Julie Macfarlane is a professor on the Faculty of Law of the University of Windsor and a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. She has researched and written extensively on dispute resolution and in particular the role of lawyers.
Her bestselling 2008 book The New Lawyer: How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law (UBC Press) is based on hundreds of personal interviews with lawyers and their clients. Macfarlane recently completed a four-year empirical research project examining the use of Islamic family law principles and values in divorce processes conducted by third parties in North American mosques. Her new book, Islamic Divorce in North America: A Shari'a Path in a Secular Society, is published by Oxford University Press.
Macfarlane is an active mediator and consults regularly on conflict resolution interventions, training, program evaluation and systems design for a range of public and private sector clients. She has conducted skills-based training for lawyers all over the world for more than 20 years.