Assessing the Law and Mindfulness Movement

<div> This Article provides the first robust assessment of the law and mindfulness movement, now two decades old. It first situates “mindfulness” etymologically, considering both its English language origins and its foundations in Pali and Sanskrit. Then, the Article traces how mindfulness travelled to the US, and its transformation as a primarily monastic practice into a secular one. That background helps situate critiques raised about the US mindfulness movement, including that it has transformed a comprehensive ethical philosophy into a commoditized, individualized, amoral, self-help regime. </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> The Article then turns to the law and mindfulness movement. It inventories both the legal literature on mindfulness as well as empirical studies about the efficacy of mindfulness, providing a unique taxonomy for the legal literature. The taxonomy helps illuminate how the law and mindfulness movement has been caught by the same challenges as the broader US movement. It, too, primarily has focused on mindfulness as a self-help method, concentrating on improving lawyer wellbeing, while leaving key questions about structural inequity and role morality under-investigated. </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> The Article calls on participants in the law and mindfulness movement to become more mindful about mindfulness. Harnessing core features of mindfulness, the Article demonstrates how, going forward, the movement can develop so that it intentionally and transparently builds connections between individual wellbeing, community wellbeing, and ethical lawyering. </div>