Legal scholars have begun to look at the law and emotion literature (the role of emotion on the law) in the context of family law, and while that literature had focused on “negative emotions such as anger, disgust and vengefulness,” one scholar explored the law’s ability to facilitate positive emotions, such as “love, hope, and forgiveness” in the context of what he calls a “healing divorce.”1 In the writing of the Chinese culture, forgiveness is “depicted as the heart combined with the character for woman—who symbolizes shared feelings—plus the character for mouth. When put together, you learn that the heart forgives when it accepts and acknowledges conflict without blame.”2
Why should one forgive in the context of divorce? One answer is that forgiveness may help individuals heal psychologically, enable them to better parent their children and reduce interparental conflict.3 It is important that lawyers play a pivotal role in helping their clients move past the anger, rather than increasing the anger the client feels, or having the lawyer become angry him or herself and actually continuing to fuel the conflict between the parties. Long after the lawyers are out of the case, the parties will have to deal with one another and their children. How the lawyer handles the situation can make all the difference.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
