Attorney to Present at Symposium on Restorative Justice in Richmond

Richmond, VA, September 08, 2019 --(PR.com)-- Brenda Waugh, an attorney/mediator with offices in Charles Town, West Virginia Leesburg, Virginia, will join a talented slate of presenters at the University of Richmond School of Law for a full-day symposium on the topic of Restorative Justice. Ms. Waugh will join student Rachel Tinnes to discuss the potential of increasing lawyer wellness through changes to the attorney discipline process consistent with restorative justice. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Johonna Turner, Co-Director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice and Professor of Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University. Other speakers include Doron Samuel-Siegel, Professor of Law at University of Richmond School of Law, Hon. Richard B. Campbell, Chief Judge at Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and Suzanne C. Praill, Director of the Fairfield Center for Restorative Justice. Waugh, a former assistant prosecuting attorney, became interested in restorative justice when victims appeared unsatisfied by the results of our judicial system. She returned to graduate school at the Center for Justice and Peace at Eastern Mennonite University, where she earned a master's degree. Since her graduation in 2009, she has devoted her practice to "restorative lawyering" striving to bring a restorative approach to her day to day practice. In 2018, Waugh worked with attorney Elliot Hicks to create workshops to improve lawyer wellness. She became excited about the potential of applying restorative justice to lawyer disciplinary actions to improve the quality of our legal system, as well as the well being of fellow attorneys. Waugh and Tinnes created the project to demonstrate both how contemporary lawyer discipline processes adversely affect both the public and lawyers, and provide options for moving forward. In her introduction to the article that will be published in the upcoming Symposium issue, she states, "We are joining the leadership of the ABA in urging our leaders to act. Engaging the potential of restorative practices to help disciplinary processes meet our larger goals and objectives provides a path to get started."