More to representing traumatized clients than legal acumen

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • Representing clients who have suffered trauma is not just about getting the best possible financial settlement, it is “also about facilitating a positive emotional outcome,” says disability lawyer Leanne Goldstein.

As the founder and senior lawyer at Leanne Goldstein Law Professional Corporation, she embraces the role of a trauma-informed lawyer and believes in establishing relationships with clients that will help them feel secure as they navigate through the legal system.

“At the end of the day, the satisfaction in the work that we do is not merely about settling a claim, it is moving our clients through an emotional space. The people we represent often need a strong and impassioned voice, an advocate to speak on their behalf. Someone who is going to fight for them with a true understanding of what they have endured,” she tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “It is essential to us that our clients gain some sort of closure and validation of their experiences and feelings of injustice. “Of course, we want to get the best monetary outcome for our clients and we advocate fiercely to do that.

“But just as important is the acknowledgment of who our clients are, what they have gone through in their lives and what they are hoping to achieve,” Goldstein adds.

Innate distrust in authority figures

She says as long-term disability lawyers, their firm often deals with clients who have suffered traumatic experiences that can be related to a number of things, including a childhood event, an accident or an injury, emotional or sexual abuse or multiple hospitalizations due to illness. Some trauma victims have an innate distrust in authority figures or the court system, which may prevent them from seeking the help they need or being open to assistance from lawyers.

“When you have an individual dealing with trauma, there is a strong likelihood that they do not have faith in people generally because they have likely been betrayed by those they trusted,” Goldstein says. “When I started out practising law more than 20 years ago, the overarching philosophy was to maintain an emotional distance between lawyer and client. It was not seen as your job to get involved in a client’s internal world. Lawyers were advised to remain detached and distant and to impart information without creating a connection with the client. 

“Trauma-informed lawyering differs significantly from the traditional model as it requires the ability to build a connection and a relationship of trust,” she adds. “This involves honouring the client’s lived experiences and recognizing the impact of trauma on their lives.”

Goldstein explains that the trauma-informed model of lawyering involves significant investment in the client’s well-being. She says they support clients in different ways, such as arranging multiple preparation meetings and allowing for frequent breaks and debriefing with psychologists/psychotherapists. They always check with clients to determine if they are overwhelmed and establish techniques to reduce the emotional overload. 

“Trust is also built by ensuring that clients are well prepared for procedures and processes. Predictability can reduce stress and emotional reactivity. If clients know what to expect and how things will unfold, that builds confidence and trust,” Goldstein says. “Managing expectations is essential. This means being transparent, honest and upfront with clients even when the messaging may be difficult.”

She says trauma-informed lawyering is also focused on developing a practice with an aim “to reduce re-traumatization, increase connectivity and create empowerment.”

Connecting with client is necessary to do the job

“We may have a longer process in terms of engaging a client, but as a whole, our client satisfaction rates are higher. During the initial stages, you are helping clients understand that your job is not only to fight for their case and give them the best legal advice, but to empower them as well. That changes the conversation for some people,” says Goldstein. “In my mind, as long-term disability lawyers, we cannot do our job as effectively if we’re not connecting with our client’s world and creating a relationship that allows them to feel secure.”

Dealing with the legal system can be extremely challenging for some clients, she says.

“Due to its intrusive nature and the inherent level of skepticism built into it, providing testimony can result in re-traumatization whether that occurs at discovery or trial,” says Goldstein. “There are people out there who are too traumatized to reach out so they end up not getting help, or we might encounter an individual who is traumatized and reluctant to proceed forward with any type of legal process. Usually, over time, we are able to give them a level of comfort and develop the courage to proceed.”

She says allowing clients extensive time and multiple preparation opportunities so that they can gain an understanding of the process is helpful. Providing insight is also vital and her firm will detail the purpose of the process and proceedings, the role of participants and explain the goal of opposing parties.

“Going into any process that you have not experienced before can be extremely challenging emotionally,” says Goldstein. “If you’re an individual suffering from trauma, you are probably less likely to be confident stepping into an environment you are unfamiliar with and anxiety levels may be heightened.”  

She explains that establishing trust involves managing expectations.

 ‘Try to provide as much background information and context as possible’

 “A client’s perception of a just and fair outcome may not always align with what the legal system is designed for and it is important to educate clients on what can be achieved right from the outset,” Goldstein says. “Obviously, we can’t predict everything as litigation is unpredictable by its nature, but we try to provide as much background information and context as possible.”

Recognizing and validating the client’s emotional responses is vitally important, she says, as well as educating opposing counsel on those responses and how they should be contextualized and understood. 

Goldstein says when she started handling long-term disability cases many years ago, she noticed she was dealing with many people who had suffered from traumatic experiences and she began to recognize that a different approach to lawyering would need to be embraced.

“Trauma-informed lawyers also need to be psychologically minded. They need to recognize their own triggers, biases and pre-existing schemata,” she says. “Traumatized clients may have strong emotional reactions in many different situations. Understanding the emotional complexities underlying the client’s reactions can help lawyers manage their own responses to clients who may come across as angry, dissatisfied or emotionally distraught. 

Goldstein says many lawyers will simply resign from a case if they believe a client is “difficult” to handle.

“However, for individuals who have suffered extensive trauma, interactions with others are challenging. A traumatized client who lacks trust expects everyone to act the same so if the lawyer responds in the expected way by firing them as a client, it lives up to their expectations and further reinforces their distrust,” she says.

‘Working with those suffering from trauma the best teacher

Goldstein says trauma-informed lawyering requires “rational detachment,” meaning lawyers need to be mindful of how they personally respond to the emotions and actions of others if they expect to deepen trust and create empowerment. 

In terms of the steps required to become a trauma-informed lawyer, she explains that academic research and knowledge is helpful, empathy is essential, but actually working with those suffering from trauma has been the best teacher.

“I personally feel the strategy that you employ and how you grow into a trauma-informed lawyer is through experience more than it is only through the knowledge that you can glean from academic study,” says Goldstein, who majored in psychology at university and has a keen interest in the area of study. 

“If you are not actually trained as a psychologist or a social worker, and most lawyers are not, it is more about having the knowledge, awareness and understanding that comes with representing individuals who are dealing with mental health issues and trauma,” she says. “Understanding the nature of the clients’ conditions and the impact of trauma on their interactions is something that you can gain more from experience and from a willingness to truly devote yourself to recognizing and responding to the inherent needs of your clients.”