The Napa Institute has opened enrollment for its annual Good Counselor Fellowship, a program designed to introduce early-career lawyers to the “great books” of the Western tradition and to encourage reflection on virtue in the practice of law.
Run by Napa Legal, the fellowship brings together a cohort of young attorneys for several months of guided reading, discussions, and spiritual formation. According to a press release emailed by the institute, the curriculum draws on authors such as Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Dante, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas, with sessions focused on topics including human motivation, the nature of law, justice, civil disobedience, and principles of good governance.
The program also incorporates prayer and sacramental practice into its schedule, which the institute describes as a way to help participants connect professional life with personal moral formation.
In a written statement included with the announcement, 2023 alumna Evelyn Whitehead said the fellowship offered space to reconsider how lawyers approach their vocation. She said the program is “dedicated to immersing young lawyers in the great books of the Western tradition and inculcating in us a love for the life of virtue.”
Whitehead said the experience encouraged her to think about how values shape legal work, countering what she sees as a broader cultural tendency toward “value-neutral” professional identities. She emphasized that the readings and discussions prompted fellows to reflect on their responsibilities as counselors and decision-makers, according to her testimony.
“The Good Counselor Project gives its fellows the chance to reshape and rethink what it means to practice law well,” she wrote, noting that participants opened and closed each session with prayer.
She added that the program fostered a sense of shared purpose among fellows and reinforced the importance of integrity in everyday professional decisions.
Enrollment for the new cohort is now open. More information and application materials are available here.
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