IN HIS CHAMBERS

A daily devotional work seeks to encourage lawyers with biblical wisdom.

Debut author Mounts isn’t an attorney, but in 30 years of ministry he’s met his fair share of them and found them both inspired and challenged. Ideally, the law is an exemplary Christian instrument insofar as it promotes justice and freedom, zealously pursues the truth, and is microcosmic of the judgment that the Lord will one day visit upon humanity. In fact, the author describes Jesus as a kind of spiritual attorney who represents readers before God. That said, lawyers are not always the shining examples of devotion that they could be: “While today’s American attorney bears no resemblance to the first-century religious lawyer in Israel, they do illustrate a group generally found inattentive to Jesus Christ and his way to life.” Instead of writing a hectoring screed, Mounts composed this devotional book, meant to provide a combination of motivation and counsel to attorneys. There are 91 chapters, and each begins with a pertinent biblical quotation (or several) followed by commentary on the way in which this passage furnishes guidance for lawyers. Each concludes with an “action plan,” a short paragraph that issues more specific suggestions about how to put that instruction into practice. The advice is wide-ranging—Mounts discusses the pitfalls of workaholics as mentioned in the Psalms, how to manage the anxiety of law school (Paul’s Letter to the Philippians), and the issues of guilt and judgment in terms of the infamous O.J. Simpson trial. There are more general disquisitions, too—the author offers some thoughts on race and diversity, which mine not only Pauline letters, but also LULAC v. Perry. Mounts’ use of the Bible is impressively clever, and he consistently finds creative ways to relate scriptural wisdom to lawyerly life. This is also a refreshingly cheerful book that genuinely attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of attorneys—something the author explicitly treats in a chapter titled “Lovable Lawyers”—by bringing them to Jesus. This work should appeal to lawyers looking to renew their Christian faith.

An innovative Christian moral handbook for attorneys.