Mediation is a process where two or more people in conflict decide to ask for the support and guidance of an independent Mediator to assist in them clearing misunderstandings and building better communication towards resolving matters they cannot agree upon.

This option has an 80% success rate in the UK. It takes less time than court proceedings, is cheaper and empowers parties to make their own way towards an Agreement, rather than have final decisions affecting them, their families, employment or other significant matters affecting their lives, decided by a Judge and imposed on them by Court Order. In this way, Mediation is also less stressful and worrying than impending court battles. There is also opportunity to heal relationships and unite people.

A Holistic Approach to Justice-Involved Youth

At Amber Law, we take a holistic approach to law practice. This means that we see our clients first as human beings who have basic human needs at a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual level. These needs are not always being met. Moreover, many clients have suffered a great deal of pain and suffering in their lives, resulting in unresolved trauma.

It is our experience that the unhealed wounds of the past often condition the negative and destructive self-sabotaging behaviours that result in clients causing themselves and others harm. As the saying goes, only those in pain cause pain. At Amber Law we explore the root cause, the ‘why’ the young person has harmed another person. Identifying root causes gives us the opportunity to offer a healing pathway for clients through our Client Well-being Network. If wounds are healed, the trigger for harmful behaviour disappears and is less likely to repeat.

We hold young people accountable for their actions in a safe and compassionate way, without judgment. We encourage them to face their victims and enter a dialogue with them to better understand the consequences of their damaging actions on themselves, others and the community. We also examine the harm caused to the victims and discuss the ways in which that harm can be repaired together.

Restorative Justice

Holistic law practice embraces Restorative Justice programs and collaborates with Restorative Justice on the Rise, founded by Molly Rowan Leach, promoting their courses and programs. We also have great Resources to share with you.

Restorative justice programs are designed to repair the harm caused to all individuals involved in a crime, and to the broader community, by encouraging open communication between justice-involved youths and victims and holding justice-involved youths accountable for their actions.

For further information on how we can help you/ your child through the legal justice process please email: amber@amberlaw.gi. 

Mediation

Mediation is a process where two or more people in conflict decide to ask for the support and guidance of an independent Mediator to assist in them clearing misunderstandings and building better communication towards resolving matters they cannot agree upon.

This option has an 80% success rate in the UK. It takes less time than court proceedings, is cheaper and empowers parties to make their own way towards an Agreement, rather than have final decisions affecting them, their families, employment or other significant matters affecting their lives, decided by a Judge and imposed on them by Court Order. In this way, Mediation is also less stressful and worrying than impending court battles. There is also opportunity to heal relationships and unite people.

Client Well-being

Amber Law offers a Client Well-being Network of professionals, associations, charities and trained volunteers who can offer continuing support and guidance in the areas of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual health, and family life.

Our holistic services includes assistance with access to educational opportunities, CV writing to find gainful employment and access to re/housing.

Courses

Conflict and legal problems not only affects the client but also all those with whom they share significant relationships.

Our Courses raise awareness about the causes and effects of conflict and legal problems, why we have an individual and collective responsibility towards supporting those individuals affected, including their children, family, friends, work colleagues and employers and how to effectively do so.

To make an appointment please email amber@amberlaw.gi.

Moving home is reported as one of the top most stressful life events, coming third after death of a loved one and divorce. Your home should be a safe haven or space you retreat to at the end of a workday to recharge, restore and share quality time with friends or family. It is also where you might spend long hours.

If a conflict/ dispute arises with a neighbour, life can turn into a living ‘hell’. Nuisances can include: unsociable noise levels, disputes over boundaries, littering, graffiti, offensive language, aggressive behaviour, property damage, and/ or threats of violence.

At Amber Law, we offer a holistic approach to conflict/ dispute resolution away from court rooms. We acknowledge the connection between conflicts/ disputes and well-being at all levels: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.

However complex your matter, contact Amber Law today to assist you in resolving and dissolving your neighbour conflict/ disputes.

Mediation

Mediation is a process where two or more people in conflict decide to ask for the support and guidance of an independent Mediator to assist in them clearing misunderstandings and building better communication towards resolving matters they cannot agree upon.

This option has an 80% success rate in the UK. It takes less time than court proceedings, is cheaper and empowers parties to make their own way towards an Agreement, rather than have final decisions affecting them, their families, employment or other significant matters affecting their lives, decided by a Judge and imposed on them by Court Order. In this way, Mediation is also less stressful and worrying than impending court battles. There is also opportunity to heal relationships and unite people.

Client Well-being

Amber Law offers a Client Well-being Network of professionals, associations, charities and trained volunteers who can offer continuing support and guidance in the areas of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual health, and family life.

Our holistic services includes assistance with access to educational opportunities, CV writing to find gainful employment and access to re/housing.

Courses

Conflict and legal problems not only affects the client but also all those with whom they share significant relationships.

Our Courses raise awareness about the causes and effects of conflict and legal problems, why we have an individual and collective responsibility towards supporting those individuals affected, including their children, family, friends, work colleagues and employers and how to effectively do so.

To make an appointment please email amber amber@amberlaw.gi.

Loss is something common to us all. No-one can escape this suffering during their lifetime. The sad passing of grandparents, parents, friends and colleagues or the tragic early loss of a child.

When families suffer loss, each relative may respond to the grieving process in a different way. This may lead to misunderstandings, miscommunication and judgment which may give rise to conflict. This will only add further stress, anxiety and worry to an already very painful situation.

If you or your family are arguing over any aspect of inheritance, contact Amber Law today for a compassionate and empathetic holistic approach to resolving your dispute, towards conciliation, peace of mind and heart.

Mediation

Mediation is a process where two or more people in conflict decide to ask for the support and guidance of an independent Mediator to assist in them clearing misunderstandings and building better communication towards resolving matters they cannot agree upon.

This option has an 80% success rate in the UK. It takes less time than court proceedings, is cheaper and empowers parties to make their own way towards an Agreement, rather than have final decisions affecting them, their families, employment or other significant matters affecting their lives, decided by a Judge and imposed on them by Court Order. In this way, Mediation is also less stressful and worrying than impending court battles. There is also opportunity to heal relationships and unite people.

Client Well-being

Amber Law offers a Client Well-being Network of professionals, associations, charities and trained volunteers who can offer continuing support and guidance in the areas of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual health, and family life.

Our holistic services includes assistance with access to educational opportunities, CV writing to find gainful employment and access to re/housing.

Courses

Conflict and legal problems not only affects the client but also all those with whom they share significant relationships.

Our Courses raise awareness about the causes and effects of conflict and legal problems, why we have an individual and collective responsibility towards supporting those individuals affected, including their children, family, friends, work colleagues and employers and how to effectively do so.

To make an appointment please email amber@amberlaw.gi.

The employment relationship is one of the most important relationships you will experience in life, given that many of us spend a significant portion of our waking hours at the workplace. It is common that in spending so many hours at work misunderstandings, miscommunication and therefore conflict/ disputes can arise between employees and between an employer and employee.

A Holistic Approach Away from Court Rooms

The level of conflict/ disputes varies and we advise that these matters be dealt with at the earliest possible time, given the damaging effects on mental health and well-being of those affected and the ripple effect on others in the workplace witnessing.

People come from their own life experience and will have different styles of reacting to conflict which are often unconscious:

• to fight -such as becoming angry and arguing, escalating conflict
• to flight -such as taking extended time off work, avoiding the conflict
• to freeze -such as being unable to voice concerns or report issues
• to fawn -such as appeasing a bully, which worsens the situation

Although these are automatic survival responses, none of these is helpful in resolving conflicts/ disputes.

At Amber Law, we offer a holistic approach to conflict/ dispute resolution away from court rooms and the employment tribunal. We acknowledge the connection between conflicts/ disputes and well-being at all levels: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. We are aware also of the financial cost of conflict/ disputes for employees and employers.

However complex your matter, contact Amber Law today to assist you in resolving and dissolving the conflict/ disputes at your workplace.

Mediation

Mediation is a process where two or more people in conflict decide to ask for the support and guidance of an independent Mediator to assist in them clearing misunderstandings and building better communication towards resolving matters they cannot agree upon.

This option has an 80% success rate in the UK. It takes less time than court proceedings, is cheaper and empowers parties to make their own way towards an Agreement, rather than have final decisions affecting them, their families, employment or other significant matters affecting their lives, decided by a Judge and imposed on them by Court Order. In this way, Mediation is also less stressful and worrying than impending court battles. There is also opportunity to heal relationships and unite people.

Client Well-being

Amber Law offers a Client Well-being Network of professionals, associations, charities and trained volunteers who can offer continuing support and guidance in the areas of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual health, and family life.

Our holistic services includes assistance with access to educational opportunities, CV writing to find gainful employment and access to re/housing.

Courses

Conflict and legal problems not only affects the client but also all those with whom they share significant relationships.

Our Courses raise awareness about the causes and effects of conflict and legal problems, why we have an individual and collective responsibility towards supporting those individuals affected, including their children, family, friends, work colleagues and employers and how to effectively do so.

A Holistic Approach to Family Breakdown

Amber Law provides the following holistic legal and family services. To make an appointment please email amber@amberlaw.gi.

Reaching Separation and Financial Agreements

When a family breaks down, there is a lot that needs to be rebuilt. At times, clients may feel overwhelmed and need professional assistance in dealing with matters such as:

• How much contact a mother and father ought to have with their children;
• What happens on birthdays, New Year and other holidays;
• What level of spousal or child maintenance should be paid to the other parent (if any);
• Who stays in the former family home, or should it be sold;
• How will the spouse/ parent leaving the home be rehoused;
• How joint monies, investments and property ought to be shared

Reaching an early, fair and just agreement on all these issues helps reduce stress, anxiety and worry, and offers an opportunity to resolve conflict and restore relationships where possible and appropriate. It is also less stressful and cheaper than litigating such matters in Court.

Amber Law can support you in collaboratively creating a new life plan and pathway post separation and divorce which takes account of everyone affected by the family breakdown, not just the spouses, but any children and the extended family too, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

No-fault Divorces

The divorce laws in Gibraltar closely mirror those in England. In Gibraltar’s Matrimonial Causes Act, section 16, there is only one ground for divorce; namely that your marriage has broken down irretrievably. This means there is no possibility that you and your spouse can salvage the marriage.

Section 18 of the Act states that you must have been married for at least one year before you can petition for divorce, although there are some exceptions to this rule.

If there is a possibility that your marriage can still be worked at, that you are driving over a road bump rather than diving off a cliff edge, Amber Law offers a Client Well-being service offering support and guidance by external professionals who can assist you to work through misunderstandings and miscommunication towards a healthier more loving relationship.

Mediation

Mediation is a process where two or more people in conflict decide to ask for the support and guidance of an independent Mediator to assist in them clearing misunderstandings and building better communication towards resolving matters they cannot agree upon.

This option has an 80% success rate in the UK. It takes less time than court proceedings, is cheaper and empowers parties to make their own way towards an Agreement, rather than have final decisions affecting them, their families, employment or other significant matters affecting their lives, decided by a Judge and imposed on them by Court Order. In this way, Mediation is also less stressful and worrying than impending court battles. There is also opportunity to heal relationships and unite people.

Client Well-being

Amber Law offers a Client Well-being Network of professionals, associations, charities and trained volunteers who can offer continuing support and guidance in the areas of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual health, and family life.

Our holistic services includes assistance with access to educational opportunities, CV writing to find gainful employment and access to re/housing.

Courses

Separation and divorce not only affects the client but also all those with whom they share significant relationships.

Our Courses raise awareness about the causes and effects of family breakdown, why we have an individual and collective responsibility towards supporting those individuals affected, including their children, family, friends, work colleagues and employers and how to effectively do so.

Something very curious emerged around the 1980s in different spaces across the globe. Lawyers who had never met, never connected before, began awakening to a new approach to their legal practice. For this reason, they each named their ‘way’ using different terms, yet the underlying essence was the same; understanding law practice as a pathway for lawyers and clients to attain peace, reframing justice from a win- lose duality lens, to a win-win non-duality viewpoint; that is, from an adversarial to a non-adversarial approach to law practice.

Amber joined the Global Holistic Integrative Law Movement that started in the 1980s in the USA and is growing in Global influence, towards a Holistic and Therapeutic approach to practicing Law; creating a more loving and peaceful human existence for all.  

This is possible if more Lawyers ‘awaken’ and harness our power as a force for good, to then guide our clients from a place of conflict, towards a space of clarity, peace and healing”, 

Amber Turner BSc(Hons) LLM, Founder Amber Law

Incorporating lawyer and client self-care

The implications ran deep: rather than continue working in a legal justice system designed to maintain and sustain the brick wall of separation between each party in a legal dispute or conflict, and which judges, finds fault, can be aggressive and hostile, now, there was a 180-degree shift towards uniting (where appropriate and possible) these parties. This is achieved through the application of processes incorporating lawyer and client self-care, awareness, understanding, forgiveness, compassion, empathy, non-judgement, conciliation, and healing.

Lawyers as Peacemakers Practising Holistic Problem-Solving Law

American lawyer, changemaker and peacemaker J Kim Wright who Amber met in 2018 in London, provided one of the first comprehensive textbooks on this paradigm shift in her book ‘Lawyers as Peacemakers Practising Holistic Problem-Solving Law’, in 2010. Here Kim chronicles the diverse modalities in holistic law practice such as: collaborative law, restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, preventative law, transformational law, creative problem-solving, and so on. “All of these new practices optimize the well-being of the people involved in each legal matter and acknowledge the importance of concerns beyond simply strict legal rights… Holistic law can describe one vector or philosophy of practice, or a collection of some or all of the philosophies” (page 3).

Under the umbrella of holistic law, emerged the notion of law as a healing profession. Integrative law has also been suggested as an umbrella term.

Optimizing well-being for all the involved parties

Kim continues saying that the new approaches add more cooperative, comprehensive, humanistic, healing and even spiritual aspects to the traditional forms of law practice being taught and utilized in the profession. They are focused on optimizing well-being for all the involved parties by expressly seeking to eliminate brutal and contentious adversarial approaches to advocacy and problem solving, as well as endeavouring to avoid legal problems altogether. Rather than defining problems only as legal concerns- strict legal rights and obligations demarcated by the boundaries of published statutes and judicial opinions- these more comprehensive approaches include humanistic values such as overall well-being, relationships, feelings, needs, resources, meaning, values, and psychological goals (page 4).

“These visionary approaches tend to spring from ‘the heart stuff,’ qualities like collaboration, healing, restoration, peace-building, and human connection” says attorney Stella Rabaut… -qualities the legal profession has always considered soft or suspect. It’s not that the ‘head stuff’ must disappear; on the contrary, analytical skills and legal knowledge are crucial. But “there has to be more recognition of the human, relational aspects”, she says. “It’s not either/ or. It’s both/and.” As quoted by Barbara Stahura (page 4).

Meet some of the trailblazers who use a holistic approach: law students, lawyers, attorneys, judges, academics and so on here.

Amber Meets Global Trauma Expert Dr Gabor Mate in Sofia, Bulgaria  

"Many Lawyers represent clients who have a legal problem as a consequence of their childhood traumas. I travelled to Sofia, Bulgaria to meet internationally renowned trauma expert, retired physician, best-selling author and speaker Dr Gabor Mate. His vision is, “to bring compassion, respect, acceptance, insight, healing, freedom and connection to humanity through an international community of skilful Compassionate Inquiry practitioners”.

From over two decades practice in law and seeing hundreds of clients, I believe all lawyers need to acquire this skill to learn how to be more self-compassionate as well as increase awareness and empathy about their clients -
(you can sign up at admin@compassionateinquiry.com)

As a Holistic Lawyer who treats my clients as sentient human beings who have minds, emotions, feelings, body and spirit; exploring what happened to them in their childhood and growing up is part of what I consider to be my duty of care. I want to know what happened to them and what is going on in their lives now, in the present moment. Only then, from that place can we design and co-create a more peaceful, loving and kind life experience moving forward.

As Dr Gabor says, “trauma is not what happened to you - it is what happened inside you as a result of what happened to you”. Also, Dr Gabor teaches that it is not necessary for bad things to have happened to be traumatized- being deprived of good things such as unconditional love, nurturing, or access to mutually responsive relationships, can also lead to trauma - feelings of not being enough, being unloveable, unworthy- can all arise in both circumstances.

Seeing my clients’ pain, empathising with them, communicating compassionately and holding a safe space of non-judgment, leads to more effective communication between us, more accurate instructions taken which assists me in the case management, drafting submissions, any advocacy work on their behalf and importantly, in reaching more peaceful resolutions to their legal problem or conflict away from (at times re-traumatizing) adversarial systems/ court rooms. These conversations also inform me the lawyer, as to what kind of external professional support my clients may benefit from to find healing such as psychotherapy, anger management, mindfulness, meditation, art as therapy, counselling and so on.

“Justice" to me is finding our truth, our true Self free from the pain and suffering of trauma, where we do no harm to ourselves, nor others. Paraphrasing Dr Gabor’s wise words: 'healing means becoming whole, re-connecting with all the parts of ourselves which became dis-connected as a result of what happened inside us, in response to what happened to us'. What better balance of justice than to re-cover our own wholeness in a holistic approach to law practice with our clients, throughout and post the legal process?

“Healing" also means we can respond to life in the present moment rather than reacting to our painful experiences of the past when old wounds are constantly triggered.

In my experience since called to the Bar as a Barrister-at-Law in 1998 (London), with 17 years’ practice in litigation -all lawyers and mediators ought to seriously consider becoming 'trauma-informed', for our own healing, for that of our clients and their families in the ripple effect and to achieve a more ‘perfect’, justice for all grounded in peace and healing… “

For more information and/ or coaching/ workshops, please contact amber@amberlaw.gi.