Practice What You Preach: Power, Paternalism, and the Christian Lawyer for the Poor

This Essay will focus on the approach a Christian poverty lawyer can take to answering these questions. This Essay will argue that because a lawyer\u27s actions are ultimately based on what she believes about herself and her place in the world, the Christian lawyer will begin her move away from paternalism and towards power-sharing. She will do this by embracing a Christian self-understanding and integrating that understanding into her work in the most significant ways possible. Further, when she looks at power itself through a biblical lens, the Christian poverty lawyer sees a framework for practice that is radically different from that which her lawyer\u27s training instilled in her. Yet, that framework is attainable and sustainable because of its roots in her deepest beliefs. In short, when the Christian lawyer practices what she preaches, she finds the resources necessary to relate to her client in accordance with her, and the profession\u27s, highest aspirations