"Blessed are the peacemakers".

• Author: Angones, Francisco R.
• Position: Practice of law - Florida - President's page

What do Abraham Lincoln and Mohanda Mahatma Gandhi have in common?

All were lawyers who used their education, social standing, and skills to negotiate peaceful solutions to human conflict.

We can learn by their example, as we work to raise the bar on professionalism and, as a bonus, the quality of life of lawyers. To seek justice, we do not have to destroy our opponents. To resolve problems, we need not suit up as hired-gun warriors.

Blessed are these peacemakers, for they shall show us our worth.

Our true worth as lawyers should not be measured by the obsessive counting of billable hours, churning cases to generate fees, trolling for well-heeled clients, or winning at all costs.

When the practice of law is viewed primarily as a vehicle for financial success, rather than helping others solve their problems as amicably as possible, our profession takes a hit.

Consider the words of Gandhi, from his 1954 autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, in which he described how he convinced his client, who had prevailed at arbitration, to accept payments on the installment plan rather than insisting on a lump sum that would send his opponent into bankruptcy:

"My joy was boundless. I had learnt the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men's hearts. I realized the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties driven asunder. The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my time during the 20 years of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromises of hundreds of cases. I lost nothing thereby--not even money, certainly not my soul."

Take Lincoln's famous advice, when he said in 1850: "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser--in fees, expenses, and waste of time."

Of course, we should zealously advocate for our clients and litigate when negotiations fail. But true advocacy means helping people avoid disputes in the first place and resolving problems without causing greater...