Mindfulness for Lawyers

The mindful lawyer or "contemplative" lawyer is a phrase that was first introduced into the literature by Professor Leonard Riskin: see Leonard L. Riskin, "The Contemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Contributions of Mindfulness Meditation to Law Students, Lawyers, and their Clients", 7 Harv. Negotiation L. Rev. 1 (2002), available online here.
Mindful lawyers cultivate an active attention and awareness of their individual interactions with their clients, other lawyers, and the Court. Mindful lawyers are equipped to respond to their clients' needs in particular through the practice of "deep listening" or "active listening". They also continually observe their thoughts, intentions and feelings with an attitude of non-judgment and equanimity.
In this way, mindful lawyers are poised to respond to any moment in their legal practice without reacting from a place of fear, doubt or rage. Rather, the mindful lawyer responds to the moment with resilience, compassion, and groundedness

As we all continue to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential that we all maintain a daily or weekly mindfulness practice now more than ever. Taking even 5 minutes out of your day to sit and be with your breath, consciously acknowledging each inhale and each exhale, can provide us with much needed balance and groundedness in these trying times. For a helpful article on practicing mindfulness in the time of COVID-19, please see Breanna Pereira’s informative article “How Mental Healing Can Still Flourish in the Midst of COVID-19”, available on the Chopra website here.
The Canadian Bar Association has also published a “COVID-19 Resource Hub” for members of Bar. The Resource Hub can be accessed here.
Another recommended resource is the learned Jon Kabat-Zinn’s recent YouTube video “Mindfulness, Healing, and Wisdom in a Time of COVID-19” which can be viewed online here.

Rhonda Magee, JD, is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco. She is also Chair of the Board of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, a member of the Project for the Integration of Spirituality, Law and Politics, and a contributor to Mindful.org.
At USF, Magee teaches Contemplative Lawyering, Immigration Law, Insurance Law, Race Law and Policy, and Torts. She is an expert in Contemplative Pedagogy, Race Law, Identity-Sensitive Pedagogy, Critical Race Perspectives on the Intersection of Race and Immigration.
Click here to view Professor Magee's definition of "contemplative" (minute 6:20):

Mindfulness workshop offerings for law firms available
Krop has published a timely Youtube clip that address how mindfulness can respond to the "How Much Longer" Thought. Click here to view the video: