Civility in Practice
/Excerpts from the Article
By Joseph Shaub
If there is one driving force behind this movement within our midst, it is the recognition that law should not be an instrument for inflicting avoidable personal (and interpersonal) damage in the service of reaching specific “legal” objectives. Indeed, one theme these approaches share is that when we lower the heat generated by adversarial conflict, we can arrive at more satisfying solutions for our clients. It is about the ascendancy of civility in how we conduct our affairs — not just to be “nice” but to achieve effective results.
About the Author
Joseph Shaub is a collaborative family lawyer, mediator, and licensed marriage and family therapist with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. He is a frequent speaker at the Washington State Bar Association Family Law Midyear and has been an adjunct instructor at the University of Washington School of Law. Readers are invited to visit his website and blog for further discussions on lawyers’ well-being at www.josephshaub.com.