Video Directory

Are we having fun yet? Being an effective, happy lawyer with Larry Krieger.

Roger Conner spoke with Cutting Edge Law at Vanderbilt Law School in September, 2010. Biography (from Vanderbilt Law site) Roger Conner’s main interest is improving the effectiveness of public policy advocates in the U.S. effective public policy advocacy. Building on his three decades of experience as a non-profit executive, lobbyist, litigator, organizer, facilitator and social entrepreneur on issues ranging from environmental protection to immigration reform and foster care, Conner is engaged in teaching, research and writing on advocacy strategies, group conflict resolution and polarization. At the Law School, Conner teaches Non-Litigation Strategies for Social and Political Change and provides career counseling for entrepreneurial students interested in public service and public interest advocacy. He also teaches Public Policy Majors in the College of Arts and Science, consults with non-profits and facilitates multi-party consensus processes on contentious public policy issues.

Mary Ann Fry left a career as a lawyer to do a different kind of peacemaking and healing practice in restorative justice. Cutting Edge Law interviewed Mary Ann in Kansas City, Missouri in fall, 2010. In an accompanying video with Donna Hamilton, you can hear about Mary Ann's work from one of her clients.

Dan Leftwich is an attorney and conscious evolution advocate in Boulder, Colorado. For nearly 20 years, his legal practice involved antitrust class action litigation against some of the world's largest corporations, primarily with his former law firm based in Washington, D.C. As the result of a major expansion of consciousness, he formed MindDrive Ventures and an Evolutionary Law practice. He works with others around the world to promote the transformation of laws so the rights of Nature and Humanity are in balance, through education, legislation, films, community dialogue and litigation consulting.

Jon Memmott has had an illustrious career spanning all three branches of government. In this video series, he talks about his path - in the office of the Attorney General, writing bills for the legislature, as chief of staff of the Governor, as a judge who brought drug courts to Utah. Now, he has started a new adventure with the Arbinger Institute.

Author of Work With Meaning, Work With Joy, Bringing Your Spirit to Any Job, Pat Sullivan has worked for over 500 lawyers. A spirituality-at-work pioneer, Pat was one of the founding board members of the Renaissance Lawyer Society and held the title of Director of Integrity, Purpose and Joy. In this interview, she shares her deep gratitude for law and lawyers.

In the movie "Forrest Gump," the main character just happens to be at all the significant historical events. In this video series, Forrest (Woody) Mosten didn't just happen to be at significant historical events in the law - he was busy making the history. Unbundling, mediation, collaborative law, peacemaking, Woody was there for all of it.

Rev. Stan Basler, J.D. is Director of Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries at Oklahoma Conference United Methodist Church. While many of the interviews make it seem easy to start a program, Rev. Basler talks about the challenges and demonstrates the determination and resilience necessary.

Collaborative Professional, trainer, Norma Trusch is one of the matriarchs of collaborative law in Texas. In this interview, she explains collaborative law, the various models, and tells her own story. Finding collaborative law renewed and reinvigorated Norma and her law practice.

Linda Solomon was a trailblazer in developing the one-coach neutral model which is often called the Texas Model of collaborative divorce.

As an M.B.A., J.D. and minister, Kim Schavey shares her perspective on the evolution of the legal profession. As a student of New Thought metaphysics for over a decade, she talks about how she sees a common path of interconnectedness and transcending the win/lose mentality of the courtroom and how the evolution is influenced by a pendulum swing of masculine and feminine energies. Kim calls for a balancing of these energies in the law and financial industries. Referring to Ken Wilber's work, she talks about the evolution of the species, not as mutation of genes but in terms of adding truths to human consciousness. We interviewed Kim in her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico in October, 2008. She now lives in Australia.

Kevin Fuller has practiced law for 25 years, most as a family law litigator. A partner in a prominent Dallas firm, he said he went to law school to save the world and got diverted along the way. Now he has found a way to express that in his collaborative law practice. Mr. Fuller offers an example of how he integrates litigation and collaborative law into his practice, how Dallas & Texas have developed a solid collaborative law community, and talks about the advantages of collaboration over litigation.

Jennifer Tull practices law part-time and leads retreats for women who are going through the devastation of divorce. She began leading the retreats when she saw that the legal work wasn't addressing the deep emotional needs of the transition.

There was once a movie (In Like Flint) in which the women tried to take over the world. If Gay Cox had been on their team, they'd have been successful. In this video, Gay talks about the work of building a collaborative law community in Dallas, shares statistics from the IACP research, and talks about why she does this work, the difference she wants to make.

When she became Asst. Dean of Student Affairs, Julie Sandine drew upon her own experiences of falling into a competitive path as a law student and of her own experience of stress in law school. Over several years, she began to apply the most cutting edge research about humanizing legal education, incorporating the ideas of many of our interviewees. Later, she became aware of research on mindfulness and began to integrate that into her work and incorporated Dave Shearon's positive psychology ideas. The non-credit courses that she and Josh Perry created were so popular, they had to be put to a lottery and offer a wonderful example of what is possible in law schools.

<p>David Hoffman is a pioneer in collaborative practice and peacemaking. He is a founder of the Boston Law Collaborative, past president of the ABA ADR section, and co-editor of &quot;Bringing Peace into the Room, How the Personal Qualities of the Mediator Impact the Process of Conflict Resolution .&quot; Beginning his career as a woodworker, David also talks about his involvement in an intentional community.</p>

John Lande is Director of the LLM Program in Dispute Resolution and Isidor Loeb Professor at the University of Missouri School of Law. He discusses collaborative law and cooperative law in this interview, recorded at the IACP Forum in Minneapolis, October, 2009.

Editor's Note: I had never met Jennifer Llewellyn until this interview. We met at a restorative justice conference and I liked something I saw in a talk she was giving. It was a good choice. Beyond talking about restorative justice, she talks about how we live in the world, how we can be relational beings. How do we structure our connections? What questions do we need to ask about human rights so we can have the right kinds of connections? Be prepared to think deliciously.

Dan Van Ness is the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship International and author/contributor of several books in the restorative justice movement. A former lawyer, he shares his story from defense lawyer to internationally known leader in restorative justice. We interviewed him at the RJ conference in San Antonio, May, 2009.

Liz Ferris is an expert in marketing collaborative practice. In this video, she shares her story, allowing us to get to know us and to hear how she applies her ideas to her own business.

Mark Perlmutter has been a trial lawyer for some 30 years. In this series, he talks about a holistic approach to trial work.

Janine Geske has held many roles in the legal profession - from legal aid lawyer to circuit court judge to State Supreme Court Justice to law professor and a few more in between. Her spiritual journey has called her to her current work which she talks about in this video series. Among her current projects: a documentary about using restorative practices in sexual abuse cases in the Catholic church.

Leora Olorunnisomo says she is a social worker and a lawyer. In this video series, she talks about how she has merged those passions, including her work with the Dallas, Texas area project which brings collaborative law to dependency cases.

On the Tenth Anniversary of its original publication, Steven Keeva's book, Transforming Practices, Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life is being republished by the ABA. One of the seminal books of the movement, it still offers a new perspective on law practice for today's lawyers. We interviewed various leaders of the movement about the impact that Steve Keeva and Transforming Practices had on them. A brief summary of the speakers and their testimonials are below but don't nearly substitute for hearing them for yourself.

Scott Rogers teaches mindfulness to lawyers. We particularly enjoyed his use of legal terms as anchors for the lessons. Scott backs up his teaching with the latest neuroscientific evidence that shows why it works. For Scott's upcoming events, go to the bottom of the page.

Judge Ginger Lerner Wren pioneered mental health courts which she says are a human rights effort based upon a shift in consciousness.

Florida Judge Jeri Beth Cohen talks about the career path that brought her to the bench and the evolution of problem-solving courts in Miami.

Minnesota lawyer Barry Fernold talks about creativity, work/life balance and identity as a lawyer.

Bruce Peck was one of the early adopters of collaborative law in Minneapolis. In this video, we meet Bruce and learn a bit about a new project being explored in Minneapolis: using collaborative law in reconciliation.

When my collaborative practice group was faltering, we went looking for experts to talk to about how to shore it up. We found Catherine Conner. Later, we interviewed her in California during October, 2008. Catherine Conner is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence & Rodney. She is the immediate Past President of the Collaborative Council of the Redwood Empire http://www.collaborativecouncil.org/index.html and speaks on a regular basis on family law and alternative dispute resolution. She co-authored Collaborative Practice Materials, a practice manual for collaborative practitioners, available at http://www.clr829.com/inner.iml/resources.htm. The Redwood Empire group is widely believed to be the most successful practice group in the country and Catherine often trains other groups on practice development. The quality of her contributions to Sonoma County family law was recognized when she was honored as the 2003 recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law. Catherine is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. She has also been chosen as a Northern California Super Lawyer and one of the Best Lawyers of America. In Part 1, Catherine tells of her early career and development of the practice in the Redwood Empire, getting bogged down in advertising, integrating interdisciplinary professionals into the group, and overcoming challenges.

Law Professor Josh Rosenberg is a respected tax law scholar who also teaches.....interpersonal dynamics! CuttingEdgeLaw.com interviewed Professor Josh Rosenberg in October, 2008 in San Francisco.In Part 1, Professor Rosenberg talks about his course in interpersonal dynamics and how such skills are integral to good lawyering. He talks about teaching empathy and communication skills, using real life experiences.

One of our most articulate and centered pioneers, Stella Rabaut spoke to us in Monterey, California in October, 2008. The interview was naturally punctuated with pleasant moments of silence, as we contemplated not only the subject matter but Stella's peaceful way of being.

Maureen Holland is a pioneer in holistic law, particularly holistic law combined with litigation.

Lawyer and coach, Dennis Coyne spoke with us in August, 2008 in Minneapolis.

Sue went to law school at age 40 out of her personal experience with her mother's devastating stroke. In the experience of walking through the health care maze, she encountered situations that led her to want to go to bat for elders as a lawyer. This was her first time at a holistic law conference.

Anne Towey, a young lawyer and New Lawyer, talks about creating her own practice as a member of community at the Collaborative Alliance, Inc.

In this two-part interview, financial professional Amy Wolff talks about the creation of the Collaborative Alliance, Inc. and describes how they worked together to create a space that welcomes clients and professionals.

Attorney Rebecca Baird quit practicing law to study counseling psychology. The benefits of her own mindfulness practice inspired her qualitative study on the impact of mindfulness on the practice of law. She also talks about how she plans to combine her legal career and new degree. This interview was conducted in September, 2008 and Rebecca completed the data collection portion of the study. At the time of posting this in March, 2009, she was taking some time off from her study to become a mother.

In Part 3, Pauline talks about the benefits of collaborative practice for clients and tackles the issue of standards. One issue that arises in many communities is whether life coaches can be divorce coaches. Hear what Pauline has to say about the issue. She also talks about diversity in collaborative practice and choice.

A series of videos from an October, 2008 interview with Pauline Tesler, one of the pioneers of the Collaborative Law movement. In Part 1, Pauline talks about how she became a collaborative lawyer, then a speaker and writer on the topic, how she and Peggy Thompson were leaders in creating the IACP and the development of interdisciplinary practice. Pauline also talks about the award of which she is most proud.

In his role as outgoing 2008 President of IAHL, Tim Batdorf talks about his reluctance to define "holistic law" and why. As a coach and author, he distinguishes coaching.

In the ten years Kim has been involved in transforming the legal profession, one name has been mentioned over and over: Gary Friedman. In his interview, Gary talks about his pioneering work in Mediation.

Fran Brochstein was interviewed at the 2008 IAHL conference where she is known as the member who brings the essential oils to each conference. Based in Houston, she talks about what it means to be a holistic lawyer, praying with her clients and listening like people matter - because to Fran, they clearly do.

Jennifer talks about her career, introduction to holistic law, her work in connecting pro bono service and holistic law, and does the "lawyer rap" at the 2008 IAHL conference.

David talks about his early experiences of prosecuting, how that led to some frustration about how the victims were treated as pieces of evidence (despite good intentions), how that led to development of a restorative justice program in the Milwaukee D.A.'s office. He shares the pilot case that launched the program.

Peter Gabel, Harvard Law grad, PhD in Psychology, Associate Editor of Tikkun Magazine, professor of contracts, organizer of Network of Spiritual Progressives, co-founder of Project for Integrating Law, Politics, and Spirituality speaks on alienation of the self from other. In Part 1 of 3: Peter discusses how the ideas birthed during the 1960's political and social movement shifted from anger and analyzing injustices as ways shaping the world and our thinking about law. He talks about how many came to see law as a kind of important set of social institutions that encoded separation of self and others. He begins to discuss and critique our perception that the world is as the way it is encoded in the legal institutions.

Attorney Robin Coggswell talks about her motivation for seeking a public interest law career as her third career. Her law school externship led to her position at GJP where she has represented clients in many different types of cases from violations of city ordinances to murder. She tells about her case load and the ability to spend the time to do a quality job for each client.

In this video series, Executive Director Doug Ammar gives an overview of the history and programs of the Georgia Justice Project, www.gjp.org.

This is a four-part collection of videos, an interview with Transformative Mediator and Trainer, Dan Simon of Minneapolis. In Part 1, Dan Simon talks about his professional journey and how his early experiences as a litigator. He distinguishes the range of mediation options and begins to talk about his particular expertise: Transformative Mediation.

In Part 4 of his July, 2008 interview, Professor Tim Floyd addresses law students who want to focus on healing, reconciliation, and service. He also talks about his heroes in the law.

In Part 2 of his July, 2008 interview, Professor Tim Floyd talks about Restorative Justice.

Pioneer Ron Supacic was interviewed at the Harvard Negotiation Project Insight Initiative Summer New Lawyer program in July, 2007. He talked about his journey from scorch and burn litigator to collaborative lawyer and peacemaker.

Erica Ariel Fox, JD, teaches negotiation at Harvard Law School and is the founder of the Global Negotiation Insight Initiative. Internationally recognized as a pioneer in integrating great wisdom traditions and spiritual practices into the negotiation and conflict field, she works with business and public sector leaders as a partner of Mobius Executive Leadership to build consensus, improve communication, facilitate change, and mediate disputes. In recent years, she has worked extensively with organizational leaders and work teams to address conflict and improve collaboration and performance.

Jill Breslau, a lawyer and therapist, discusses her professional journey, finding a better way to do family law than the adversarial process.

In this interview, filmed at the May, 2008 conference of the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers, Keynoter Ward Powers talks about his civil litigation law practice and adventure in creating an independent film called "One, the Movie" about Oneness. He talks about the visionaries working "at the tip of the arrow" in leading the way to change and discusses how lawyers tend to use their well-honed intellect to the exclusion of other skills. He talks about the cumulative power of having more tools to do the job of being a lawyer. "This is the process that I imagined when I imagined myself being a lawyer.....to do the right thing." Part 2: On bringing "oneness" into the law as a civil litigator, working with the "other" side, about the true experience of being a holistic practitioner, being more successful as a professional. He also shares his successes as a speaker to various mainstream lawyer groups around the country and the possibility of awakening a greater consciousness in the legal profession.

This three-part series highlights Dean Daisy Floyd of Mercer Law School. She talks about her early work in humanizing legal education in Texas and how she's brought and developed those ideas at Mercer.

We interviewed Larry Krieger in July, 2008. In most cases, we distill long interviews into a few segments but Larry's was so informative, foundational, and entertaining that we edited it to 10 segments. In Part 1 of this interview, Larry Krieger introduces himself and talks about the genesis of the Humanizing Legal Education movement.

Susan Daicoff is a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida, the author of many articles and a book on lawyer psychology, personality types, and the movement she calls Comprehensive Law. She is one of the leading thinkers, writers, and advocates for the Cutting Edge Law movement. This is Part 1 of a series in which Susan talks about her professional journey. There are six videos in the series, organized into a series.

In this video, Publisher of CuttingEdgeLaw.com, J. Kim Wright, talks about the movement. It is a good introduction and overview for those who are new to these ideas.