GBC TV ‘Are We Aware?’
It was a pleasure and an honour to be invited by TV personality and host Anna Cavilla to take part in a series about the practice of Mindfulness, called ‘Are We Aware?’
The GBC interview gave me an opportunity to expand on 1) what Mindfulness means to me; 2) how I apply Mindfulness in my legal practice with my clients, as well as describe modern Legal Practice Models such as Collaborative Law (invented by Stu Webb in 1990), not yet seen in Gibraltar and 3) the real benefits of Mindfulness to clients and their families.
Having former clients and friends speak about how Mindful Legal Practice helped them not only during but after the legal process, was also very rewarding. The Wellbeing Tools promoted by Amber Law for its clients and website visitors are very much Life Tools, which can then be applied not only throughout the legal process but also adapted to other areas of life after the legal process too.
When a client first walks into a law office, maybe it is the first opportunity for a positive and transformative intervention in that person’s life. That is an opportunity I give every client who is open to it and when appropriate.
I take my duty of care towards my client beyond the boundary of simply resolving their legal issue. As I have repeatedly said over the years, addressing legal problems alone is going short of providing clients with a real chance of dissolving conflict in their lives and attaining wellbeing. For many clients, there are underlying personal issues that may have led to, or resulted from, their legal situation which if not addressed, will find them vacuumed back into a destructive loop and very possibly, back into a court room.
Being 'Mindful' means being 100% in the present moment for my client, with intention and non-judgment. It means cultivating the skill and mental qualities of focus and concentration, active listening and non-violent communication. It helps to manage stress in both myself and the client’s experience, too. When clients are better equipped and able to make decisions from a place of clarity and peace, rather than confusion, anger or fear, this in turn assists me as their lawyer in the management of their case towards a positive outcome.
Teaching clients the basics of practicing Mindfulness and signposting them to our professional Holistic Well-being Network, recommended books and video links, is a simple task and one that takes little time. Yet the results reaped for the client who takes action and takes on the practice, are life transforming. The impact is felt not only by the client but everyone connected to them in the ‘ripple effect’.
Once the client has attained an improved mental and emotional state, we can start ‘responding rather than reacting,’ to inflammatory legal correspondence and challenging situations. We work as a team to envision their goal, which is to find amicable resolution and cause the least mental and emotional harm to all involved in the legal dispute, themselves included. I also ask clients to work on envisioning what changes they identify to make to their lives and how they wish to move forward post resolution of their case, that is, what do their lives look and feel like, moving forward past their legal process?
One of the most empowering results of Mindful practice is when clients become aware of and identify any underlying issues and behavioural patterns that may have contributed to attracting the dispute, conflict or legal problem into their lives; possibly in a repetitive cycle which may be generational. Once this awareness is reached, positive transformation is possible; meeting one of Amber Law's missions which is to Positively Transform Family Life.
For further information about Mindfulness, please click here.
For further information, please contact: amber@amberlaw.com