Features Overview
INTEGRATIVE LAW SUMMER INSTITUTE 2023
The project on integrative law launched the Summer Institute this summer for two weeks in June. We had speakers and attendees from all over the world and discussed integrative lawyering within many aspects of the law. Topics included Lawyer well-being, structured negotiation, unitive justice, reinventing contracts, teaching integrative approaches, skills, trauma-informed lawyering, spherical thinking, earth law, restorative justice, and ADR.
It was well attended, and informational, as well as fun! We hope that there will be many more institutes in the future.
Check out our YouTube channel where the videos are uploaded from the summer institute.
@QuinnipiacCenterforDisputeReso.
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unitive justice conference
Center Co-Fellow Aubrey Davis and Professor J. Kim Wright represented Quinnipiac University School of Law at the First Annual Unitive Justice Conference in Richmond, Virginia the first week of October 2023. Quinnipiac is a proud co-sponsor of Unitive Justice! The conference was well attended by people all over the world, both in-person and virtually.
We heard from many leaders from the US and abroad who are transforming the traditional justice system in diverse ways, including the leading spokesperson for that movement- Sylvia Clute. We learned of efforts to transform law school curriculum, how to offer more compassionate criminal representation, holistic ways of representing clients without going to court, and an approach to corporate and environmental law that puts stakeholders before shareholders.
Additional topics included Project for the Integration of Spirituality, Law and Politics (PISLAP), the punitive culture of the US prison system, religious doctrine and the moral principle of retribution compared to the …., and rejuvenation of political practices using Unitive Justice theory and practice.
You can see what the Alliance for Unitive Justice is all about at this link: https://www.a4uj.org/.
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Unitive Justice Conference Recap
I was very fortunate to represent Quinnipiac University School of Law (along with J. Kim Wright) as a co-sponsor of the Unitive Justice Conference in Richmond, VA in October 2023. The experiences that I had were hard to put into words because the feeling was tangible. We spent three full days listening to speakers from all walks of life, and all corners of the Earth. It was such a wholesome experience seeing so many unique people come together for a common purpose.
So what is Unitive Justice, anyway? I learned what Unitive Justice is from an elementary and secondary school perspective. When Unitive Justice is taught in our schools, there are fewer “reportable incidents” as students are taught to communicate verbally over violence, and are heard before they feel the need to hurt [others]. It is a connective process that allows parties on all sides to express themselves be vulnerable with one another and bring out their “human” to one another.
I learned what Unitive Justice is within the prison system. When people are self-governing, they gain back their power, take responsibility for their actions, and truly understand consequences. It gives a voice back to the people who have been shackled and bound. Those who have essentially lost their freedom of speech. From this lesson, two individuals who were actually in prison serving sentences beyond their mortal lives spoke to us. They began a system of self-governance within the prison and were released so that they could share this lesson with the outside world. You could hear a pin drop in the room as they spoke of their experiences and what they learned from the concept of Unitive Justice.
I learned what Unitive Justice is from an internal perspective. The idea of “hurt people hurt people” was uttered frequently. If you do the work to heal yourself and learn to love yourself, you can love others, and begin to help them love and heal themselves. By bringing your whole self to the table, and allowing others to connect with the pieces of you that you don't often show, you are drawn to others, and they to you. By healing yourself, you are easily more connected with others and have a more united front against the hurt people who are still hurting others.
We discussed Unitive Justice from a religious perspective. It was fascinating to see so many people, no two likely having the same religious beliefs, speaking as “one” about the concept of unity. The “Golden Rule” is spoken in many languages and contexts, but everyone understands it roughly to mean the same thing- -treat others as you want to be treated. Isn't it interesting that the whole world can agree on at least this one thing (even if it is not practiced most of the time)?
Unitive Justice is POLICY. If there are people in politics, and people in positions of power all over the world, and lawyers fighting for change all advocating for Unitive Justice, it can solve war. It can solve suffering. It can be the answer to world peace. Unitive Justice is CONNECTION. Unitive Justice is HEALING. Unitive Justice is EMPOWERMENT. Unitive Justice can be a FORCE for good.
My role in this movement is small, but not insignificant. If you have taken the time to read all the way through this article, you have taken the first step in progressing the Unitive Justice Movement. I hope that you, like me, will help spread the word, and see the value that you can offer by promoting this less punitive and divisive way of “peopling”. We are all human, we have one Earth. Lets Unify.
Aubrey Davis,
CDR Fellow- Integrative Law, 2023
Negotiation Clinic Experience
I participated in the Negotiation Clinic taught at Quinnipiac University School of Law by J. Kim Wright and Kara Perry in the Spring of 2023. As part of the clinic, my partner, Matt Ventricelli, and I created a law firm under the supervision of Kim and Kara. The clinic has a prerequisite seminar called the Integrative Law Approach to Negotiation. In that class, we learned how to explore our own values, mission statement, and vision. After exploring those things about ourselves, we expressed our own unique ways of handling stress, and communicating, and explored how we work with others. From that, we created a visual representation of how we “work”. Then, we got into groups and created a document between all members that addressed what the process would be for our project working together, and what steps we would take if and when issues arose.
In the negotiation clinic, we took the lessons we learned from the seminar and took on clients. Matt and I worked with two wonderful people - Sara Daves and Namugga Mabel to create an agreement between the two of them on their project of creating a Unitive Justice-based school in Uganda. The nature of the project had many moving parts and involved many challenges such as the time difference, and technology issues. Despite that, we were able to help Sara and Namugga create a partnership agreement to see them through their project.
It was really exciting being a part of the process with our clients and seeing how having the discussion about what we value, and how we handle conflict really came into play. The project was successful, and I believe it was a learning experience for all four of us. I definitely was changed by the whole thing.
In October, I had the privilege of meeting my clients in person! Sara and Namugga met me in Richmond, VA where we all attended the Unitive Justice Conference. They are truly wonderful people, and it was a touching experience to meet with them at the conclusion of their project.
Not all law school classes will change your life, but this is one that will have a lasting impact on me, for good.
Aubrey Davis
CDR Fellow- Integrative Law, 2023