A PERSONAL APPROACH: I opened my own office in 1992. I chose to be a sole practitioner because I wanted to limit myself to clients for whom I wanted to work – clients in whom I could genuinely believe. Two years later, Gerry Spence [you’ve probably seen him on TV wearing a turtleneck and western jacket and offering astute comments on big trials in the news] selected me to be one of the first fifty attorneys in the country to participate in what became an annual Trial Lawyers College. Directing his efforts toward attorneys who represent “little people” as opposed those who represent corporations or government, Gerry set out to change legal education by inserting a very personal approach into the adversarial process. Gerry’s personal approach fit well with my own style and experiences

A COMMITMENT TO DOING NO HARM: I had already begun to shift from tort work into family and domestic law. Soon after the Trial Lawyers’ College, I qualified as a Jackson County court-approved mediator. Within a few years, I was mediating and arbitrating attorney/client fee dispute cases for the Missouri Bar and offering trainings for mediators as a mediator-trainer certified by the Kansas Supreme Court. Hundreds of family law and mediation cases taught me that resolving family and domestic cases without resorting to litigation or the threat of litigation best served most family and domestic clients. Early on, I had promised myself that I would make every effort to avoid practicing law in a manner that would result in harm, most especially to my own clients and to any children. I have learned that I can best honor this personal commitment by working with clients in mediation or in Collaborative Law.

APPRECIATION FOR EACH CLIENT AS A UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL: I encourage each client to know his or her case and to be an active participant. This approach came naturally for me in part because I came to law from academia. Prior to law school, I served as an university administrator and assistant professor of American history. My particular interests included religious, racial, ethnic and immigrant history. Whether working with individuals or groups, I appreciate differences.

PRIDE IN MEETING CLIENT NEEDS: I represent each client diligently. I define such diligence to mean that I view each client as a multi-faceted whole person. When there are children – even sometimes when there are not – a client’s needs call not only for resolving immediate issues but for doing so while taking into consideration how the resolution of immediate issues will impact ongoing relationships. I want my work to help each client meet his or her needs in a manner that enables him or her to feel much better at the conclusion of our work than he or she felt when we began.

WHEN YOU CEASE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION, YOU BEGIN TO DIE.
Eleanor Roosevelt