Replacing the old punitive system with unitive justice does not require a battle. In fact, unitive justice will not emerge out of conflict, because at the level of cause and effect, the means and the end are one. (War is not the road to peace, a topic for a later blog.) As the unitive justice models become available, we discover most people simply choose to use them instead of the adversarial models. I understand that in one area where the divorce attorneys were all trained in collaborative law, the judge who used to hear divorce cases five days a week now only hears them one day a week. This is how the shift from punitive to unitive justice will occur.
It's not surprising that attorneys who work in our punitive system of justice have a higher rate of depression than other professions, or that their alcohol abuse is higher than among the general population, as is their suicide rate. Being continuously forced to take stands that are counter to one's inner moral compass regarding healthy relationships makes for a highly unhappy work environment.
I was part of the punitive justice system for many years. When I realized that my clients came to me with broken relationships and what I did made them worse, I began to realize punitive justice is not the type of justice I want to foster. I am far happier now, practicing collaborative law, offering collaborative legal services to my divorcing clients, my business clients, married couples and others. When both clients win, so do the attorneys. This deserves to be called justice.
Posted on http://www.GenuineJustice.com Aug. 17, 2010
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