A Summer Flurry

How I Spent My Spring and Summer, and Why I'm Taking the Winter Off

In April, I would have told you the next six months would be busy. That turned out to be an understatement. Between April 24 and October 1, I gave a dozen presentations and trainings, some in person and some online, with stops in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Ottawa, and Norwich, England. And during this period, I also had the pleasure of continuing to provide legal, mediation, and restorative justice services to clients. Before I go quiet for the winter, I want to write down where the work took me.

Spring

The season began in Harrisburg on April 24, when I led a full-day workshop for the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators, Out of Court: Uncovering the Restorative Power of Mediation.  I adore doing workshops with this incredible group of mediators. They always teach me so much, and this event was no exception, as we examined how court processes affect our mediations.  On May 12, I joined the Center for Informal Dispute Resolution's annual symposium at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, online, to talk about ethics, care, and reflective practice in Becoming a Restorative Lawyer. This group was another fantastic audience, and I especially enjoyed collaborating with my fellow panelist, Ian Renaud. The next day, I traveled to Parkersburg for the West Virginia Family Court Conference and gave Fifty Reasons to Love Mediation, a talk as much fun to give as the title promises. Most West Virginia family court judges were in attendance, and I hope I made some progress in helping them see why mediation benefits not only parties, but also judges! May ended in Romney at the South Branch Bar Meeting, where I shared more about mediation's benefits with the local bar.  I was assisted in this endeavor by mediators Betsy Plummer and Marty Coode.

Early summer

June was for going deeper-exploring the restorative practice of law. From June 18 to 20, I led a three-day intensive workshop: Rooted Practice: A Path to Becoming a Restorative Lawyer in Slaty Fork, West Virginia, with hybrid sessions before and after. The session included laughter, tears, and a lot of reminders about the humanity in practicing law. A few days later, I joined the Queens Law Virtual Symposium on Reflective Practice for Legal Professionals, which ran June 22 to 24 to share the importance of reflective practice in Restorative Lawyering.  

July was a little bit slower. I revised the full-day program I facilitated in April into a two-hour online program.  I incorporated Out of Court: Recovering the Restorative Potential of Mediation into Karen Richards' Mediation Recertification Bonanza on July 13.  I enjoyed the crowd and watching how some segments transition to the online platform better than others.

Experienced mediators share practice tips at the first meeting of the West Virginia Mediation Network.

Late summer and fall

August took me back to West Virginia. The West Virginia Supreme Court has recently revitalized the mediation program for Family Court.  They invited me to their first training in decades, and I facilitated a four-hour program, Avoid the Traps, a skills refresher for family court mediators. This program was for experienced mediators.  In August, I also welcomed 18 new mediators as we began teaching the 40-hour West Virginia Family Court Mediation Training. That hybrid course ran from August 5 until October 1, so it sat underneath everything else I did this fall. I was grateful for Taylor Graham’s assistance with the program and the contributions of guest speakers such as Greg Adams, Jen Orenic, Paula Young, Karen Richards, and Hon. Lyndsey Matschat.  

My next presentation again took me out of the country; this time in person. On September 3, I presented Doing Law Differently: Becoming a Restorative Lawyer to the Society of Legal Scholars in Norwich. I enjoyed talking with scholars from other countries about the potential for reform in our profession to create a more human-centered and less adversarial focus on solving legal disputes.  

Then, I was on the road again, this time to Virginia Beach. On September 26, I gave Breaking the Frame: A Dynamic Multidimensional Model for Mediation to the Virginia Mediation Network in Virginia Beach. This program was highly participatory, and I enjoyed seeing new mediation structures develop that are more relationship-focused and less rigid. The season ended on October 1 at the Virginia Beach Bar Association's JDR Conference CLE, where Judge Jennifer Shupert and I co-presented Becoming a Restorative Lawyer: Rules of Engagement. I may never forget the interactive exercises with such a lively crowd.  

Taking the Winter Off (sort of!)

Presenting is only one part of my work, and while I was on the road, I missed a lot of what I cherish about my law and mediation practice. I need to catch up on my mediation and restorative justice practice, and on all the unglamorous things a small business needs to keep running. I'm also finishing my time as part-time executive director of the West Virginia Restorative Justice Project.  

When that is done, I want to get back to writing. I have several half-finished projects and two books I'd like to finish: a history of mediation in West Virginia, and a collection of my essays that might form the foundation for my restorative approach to mediation. I'm also working with an Italian publishing company to translate Becoming a Restorative Lawyer. Finally, a few organizations  may be scheduling Rooted Practice as part of their programs in 2027 and 2028.

I have a few short commitments this winter. In early May, I'll be back on the road, speaking again to the Virginia Mountain/Valley Lawyers' Alliance on restorative lawyering.

Thank you to everyone who organized, co-presented, or sat in a room with me this year. I'll see you in the spring.