Raquel Lazar-Paley, Esq., is the owner and director of two new organizations, Conscious Lawyer, Inc. and Conscious Woman, Inc. Formerly a high-end estate planning and tax attorney, Raquel recently sold her private practice and relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where she is enjoying the fresh air, magnificent scenery and the company of the extraordinary local community. Raquel graduated from Binghamton University in New York with a degree in Political Science and Latin, received an M.A. in History from Columbia University, and went on to earn her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation at the University of San Diego School of Law. She lives with her husband, Jacob Hans, D.C., two preschool-age daughters and a cat.

Laura Possessky, Esq. has a national practice in intellectual property, media, and entertainment law. For over a decade, she has counseled artists, nonprofits, associations and small businesses on intellectual property protection and on content transactions in publishing, television, film, media and the internet. Laura also advises clients on First Amendment issues relating to fair use of third-party content and intellectual property. Prior to private practice, she worked at the Smithsonian Institution, negotiating agreements for the museum’s revenue-generating activities including publishing, film and image licensing, product development, art consignments and special events including the Presidential Inauguration. She also managed the legal services and education programs at Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts. Laura currently serves as an elected Member of the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar, and is an active member of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. Laura is licensed to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Philippe, and their two young children.

Michael McCormack, Esq. became a holistic legal and organizational counselor in 2004, after practicing as an insurance law and commercial litigation attorney for over 20 years. Michael focuses his work as a consultant and advocate on complementary health law matters, on organizational strategies and instruments, and on integrated personal coaching. Michael also works on real estate, family law, trust law and business issues. In addition to his experience with the legal system, Michael is an experienced mediator, seminar presenter and organizational consultant. He graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1984, where was also a high school “street law” teacher. More recently as shareholder and part of the management team for one of the Western United State’s largest law firms, Michael was co-chair of the firm’s Recruiting and Professional Development Program. He has been awarded Martindale Hubbell’s highest rating of “AV” for practice excellence and ethical integrity. He is currently a member of the Board for Citizens for Health, the national non-profit advocacy association supporting responsible health choices and an integrated health system. Michael is a student and practitioner of numerous complementary health and “self-organization” modalities. He is an ordained minister, as well as founder and president of the Tahoma Youth Basketball Association in his hometown, where he lives with his wife, Melissa and their five children.

Michael’s Website

Michael’s Presentations
Law as a Healing Profession: Conscious Lawyer in the Trenches

Stella Rabaut grew up in Michigan, the second of six children. Influenced by her Congressman grandfather, the family focus was on politics and religion. After pursuing degrees in Education, Theology and English Literature, she became an elementary school teacher. She met and married her boyfriend Donald Williamson and moved to Texas, where she shifted careers from Education to Law. She helped Donald raise two children, Stephen and Tracy. Initially she practiced as an Oil and Gas attorney and later as a civil law practitioner. After 20 years of practicing law, she has returned to teaching, as adjunct faculty at Seattle University School of Law where she designed and taught a course entitled: Transforming the Legal Profession: Emerging Trends in the Practice of Law. Completing 23 years in Houston, Stella and Donald followed their hearts to the beauty of the west coast, settling in the Seattle area. Since 1992, they have been making trips down the west coast, spending the winter months in the Monterey area. Enchanted by the exquisiteness of the area, they have recently rented a home in Carmel.

Stella’s Presentations
Law as a Healing Profession:Â Mindful Practice: Sustainable Practice

James S. Turner, Esq. is the chair of Citizens for Health, a national nonprofit consumer advocacy group working to broaden health care options, create an integrative health system based on wellness, and advance the freedom to make health choices. One of the original Nader’s Raiders and long-time advocate of informed choice for safe food, drugs and other consumer products, he has authored two best-selling books, The Chemical Feast: The Nader Report on Food Protection at the Food and Drug Administration and Making Your Own Baby Food. As a partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Swankin & Turner (organized in 1973), Jim represents businesses as well as individuals and consumer groups in a wide variety of regulatory matters concerning food, drug, health, environmental and product-safety matters. He has appeared before and/or advised the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission, as well as the Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health. He has served as Special Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Food, Nutrition, and Health, and to the Senate Government Operations Subcommittee on Government Research. Jim helped organize the successful campaign to lobby Congress for passage of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 and lead the legal team that in 1996 persuaded the FDA to reclassify acupuncture needles as safe and effective for legal U.S. importation and distribution. He is a graduate of the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University (1969), holds a B.A. in history and political science from Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences (1962) and served as a gunnery and nuclear weapons handling officer on ships in the U.S. Navy from 1962 to 1966.

Jim’s Presentations:
Law as a Healing Profession: The Innate Intelligence of the Body Politic