idealawg, February 9, 2012 by Charles Halpern
http://westallen.typepad.com/idealawg/2012/02/two-mindfulness-in-the-law-events-coming-up-.html

The students are not the only people whose effectiveness and health are undermined by stress and anxiety. Faculty members, lawyers, and judges can benefit from the cultivation of a meditative perspective in their work. Recent scientific discoveries have affirmed that regular meditation can have an impact on health and happiness, affecting the structure and function of the brain.

California Bar Journal, January 2011 by Diane Curtis
http://calbarjournal.com/January2011/TopHeadlines/TH2.aspx

Halpern says one of the skills that meditation can provide lawyers — “which I view as a crucial professional skill” — is the capacity to listen. “So many lawyers, by training, are always thinking ahead, specifically thinking about what they’re going to say. As lawyers we’re trained to do that, questioning a witness, interviewing a client. I think that’s a very important skill—thinking ahead—but it’s also an important skill to listen fully, be present.”

-The National Law Journal, October 25, 2010 by Karen Sloan
http://bit.ly/a9hV8M

Conference organizer Charles Halpern … said that the legal profession is becoming more open to the benefits of meditation. “At one time it seemed very exotic, but interest in law and meditation has been growing for a decade,” said Halpern…. “Courses have been showing up in law schools across the country, there have been CLE courses on this and gathering of lawyers focusing on meditation.”

-San Francisco Chronicle, October 29, 2010 by Debra Levi Holtz
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/29/BAU91G3JJH.DTL

Halpern, who began meditating nearly 30 years ago and now practices it at least five days a week, said he hopes that all law schools will teach contemplative practices like meditation in the future. “People will be less stressed, lead more balanced lives and realize they will be more effective lawyers if they are better people,” said Halpern.

Google Tech Talks Channel, May 11, 2009 by Charles Halpern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39MA0j512n4&feature=channel_page

“The idea of wisdom has sunk from view in American culture. You hardly hear the word in places of higher education; it’s slipped off the curricular agenda…. There was a time in recent memory when wisdom was thought to be the most important quality that a lawyer could possess. And yet wisdom is not discussed, it’s not taught, it’s not engaged.”

Daily Journal, January 29, 2009 by Charles Halpern
http://www.dailyjournal.com (requires registration; go to G:\Law School in the News\News Clips for article)

Rarely have qualities of heart or empathy been articulated as criteria for the selection of judges. It is not surprising that Obama would commit himself to this new criterion. He is a man who has identified “cultivating empathy” as one of the important values in his life.