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Preface This book had its genesis in this Quaker lawyer’s recognition that truth-telling and other important Quaker beliefs seem to conflict with the “successful” practice of law. This realization came as I began, in my early forties, to practice law. As I learned more and became engaged in actual practice, I wondered how long I could be truly comfortable with it. Most Friends (and I) take truth-telling seriously, and are occasionally, even often, quite literal in their speaking and in the interpretation with that of others. I sensed that being relentlessly truthful in the practice of law could place a client in jeopardy, especially if opposing counsel were not. As I puzzled over this, I thought of other Quaker beliefs that seemed inapposite to a lawyer’s actions and behavior. The Quaker testimonies of harmony, equality, and community can be at odds with the adversarial nature of law as practiced in the United States at the turn of the third millennium. I began to wonder if other Quaker lawyers shared similar musings and, furthermore, if something inherent in Friends’ history and beliefs made certain of these conflicts inevitable. In the spring of 1991, I had the good fortune to be awarded the Henry J. Cadbury Scholarship at Pendle Hill, the Quaker center for study and contemplation in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, founded in 1930. For the academic year 1991–1992, I resided at that tranquil place, conducted research at the excellent Friends Historical Collection housed at nearby Swarthmore College, and devised and distributed a survey to Quaker lawyers whose responses to it form a central and important part of this book. Although their answers and comments came from their particular vantage point as Quaker lawyers, some scholars, whose work is discussed in chapter 5 and who are not members of the Society, share similar views on law and truthfulness. I hope these respondents’ and scholars’ perspectives will be of interest to those outside the small coterie of Friends and the even smaller circle of Quaker lawyers. xv ...

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