This woman has focused on several of the topics we look at here at idealawg so when I learned of her existence I was intrigued. First, Laura Deutsch is a life-after-law story to add to our collection. Plus, she lives in Marin County where I attended high school for my last two years and much later learned mediation, and she has meditated at a Marin site right where I have often practiced mindfulness. Her book coming out tomorrow is on another favorite topic at idealawg: writing. Click to learn more about Writing from the Senses: 59 Exercises to Ignite Creativity and Revitalize Your Writing.
Today you may read a couple of her lawyer-related articles. First is "Canine Court" (San Francisco Chronicle Magazine) the story of her first trial.
Sparky the Airedale was my first client to stand trial. It was 1973 and I had just passed the bar. According to the lawsuit, the “aforementioned animal hereinafter referred to as ‘dog’ ” had collided with, knocked down and otherwise upset Alberto Gutierrez*, next-door neighbor to Sparky and his owner, Mrs. Carmen Moreno. It was a far more innocent time for dogs then, but not for neighbors vying for parking.
From the same publication comes "Type A-Zen: Is it possible for lawyers to slow down enough to tear lettuce?" in which she writes about lawyers in a meditation retreat. (Page 2 of the article is here.)
Zen lawyers. As a former practicing attorney and longtime meditator, this koan intrigues me. Type-A attorneys, aggressive adversaries driven to win, practicing Type-B Zen — letting go of control, feeling compassion and leaving no one with the short end of the stick.
The workshop leader, a former lawyer, now Zen priest, liked my story idea. So I carpooled from Marin with other workshop participants, five hours down the coast, then through Carmel Valley to Los Padres National Forest.
This made me smile.
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being “Om” and 10 being “See you in court and may you live to regret it,” a lawyer’s idea of slowing down seems to be around 7 or 8. They are dreamy-eyed after sitting in 108-degree water, but still forceful, direct.
Click to order her new book now.
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