Klaartje Freeke and Wikke Monster are giving voice to integrative law in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. They talk with us about the values of integrative law – forgiveness, acceptance, understanding our human connection – as the foundation of their firm and practice which brings integrative law into the court and the corporate world.
Klaartje Freeke & Wikke Monster went from big prestigious criminal defense law firms to opening their own, Freeke & Monster. They do all matters but focus on criminal defense, victim representation, and corporate and commercial matters.
In our conversation, we talk about:
Notable Moments:
What does being an integrative lawyer mean to you?
(KLAARTJE) As our work as a lawyer, when we take our time to listen and be compassionate…..that is really what our work is about
(Wikke)If you like it or not, as a human being, we are all connected. That is not a wish or dream, it’s how it is so we better deal with it. It’s our job as professionals….to show that, to live that, to acknowledge that.
(Klaartje) This is really about a personal transformation is possible…and when it’s possible, it’s worth so much. When they feel that, people feel that everything else is extra…because that is really enough for most people.
When you think about it (re-designing the courtroom) …doesn’t depend on the space but the space is part of the conversation….when you have the right space, making just decisions.
What is Lawyers as Changemakers
It’s really about making room for our network, a group of people who feel law is about, our passion, the reason we started being lawyers….the basis and essence of our foundation
When we started practicing a new way – talking about forgiveness, we were afraid that our peers would reject us and think we were soft – laugh us out of the bar….actually many felt the same
How can you defend someone if you know he did it…maybe there is some information in them. As lawyers, we have privileges and we should use it in a valuable way.
This podcast features the song “Panu’s Bandstand” by texasradiofish (c) copyright 2020, available under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasradiofish/62499 Ft: Panu