Lawyers as Peacemakers can teach lawyers new ways of finding satisfaction in thier practice and providing comprehensive, solution-focused services to clients; sometimes it's not about winning, it's about finding the best possible answer for everyone involved. These practices focus on a more holistic, humanistic, solution-based approach to resolving legal problems, an approach that many clients want and need.

Integrative lawyers are the harbingers of a new cultural consciousness and are leaders in social evolution. This books describes this fundamental shift in world view, exploring and drawing upon many disciplines and wisdom traditions, such as philosophy, science, psychology, and spirituality.

Apology and forgiveness are the building blocks of healing and reconciliation. Everyone has been the offender and the victim in relational conflicts. The decision and execution of apology and forgiveness determine the degree of intimacy in the future relationship. The foundation for this book is an understanding of the variety of approaches to apology and forgiveness so the reader can more intentionally manage her relationships. Instead of pushing one approach, the concepts are presented to assist the reader in considering factors that might influence the type of apology or forgiveness that is most appropriate for the situation.In addition to empowering the reader to better manage his own affairs, the book considers whether and how to encourage others to apologize and forgive. The advisor role is examined from the perspectives of a family member or friend, an attorney, and professionals in peacemaking roles like mediators, therapists, ombudspersons, human resource professionals, clergy, and a long list of others whose job it is to help people heal from interpersonal injuries. This book invites the reader into the classroom where this class has been taught to lawyers, mediators, and graduate students at Pepperdine University's School of Law. The classes welcome student viewpoints that run the gamut from sharing personal experiences that reinforce class concepts to ardently disagreeing with the author's perspective as only a law student can do. The classroom dialogue is replicated by the extensive inclusion of student journals in the book's narrative.

Navajo peacemaking is one of the most renowned restorative justice programs in the world. Neither mediation nor alternative dispute resolution, it has been called a “horizontal system of justice” because all participants are treated as equals with the purpose of preserving ongoing relationships and restoring harmony among involved parties. In peacemaking there is no coercion, and there are no “sides.” No one is labeled the offender or the victim, the plaintiff or the defendant. This is a book about peacemaking as it exists in the Navajo Nation today, describing its origins, history, context, and contributions with an eye toward sharing knowledge between Navajo and European-based criminal justice systems. It provides practitioners with information about important aspects of peacemaking—such as structure, procedures, and outcomes—that will be useful for them as they work with the Navajo courts and the peacemakers. It also offers outsiders the first one-volume overview of this traditional form of justice. The collection comprises insights of individuals who have served within the Navajo Judicial Branch, voices that authoritatively reflect peacemaking from an insider’s point of view. It also features an article by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and includes contributions from other scholars who, with the cooperation of the Navajo Nation, have worked to bring a comparative perspective to peacemaking research. In addition, some chapters describe the personal journey through which peacemaking takes the parties in a dispute, demonstrating that its purpose is not to fulfill some abstract notion of Justice but to restore harmony so that the participants are returned to good relations. Navajo Nation Peacemaking seeks to promote both peacemaking and Navajo common law development. By establishing the foundations of the Navajo way of natural justice and offering a vision for its future, it shows that there are many lessons offered by Navajo peacemaking for those who want to approach old problems in sensible new ways.

This unique new handbook explains this emerging dispute resolution model of collaborative law that is helping family lawyers bring their clients through the divorce passage with integrity and satisfaction. Collaborative Law describes how this approach engages the unique problem-solving skills of lawyers to achieve settlements that creatively and appropriately customize outcomes in the way that few courts are able to achieve. In the collaborative process, fees and costs are minimized, high-quality legal counsel and negotiating assistance are built in, and the ability of divorcing spouses to cooperate and coparent is maximized to a dramatic extent.