A preview of this full-text is provided by American Psychological Association.
Content available from Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Psychology
Public Policy,
and Law
Copyright 1999
by the
American Psychological Association, Inc.
1999,
Vol.5,
No. 4,
811-848
1076-8971/99/S5.00
DOI:
10.1037//1076^8971.5.4.811
MAKING
LAW
THERAPEUTIC
FOR
LAWYERS
Therapeutic
Jurisprudence, Preventive Law,
and
the
Psychology
of
Lawyers
Susan
Daicoff
Capital
University
Law
School
The
integration
of
therapeutic
jurisprudence
(TJ)
with
preventive
law
(PL)
offers
a
uniquely
satisfying
and
humanistic
way of
practicing
law.
The
author
uses
the
psychological
data
on the
personality
characteristics
of
lawyers
to
argue
that
TJ/PL
is
particularly well suited
for
lawyers with certain personality traits atypical
of
lawyers
generally.
These
traits
reflect
altruistic,
humanistic,
or
interpersonally
oriented
values;
2 of
these
atypical
traits
have
been
empirically
linked
to
career
dissatisfaction
among
lawyers.
Because
of the
pervasiveness
of the
problem
of
lawyer
job
dissatisfaction,
solutions
are
needed.
TJ/PL
is
more
than
simply
an
alternative
way of
practicing
law;
it may
actually
hold
the key to
solving
some
of
the
problems
currently
besieging
the
legal
profession.
I.
Introduction
Too
many lawyers
in the
United States
are
dissatisfied with their profes-
sion
and too
many clients
are
dissatisfied with their lawyers.
In
some lawyers,
career
dissatisfaction
may be
associated
with
having
certain
humanistic
values
and
interpersonally
oriented
decision-making preferences. Because
of its
emphasis
on
emotional well-being, psychological health,
and
prevention
of
disputes,
the
combination
of
therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ)
and
preventive
law
(PL)
fits
extraordinarily well with these traits
and
therefore holds promise
as
part
of a
brighter
future
for
lawyers, clients,
and the
legal profession
generally.
TJ,1
the
relatively
new2
theoretical discipline that
seeks
to
identify
ways
in
which
law and
legal processes have therapeutic
or
antitherapeutic
effects
on the
I
gratefully
acknowledge
the
research assistance
of
Dennie
C.
Rose
and
Kathryn
Janes
of
Capital
University
Law
School
and
Jahn
F.
Landis
of
Florida Coastal School
of
Law,
and the
comments
and
support
of
Edward
A.
Dauer, Donald
A.
Hughes, Jr.,
and
David
B.
Wexler.
Correspondence
concerning this article
should
be
addressed
to
Susan
Daicoff,
Capital Univer-
sity
Law
School,
303
East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215.
'DAVID
B.
WEXLER
&
BRUCE
J.
WINICK,
ESSAYS
IN
THERAPEUTIC JURISPRUDENCE
9
(1991)
[hereinafter
WEXLER
&
WINICK,
ESSAYS].
2See
generally David
B.
Wexler,
An
Introduction
to
Therapeutic Jurisprudence,
in
DAVID
B.
WEXLER, THERAPEUTIC JURISPRUDENCE:
THE LAW AS A
THERAPEUTIC AGENT
(1990) [herein-
after
WEXLER,
TJ].
This 1990 work appears
to
contain
one of the
earliest uses
of the
term
therapeutic
jurisprudence,
yet
since 1990
the
concept
has
been widely cited
and
used;
see
infra
note
3.
811
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
