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NCNWR 16th Annual Conference 
SEPTEMBER 21-24, 2010
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News

Nun: It's possible to live one's faith in a legal career

March 9, 2009
Lisa Maxson, Catholic Voice, Omaha NE Region 9

As a member of a religious order, Sister Kathy Chuston, SSSF, knows how to obey the rules.

But working as an attorney in the legal system gives her the opportunity to be on the other side of things--to make sure others obey the rules.

Sister Chuston was one of three speakers at "Faith and the Legal Profession," a Feb. 26 program for students at Creighton University School of Law in Omaha.

A conflicts analyst at Winston and Strawn law firm in downtown Chicago, she talked to nearly 40 people about integrating her faith life with a career in the law.

Sister Chuston, who lived in Omaha for three years, and graduated from Creighton's Law School in 2007, said she's comfortable working at a law firm.

Before she entered the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1996, she worked for two years as a court reporter and 12 years as a legal secretary.

When it comes to balancing her faith life with her work life, Sister Chuston said the two cannot be separated.

"My faith life is my life," she said in a telephone interview with the Catholic Voice Feb. 25. "It's not separate from anything else. It's not separate from my professional life. It's not separate from my home life or my time I spend with my community or with my friends.

"But how do I witness to those values, those core values that I have come to believe and have chosen to believe in and chosen to guide my life by? How do I witness that in my work?"

Sister Chuston said she tries to live by her favorite quote by St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary, use words."

"You can talk until you're blue in the face and you can preach, but if you're not living or trying to at least live what you're preaching, nobody's going to listen ... nor should they," she said. "What I try to do is not so much speak with my words, but with my actions.

"The way I look at it is the moment I walk out my door in the morning to the time I get to my office to the time I go back, there are challenges I face along the way. How do I respond to the needs that I find throughout my day looking through the lenses of faith?"

Every lawyer wants to be known and respected for his or her abilities, Sister Chuston said. But respect for a person's character also is even more important.

"You want to be above board. You want to be a trusted person, a person who listens and is respectful," she said. "We can use our faith in our work and integrate that in the way we approach people, in the way we listen and the way we counsel."

A person's character is part of his or her "stock and trade," she said.

Working in the legal system has many challenges, Sister Chuston said, including the fast-paced work environment, dealing with negative press and client expectations. To stay grounded, the nun said she tries to take time out each day for prayer and reflection. She also tries to be in communion with God and remember what's important. For her, that's God, her family, her religious community and her friends, she said.

Faith not only plays a role in a person's actions at work, but also in the type of law one chooses to practice, she said.

Currently, Sister Chuston does research on conflicts of interest for potential cases, but would one day like to become involved in alternative dispute resolution, a non-violent alternative to litigation.

"When you think of non-violence and you think of the Christian standpoint towards non-violence, especially as a Franciscan, I think what better way to make a difference in the world than by being involved in a non-violence dispute resolution system," she said.

Getting students thinking

Craig Dallon, associate dean and professor of law and Creighton University's School of Law, said this was the event's first year, but plans are to make it an annual event.

"We have felt like an event like this would be important because it helps us to focus on the mission of Creighton University and Creighton Law School ... the idea of making sure that we're emphasizing issues of faith and values as part of the education here," he said. "We've wanted to make sure that we have opportunities to have those kinds of discussions and that kind of educational opportunity with the students."

Dallon said the Creighton School of Law is trying to help students think about how faith should play an important role in their lives.

"We're trying to give them some real concrete experiences from others and get them thinking of those issues," he said. "There always are tensions and challenges in all of our lives and in all of our professions, but it can be absolutely consistent with what a lawyer does."

Reprinted from www.catholicvoiceomaha.com