New Tools for Law Students and Attorneys
In each of these one-hour sessions, we will explore what mindfulness is and how it can be a great assist to law students and lawyers. The presenters will draw upon research about the benefits of mindfulness, and upon their experiences as practicing lawyers, law professors, and teachers of mindfulness. In addition, because the benefits of mindfulness cannot be fully understood from reading or listening to a lecture, each session will include a guided meditation. The two sessions will stand independently, covering similar ground but different enough so that they will not be redundant. We invite you to join us for either or both.
About Luis Chiesa, Joseph DiNardo & Stephanie Williams
Professor Luis E. Chiesa is Professor of Law and Director of the Buffalo Criminal Law Center at the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he teaches criminal law, criminal procedure and advanced seminars in criminal law and philosophy. He also leads a weekly online meditation group, and will teach the Mindfulness and Professional Identity class at UB School of Law in the Fall of 2021.
Joseph DiNardo, JD ’71, BA ’68 is a practicing trial lawyer and entrepreneur for over 50 years. He began his mindfulness practice in 1974 and has made it a foundation of his life.
Professor Stephanie L. Phillips, BS ’78, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1981. After several years as a practicing attorney, she joined the faculty of the School of Law, State University of New York at Buffalo, where she holds the rank of Professor. Every fall, Professor Phillips teaches a seminar entitled “Mindfulness and Professional Identity: Becoming a Lawyer While Keeping Your Values Intact.” This is a lawyering course that is organized around the proposition that mindfulness has implications for law students and lawyers in personal, interpersonal, and institutional dimensions.