J. Kim Wright's blog

"Compassion for all people, in all places, at all times, no exceptions." -Rainn Wilson

Being on the road, I haven't needed my trust account for a while. While I was traveling, my small local bank was taken over by a regional bank. I began using a different bank but kept the old free checking accounts in case I moved back to the area.

Several months ago when my bank wrote to say they were going to start charging a monthly fee for my trust account and taking it from my business account, I decided to close the accounts. Since I was hundreds of miles from the closest branch, I sent an email to the main office. They emailed back saying I needed to send a letter to my local branch. I dashed off a quick letter asking to close both the trust and business accounts and dropped it in the mailbox right away.

Westward Bound!

Kim is putting the finishing touches on the itinerary for her September cross-country trip. She is stopping in over a dozen cities, talking about her best-selling ABA book, Lawyers as Peacemakers, Practicing Holistic, Problem-Solving Law and inquiring into related topics. The response and enthusiasm have been amazing.

She will be leaving North Carolina on September 7 and ending in Salt Lake City on the 23rd where she will be the keynote speaker for their GAL conference. There are many programs and presentations along the way at law schools (Vanderbilt, U. Missouri-Columbia, U. Colorado), bar associations, book stores, homes, conference rooms and restaurants.

Itinerary

On one hand, parts of our society are learning to think systematically, to be emotionally and spiritually intelligent, to find win/win solutions and to work in collaboration not competition. From Oprah to best seller lists to business consulting, we hear conversations about transformation. On the other hand, our legal profession and other parts of our society continue to envision issues only in polarization, to see ourselves only as adversaries, and to express ourselves uncivilly and intolerantly.

As part of the book tour for my book, Lawyers as Peacemakers, Practicing Holistic, Problem-Solving Law (ABA, 2010), I am traveling around the country, leading continuing legal education programs and conversations exploring how the legal profession is adopting new paradigms of practice that privilege peacemaking in ways consistent with a lawyer’s ethical responsibilities. Some of the questions being considered include:

* What is the purpose of law?

Yay! We've had some favorable reviews of Lawyers as Peacemakers, Practicing Holistic, Problem-Solving Law!

http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Lawyers_as_Peacemakers_Practicing_Ho...

J. Kim Wright is an ambitious woman. In this comprehensive resource manual, she describes dozens of ways in which lawyers, judges and legal workers across the country (and around the world) are attempting to change their profession for the better. The terms sound hopeful – Holistic Law, Renaissance Law, Transformative Law, Law with a Meditative Perspective. Spiritual Law, Law as a Healing Profession, Restorative Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence. Most profoundly, as the title reflects, “Lawyers as Peacemakers.” - Lainey Feingold

and

http://thedivorcecoachscorner.blogspot.com/2010/05/bringing-love-to-law....

As Kim was finishing her book, Michael read Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute. As soon as Kim hit the send button with the final edits, he insisted that she sit down and read it. "I want to put this book in everyone's hands," said Michael. Kim was also impressed by the book which lay the foundation for the paradigm shift. Since then, we have included a copy in our Premium Membership and have become somewhat evangelical about the book.

Last month we traveled to Utah to meet with the Arbinger Institute. We attended the CLE on Civility (attached) where almost 100 mainstream lawyers went through a transformational process and gave it high marks in the reviews.

We were excited about the connections between Arbinger's and ours and so were they. More details will be forthcoming as we work out details of our agreements.

To learn more about Arbinger: http://www.arbinger.com