The Contemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Contributions of Mindfulness Meditation to Law Students, Lawyers, and Their Clients

Abstract

This Article proposes that introducing mindfulness meditation into the legal profession may improve practitioners' well-being and performance and weaken the dominance of adversarial mind-sets. By enabling some lawyers to make more room for - and act from - broader and deeper perspectives, mindfulness can help lawyers provide more appropriate service (especially through better listening and negotiation) and gain more personal satisfaction from their work. Part I of this article describes a number of problems associated with law school and law practice. Part II sets forth a variety of ways in which lawyers, law schools, and professional organizations have tried to address these problems. Part III details the nature and effects of mindfulness meditation. And Part IV discusses recent programs introducing mindfulness meditation to the legal profession and the potential benefits of mindfulness meditation to lawyers and law students. It also examines possible concerns that mindfulness meditation might threaten values and practices that are important to the profession and the legal system.

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