Poster Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Educating Lawyers For Compassion And Courage As Well As Brains - The Wizard Of Oz Was Right (#515)

Lisle Baker 1
  1. Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA, United States

In The Wizard of Oz Dorothy has three companions who were on quests of their own: the Scarecrow seeking a brain, the Tin Man seeking a heart, and the Lion seeking courage. Much of the law school curriculum is designed for the law student as Scarecrow – to develop the capacity for critical thinking. The curriculum, however, has not given as much attention to the Tin Man or the Lion among law students. This presentation examines ways of educating law students to enhance their strength of compassion not only for their clients but also their adversaries, as well the students’ strength of courage to make that compassion effective, including standing up for their clients in the interests of justice when it might not be popular to do so.