Even if you create another layer of DTOs, you'll still have to handle this case. I actually created such a layer and transformers to convert the Entities to DTOs (and vice-versa). The code has a relatively ugly solution, but it works. The solution was to create a handler that catches all RuntimeExceptions when the transformation code iterates through to the collections. The handler looks for LazyInitializationException; if found, it logs the exception (but does not re-throw), if not found, it rethrows the (non-LIE) RuntimeException. Yeah, ugly, but it works. The layer essentially removes external dependence on Hibernate. I suppose an alternative is to submit a bug report (or feature request?) to Hibernate. Alas, my hack gives me a (false?) sense of security until a Hibernate change causes the hack to break! YMMV and all. :) View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4129469#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...