A noted law school professor reflects on the spiritual vacuum at the heart of the legal profession and suggests ways of reintegrating that profession with the deepest aspirations of its members.
Lawyers in our day are facing a crisis of meaning. Distrusted by the public, stressed by overwork, and questioning the value of their contribution to society, legal professionals find themselves in a situation where work has lost its connection with deeper beliefs. The crisis they face is essentially spiritual.
How can lawyers bridge the gap between their beliefs and their daily work? Joseph Allegretti maintains that law can be a true vocation—a "calling" from God. He points to ways that lawyers are or can be healers in society, and he explains how their service to clients resembles a covenant relationship. Lawyers and law students will find his vision of the legal profession to be rich with possibility.
Endorsements
"This is a timely gift of mature theological wisdom to a struggling profession. God bless Allegretti!"
—Professor Jack L. Sammons, Walter E. George School of Law
"Through Allegretti's lens it is possible to see meaning and even catch a glimpse of the divine amid the phone calls, the client interviews, the boxes of correspondence, the volumes of court decisions, the seemingly endless meetings, and many of the other details of a lawyer's life."
—William Droel, author of The Spirituality of Work: Lawyers.
Joseph G. Allegretti is A.A. and Ethel Yossem Professor of Legal Ethics at Creighton University Law School in Omaha. He earned a JD from Harvard (cum laude, 1977) and an MDiv from Yale (summa cum laude, 1989).
