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.

Keywords: mindfulness, law practice, legal education, negotiation, active listening, dispute resolution, ADR, mediation, meditation