal system, for mutual support, networking, education, and dialogue concerning the overall advance and development of a healthy society through intelligent implementation of the rule of law.
http://www.renaissancelawyer.com/purpose.htm In short:

"to create a legal system that works for everyone"

Renaissance Lawyer Society has carried on its work through a Board of Directors, on which Kim served as Chair in the early years. Kim is young enough (and more heartened about the possibilities in the practice of family law) to carry on a legal career for many more years to come.  See: www.healersofconflict.com

As a result, through her vision, born of both need and her strong values, Kim has already created a true living legacy that will carry on with or without her active involvement. She gets to participate during her lifetime in a growing movement of ideals, and know she will be leaving behind something to make the world a better place.