Trauma Informed Lawyers
As Family Law solicitors, we are often instructed in cases where adults or children have experienced one or more traumatic situations. Those experiences could have been during adulthood or could be adverse childhood experiences. Trauma awareness and trauma-informed practice is increasingly recognised as an essential skill for family lawyers.
My colleague, Gemma Johnston, an Associate in Macleod & MacCallum’s family law team, and I recently completed the Law Society of Scotland’s Trauma-Informed Lawyer Certification Course. The course is designed to assist lawyers to recognise the impact of trauma on those who we work with and to practice in a way that does no further harm (re-traumatisation), supports recovery and is effective for clients affected by trauma.
To complete the certification course, Gemma and I attended five sessions of online training, followed by submitting a written assignment to assess the knowledge and understanding we gained. Having both completed and passed our final assessment, Gemma and I are both proud to be certified specialists in trauma-informed practice.
The Trauma-Informed Certification Course provided us with helpful strategies to use when representing clients who have experienced trauma. The five pillars of trauma-informed practice are key. These are safety, empowerment, collaboration, choice and trust.
When a solicitor interacts with their client, they should always ensure that the client feels safe, both physically and emotionally, especially when dealing with sensitive matters. Clients need to be given time and space to enable them to feel safe and calm during the legal process. The solicitor needs to be aware of potential triggers which could make a client feel unsafe or could risk re-traumatisation, so that they can be avoided.
To assist clients in feeling empowered during this process, we have learned the importance of allowing the client as much choice as possible, accommodating the client’s needs and wishes, if we can.
Working collaboratively with a client who has experienced trauma will help them to participate fully in the legal process. Whilst with any client it is important to keep them informed and involved, it is particularly important for someone who has experienced trauma, so they a understand the process and have as few surprises as possible. Working collaboratively should ensure that the client feels that they know what their options are, and that they know the legal position. It is important to ensure that the client understands the advice that they are given, and for someone who has experienced trauma it can be more difficult to absorb that advice. We must take the time to advise clearly, in a manner that is tailored to each client.
We were also encouraged to work in collaboration with existing support networks in the community, so that our clients are getting the help and support they need.
And finally, trust, which is always a keystone of a solicitor and client relationship, is of even greater importance for a client who has experienced trauma. We have learned that clear communication in terms of expectations and timescales can help clients who have experienced trauma to engage in the legal process and develop a trusting relationship with their solicitor, even when trust is understandably a difficult thing to establish.
If you have suffered a traumatic experience as an adult, or suffered adverse childhood experiences, and are looking for advice from a trauma-informed lawyer, please contact Gemma or myself for more information about how we might be able to help.
