Armstrong, Kelly

Protecting rights and resolving disputes is an Arnold tradition spanning 160 years. T.W. Arnold is a fifth generation attorney. His grandfather, Thurman Sr. taught at Yale Law School together with Justice William O. Douglas from 1930 to 1938 and authored books on legal realism and economics that remain in print today. In 1938 President Roosevelt appointed him to be the United States Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division for the Department of Justice. In 1943, Arnold accepted a post as a Justice for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. But he did not relish being a Judge, always insisting he'd 'rather be talking to a bunch of damn fools [judges] than listening to a bunch of damn fools [lawyers]". In 1946 he formed the Washington D.C. Law Firm of Arnold, Porter & Fortas, which became Arnold & Porter when Abe Fortas was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1965. In the 1950's Arnold, Porter and Fortas was one of the few Washington law firms that stood against Senator Joseph McCarthy, representing government employees and private citizens who were prosecuted as alleged communists, pro bono.

T.W. Arnold attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1974 earning a Commendation of Excellence for his academic performance studying behavioral psychology. In 1976 he transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara, graduating with Honors in his studies of American and World History in 1979. He attended the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, beginning in 1979 and was an editorial staff member of its Environmental Law Journal . He received his Juris Doctorate in June, 1982.

In November, 1982, Arnold was admitted to the California Bar and joined his father in the desert legal practice. Ever since his interests have focused on individual lives in a multitude of family law matters. Arnold has tried criminal and numerous civil cases to jury verdict with excellent results, gaining extremely useful trial skills which family law attorneys otherwise don't accumulate. In August, 2009, Arnold took and passed the California Family Law Specialist's examination and is now eligible to apply for and become a California Certified Family Law Specialist (CFLS). In the course of almost 30 years he has represented many hundreds of family law litigants.

The Arnold tradition is one of commitment and ethics. Arnold is a student of Zen Buddhism and of mindfulness practices which provide remarkable tools for managing the litigation lives of clients, and defusing high conflict divorces. He has attended retreats with Jack Kornfield and Eckhart Tolle, among others. He is one of a small but growing community of awakened lawyers.

Arnold aims today to contribute his energies to helping bring about a positive shift in the way that lawyers perceive their own roles in the conduct of litigation and to move away from its tendency to extend human misery. He is attending Loma Linda University's School of Science and Technology to achieve his Masters in Family Life Education. Lawyers particularly need to awaken to their opportunity to guide clients mindfully. Arnold is a dedicated, principled, and committed legal practitioner.