Whether for a dinner party or a legal brief, I love to have a theme.  Having a theme allows me to think within a framework but also explore it from different angles.  A theme inspires creativity and creates focus and clarity.  This month I will be exploring a theme that has been showing up in my life a lot lately – graciousness – and viewing it from the lens of a family lawyer.

We are entering the Independence Day weekend, which prompts thoughts about freedom.  In light of recent events in our country, it is too easy to look at freedom as a rights-driven concept.  I suggest we look at freedom as not only a right but a responsibility.  As lawyers, we are role models for our clients and for each other.  I rejoice in my freedom to honor my profession and those I encounter in my practice by striving to act first and always with compassion, kindness, and grace.  I celebrate my freedom to be a gracious family lawyer as my right and my responsibility.