Doing the Work You Love: A Retreat for Lawyers
Friday evening:
5-7: Arrival, dinner, introductions followed by a program
Introduction: Law: Love it or Leave it? Laying the Foundation for the Rest of the Weekend Co-Facilitated by Kim & Tama
7-7:30 Introduction to Peace-making circles: ................................................................................................................... Kim
Grounded in restorative justice processes, peace-making circles are a wonderful format for many high conflict meetings: settlement conferences, family group conferences, etc. There are reasons that Native American and other tribal elders used to sit in circle for peace talks. Sitting in circle opens up possibilities for inquiry and dialogue that don't exist in other models. New levels of belonging, engagement, and exploration emerge, creating a foundation for relationships that are strong enough to address sensitive and difficult topics. In this segment, we'll introduce the principles of circle processes which we'll experience throughout the weekend. We'll use the circle to begin to explore the topics of the weekend.
7:30 -8:00 Accessing Collective Intelligence & Creating a Generative Environment......................................................................................Kim
The days are gone when lawyers could be specialists in every area of practice. Most of us are challenged by being specialists in even one area of law. Even when we are knowledgeable about the area of law, we aren't always experts on the facts. Our clients can't possibly give us all the information about their situations - and we therefore can't give it all to the court. How do we become facilitators of a process where everyone is able to share the wisdom and information they hold? In this segment, we will introduce the idea of collective intelligence and explore the collective intelligence in our retreat community. Using the model, we'll explore: How is it possible to be fulfilled as a lawyer?
8:00 - 8:30 Inquiry or Advocacy? Research has shown that inquiry creates a more conducive atmosphere to effective resolution of problems and conflicts than advocacy. This may be counterintuitive for lawyers. In this segment, we introduce the concept of appreciative inquiry and its applications in client relationships, conflict resolution and law office management. appreciative inquiry
Saturday
7-8 Meditation/Yoga/Contemplative Time with Nature
8-9 Breakfast
Morning Segment:
Beyond the Litigation Toolbox………………………………….Kim
It is often said that if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. As lawyers, we have been well-trained in the litigation toolbox but increasingly, we're asked to use more holistic approaches. Research shows that many of the new approaches and skill-sets are more fulfilling for lawyers. In this segment, we'll look at some of the skills, tools and approaches.
9:00 -11:00 Introduction to Comprehensive Law; 2.............................................Kim
· common ground (20 minutes)
· mediation models (10 minutes)
· therapeutic jurisprudence (15 minutes)
· restorative justice (video) (20 minutes)
· collaborative law (20 minutes)
· interdisciplinary teamwork (10 minutes)
· other models & applications (10 minutes)
(15 minute break)
11:15-12:00 Skills for Better Lawyering: A survey of possibilities
§ New skills needed in new models......................................................Kim
· communication tools:
o intro to compassionate communication Needs Feelings
o counseling
12 noon - 2 p.m. Lunch
2 p.m. -3:30 Accessing Your Creative Self & Using Creativity in Your Law Practice
§ Thinking outside the box (hand-outs: 1, 2, 3).........................................Tama
§
Accessing your own creativity for
problem-solving….......................Tama (1,
2)
Brainstorming & Other
Applications for Creativity
3:30 - 4:00 p.m. Thinking Like a Lawyer: From Analyzing to Synthesizing...........................Kim
4:00 - 5:00 Ethical issues that arise in new models (hand-out & panel)
§ Pitfalls & Ethical Traps to avoid when you’re not fulfilled
5 - 6 Break, Contemplative Time§ What about confidentiality and zealous advocacy?
6 -7 Dinner
7-9 Social Time
Sunday:
9:00-10:00 Stay or Go? Leaving the Law or Transforming It..............................Kim & Tama to co-lead10:00-10:15 Break
10:15 -noon: Taking it home: how to care of ourselves and applying our new skills in law practice…Tama & Kim
· caring for ourselves, clients & staff (handout 1; 2, 3, )
· tools for balance & stress management
· collaborative law office & teamwork
Format:
Over a two day retreat, several modalities will be used including: lecture, PowerPoint, video, discussion, small group work, role plays and experiential methods. Supplemental written materials will also be available.
About Your Retreat Leaders:
Tama J. Kieves, an honors graduate of Harvard Law School, left her law
practice with a large corporate law firm to write and to embolden others to
live and breathe their most meaningful self-expression. She is the
best-selling author of THIS TIME I DANCE! Trusting the Journey of Creating
the Work You Love/How One Harvard Lawyer Left It All to Have It All (2003
Tarcher/Penguin) which was recently chosen as Finalist for the Nautilus Book
Award. Kieves is also an acclaimed creativity coach and visionary career
coach and has helped thousands of individuals unleash their creativity and
their callings. Founder of Awakening Artistry, an organization dedicated to
creating a global family of creative and visionary minds, her dynamic work
has frequently been featured on T.V., radio, and in national publications.
Most recently she appeared on Canada’s nationally televised “The Vicki
Gabereau show,” said to be Canada’s “Oprah.” She is known for her dynamic
humor and passion. Currently, she presents workshops and retreats throughout
the United States and Canada. Find out
more about Tama at her web site:
www.AwakeningArtistry.com.
J. Kim Wright is a pioneer and leader
in law as a peace-making profession. A graduate of the University of Florida
College of Law, she has been a member of the North Carolina bar since 1994. She not only practices law from a
holistic, peace-making perspective, she also coaches other attorneys to
create law practices that express their authentic values and works with law
schools, law firms, and corporate legal departments to effectively manage
change. Kim is the
Founder of the Renaissance Lawyer Society, publisher of an
upcoming internet magazine for
lawyers called The Cutting Edge Law
Magazine, and an active speaker, writer, instructor, trainer and advocate for
peaceful solutions to conflict. Over the past ten years, her work has been
recognized in numerous periodicals from the Pennsylvania Bar Journal in
1999, Cincinnati Bar Journal, 2000, IONS (Noetic Sciences) in 2001, Science
of Mind magazine in 2002 and
World Pulse Magazine (for women & children transforming the world). She has
spoken to groups as diverse as 1,000 coaches at the Coachville first
conference in Las Vegas in 2001 to the Florida Bar Elder Law Section in
Yosemite National Park in 2005 to Vanderbilt Law School in 2007 with many
other groups and teleclasses
along the way. She has taught restorative justice at Warren Wilson College
and alternative dispute resolution at South College. She's led CLE accredited programs in many states. Her articles
about the use of Apology in law have appeared bar journals and are being reprinted in medical newsletters. Among many other
publications, she is a contributor to the fifth and sixth editions of
What Can You Do With a Law Degree?
by Deborah Arron. For more about Kim, see her web site at
www.JKimWright.com.