As Attorneys, we often meet with people when they are not at their best and are facing some trauma that has led them to call our office for legal assistance.
Trauma comes in all different forms and impacts individuals, families, and communities. The United States Department of Health and Human Services defines trauma as an event or circumstance resulting in harm that is:
- Physical;
- Emotional; and/or,
- Life-threatening [1]
In addition, the event or circumstance that has caused the trauma has lasting adverse effects on an individual’s mental, physical, and/or emotional health as well as their overall social and/or spiritual well-being. [2]
Recently, my team and I traveled to Nashville for the 2022 Clio Legal Conference. During this conference, I attended a course on “the trauma-informed lawyer” providing guidance and suggestions for helping clients through their traumatic experience(s).
More recently, our team has focused on these techniques learned at the Clio Legal Conference in helping clients through their traumatic experiences. Some of these techniques include:
- Attempting to recognize the signs of client trauma early on in the course of representation;
- Attempting to achieve what the client wants without having the client relive the traumatic experience(s);
- Focusing on targeted efforts in building trust with clients to breakdown any potential barriers;
- Altering our behavior in engaging with clients both in the office and remotely;
- Focusing on ensuring clients feel safe and comfortable when engaging in our services or visiting one of our offices;
- Studying and reviewing the effects of trauma on a client’s mental and physical health; and,
- Ensuring our team members are fully supported with a focus on their mental health to operate at full performance.
Here at EQUES Law Group, we strive to continue to meet our clients’ needs, including alleviating the trauma they may face with their legal challenges. We help and support our clients by continuing to work towards building trauma awareness through education, both with our clients and with our teams. At EQUES, we believe our continued efforts and growth in this area will lead our clients in feeling empowered to walk with us in overcoming their legal challenges.
[1] https://www.samhsa.gov/trauma-violence
[2] Id.
Written by:
Managing Attorney Partner