A personal account of a life framed by family, faith, and service, In Service to Justice is a part spiritual and part adventure story. Following Bill from the hills of eastern Kentucky, one man goes on a quest to improve justice in Kentucky, California, Latin America, and the Middle East. Bill Davis found success not through force, but through consultation, listening, and brinnging together like-minded people ready for change. This is the story of of how one man - in partnership and with the aid of many others - took on disgreements and gridlock in court reform in countries around the world to build lasting solutions with the aim of benefitting all.
"I believe that Bill Davis has done more than any other single individual-be they Minister of Justice, Prime Minister, or Chief Justice of a Supreme Court-to bring about significant court reform to improve the quality of justice for hundreds of thousands of ordinary people around the world. He accomplished this not with a utopian dream, the pocketbook of the Gates Foundation, or even power and might.
Rather, he succeeded by dint of personality and perseverance, first as a Peace Corps volunteer, then as a civil servant at the state and federal level, and finally as the head of a small consulting firm, which obtained modest-sized contracts to confront mountainous problems. He then moved mountains. How? By his innate modesty, by listening, by drawing in like-minded people, by insisting on consensus, and by empowering those who would live with the consequences of innovations long after he left the region or the country.
The Japanese occasionally single out a quiet but distinguished person and honor them as "a National Living Treasure." If the United States had such an award, surely Bill Davis would be a recipient." - Professor Malcolm Feeley, Claire Sanders Clements Dean's Chair (Emeritus), Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Society (Emeritus), at U.C. Berkeley, College of Law
“. . . the main strength of his book is its unwavering humanity and decency. In every chapter, regardless of the adventure he’s having, Davis is always a quiet, observant, and respectful presence. His optimistic view of humanity permeates every page, particularly when he’s confronting the inertia or indifference of the official world . . . An appealingly humble and direct account of the adventures of a judicial bridge-builder.” — Kirkus Reviews
Outstanding book on law, justice, and personal effort
Bill Davis's "In Service to Justice" successfully does for justice what I inadequately tried to do for truth in "Truth: A Path for the Skeptic," available to read online at truth4skeptic.org. Bill's book has inspired me to (order of magnitude) 100 times higher level of effort than before I read it, in direct service to the goals of the Nine Year Plan in my town, in our cluster of four towns with Assemblies, comprising 350,000 Bahá'ís (including the 50-100 known Bahá'ís). Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá!