Oh, Canada! I believe that our great nation is one celebrated for its racial, ethnic, cultural diversity in our people, industries, and way of life. In our increasingly multicultural society, it comes as no surprise that lawyer-client relationships are also as culturally diverse. With that in mind, I believe that a successful 21st century lawyer should be well-equipped for the realities of practice – and that is to be culturally competent when interacting with diverse clients, fellow practitioners, and other members of our legal profession from all walks of life.
* * *
Just what exactly is cultural competency?
Cultural competency has been defined as a “set of congruent behaviours, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency, or profession that enables that system, agency or profession to work effectively in cross-cultural situations”. Put simply, a culturally competent lawyer is not only aware of their clients’ cultural backgrounds, but goes beyond to recognize that cultural undertones may inform behaviours, motivations, and their relationship with the client. In doing so, a culturally competent lawyer can effectively assist with advocacy and communication across cultural experiences.
Why is there a need for culturally competent lawyers?
Cross-cultural clients often face challenges and barriers when dealing with legal issues that stem from their unique cultural experiences. This list is not exhaustive nor reflective of every interaction, but I believe that these are common issues that cross-cultural clients may face:
- Communication – The obvious is a language barrier between a lawyer and cross-cultural client. However, communication can include client’s body language, non-verbal cues, and mannerisms that may vary from culture to culture. When the lawyer is not cognizant of these cues, they are prone to missing important indicators of communication from the cultural client.
- Cultural values – Individuals of different ethno-racial groups may think, behave, and express themselves differently from other clients. Sometimes, these practices greatly contrast common practices of mainstream culture (i.e. eye contact in North American culture regarded as confidence vs. direct eye contact can be viewed as disrespect in East Asian cultures)
- Colour-blindness – Colour-blindness is a huge issue. Instead of working to recognize and accommodate cultural differences to provide appropriate legal services, colour-blindness ignores that there are even differences in the first place. This ideology disregards that clients of cultural groups foster diverse values, behaviours, and communication needs, all of which require special attention.
- Stereotypes – There is also a danger of negative stereotypes being projected onto cross-cultural clients. Lawyers have to be cognizant of these stereotypes, so that they do not become normalized, repeated practices against clients of a particular cultural group.
What are some ways to utilize cultural competency in practice?
I do not think becoming a culturally competent lawyer is particularly difficult. It definitely takes practice and requires adopting a set of lawyering skills tailored to this special niche of clients, but it is like learning any other skill.
Courts, legal aid clinics, and many law firms have already adopted translators, interpreters and other language aid tools for their cross-cultural clients, which is a great start. In order for lawyers to provide competent services to clients of other cultures, basic knowledge of their cultural practices or values should be given preliminary research much just like any other legal issue that would be given the same attention. Another helpful tip is to adopt an open, culturally appropriate attitude when interacting with cross-cultural clients. I think the biggest challenge for lawyers is to seeing past the dichotomy between the dominant Western culture and non-Western cultural practices. If lawyers stop trying to make sense of cultural practices using dominant Western ideals as a benchmark, I think we can foster an attitude that is open towards clients of other cultures, and can even spot similarities that were not as obvious before. Lastly, I believe that there should be more attention to cross-cultural education in law schools, or teaching cultural competency in law school clinics and continuing legal education. This change in education could help implement core skills in law students on how to interact with cross-cultural clients, before they enter the profession.
Lawyers are advocates for clients from all walks of life including clients of other cultures. So isn’t it time we recognized cultural competency as a necessary skill to being a successful lawyer in the 21st century?
I think this is a great post Grace! I would completely agree that being culturally competent is key in order to ensure that law students and lawyers are equipped to face the realities of the 21st century. But this is not only an issue we should be cognizant of as we move forward, but must think why this continues to be an ongoing struggle? I believe as the push towards diversity evolves, firms must recognize the importance of hiring and retaining a diverse set of lawyers. This will help the cultural competency within the firm and ensure that there can be an continuous refresher of basic cultural practices and values!
Thanks Sam! I definitely agree that cultural competency should be something rooted in firm culture and its hiring practices. If a firm is an advocate for cultural competency and awareness in their own team, then it is a great start to making sure they are also cognizant of their clients’ diverse backgrounds and needs.
Grace I think that this is a great post. Cultural competency is a very important movement if lawyers want to deliver effective legal services today. Not only does it inform our own biases and how these may influence our perceptions of the client, but it can also set a foundation for client expectation as it relates to our legal intervention in their matter.
I think the key is to not make premature conclusions about the client but rather formulate a basis for the legal advice they seem to require, and test whether this is fits their needs. This way we are continually adjusting so as not to categorize clients. Rather we are providing a good balance between generalizing and individualizing the client based on their needs. Sometimes however, we will need to have specific skills and knowledge of the client’s culture and situation. This enables a trusting and lasting lawyer-client relationship.
I look at the practice of law as a continually developing strategy. If we treat our occupation this way, there should be no reason we cannot treat our clients this way. After all, it is the client, and work we do for them, that often defines our practice.
Afras Khattak
Grace I think that this is a great post. Cultural competency is a very important movement if lawyers want to deliver effective legal services today. Not only does it inform our own biases and how these may influence our perceptions of the client, but it can also set a foundation for client expectation as it relates to our legal intervention in their matter.
I think the key is to not make premature conclusions about the client but rather formulate a basis for the legal advice they seem to require, and test whether this is fits their needs. This way we are continually adjusting so as not to categorize clients. Rather we are providing a good balance between generalizing and individualizing the client based on their needs. Sometimes however, we will need to have specific skills and knowledge of the client’s culture and situation. This enables a trusting and lasting lawyer-client relationship.
I look at the practice of law as a continually developing strategy. If we treat our occupation this way, there should be no reason we cannot treat our clients this way. After all, it is the client, and work we do for them, that often defines our practice.
Grace, I think you’re onto something … there is a conference in summer 2017 at the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning in Arkansas on teaching cultural competence. See info here: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/2016/11/cfp-institute-for-law-teaching-and-learnings-summer-2017-conference.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FNPYR+%28PropertyProf+Blog%29 I didn’t know this, but cultural competency is one of the “professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession” identified in ABA Standard 302, requiring law schools to establish learning outcomes.
Grace, I think your blog post raises many important points. I think everyone in the legal profession, including law students, professors and lawyers should strive to truly uphold the principles of diversity and multiculturalism in the classroom and in-practice. Students have opportunities to further their learning and build cross-cultural competency by getting involved in clinics, exchange programs, and other such extracurricular activities. Some universities have also created programs and certificates that recognize and help facilitate students’ global and multicultural experiences.
Another great responsibility is for employers to recognize the importance of diversity. Unfortunately, discrimination still exists, both in the legal field and employment in general (“Minority lawyers face discrimination, report finds”: http://bit.ly/2fDSdr5). In a study released in 2011 on job recruitment, “on average, University of Toronto researchers Philip Oreopoulos and Diane Decheif found that resumes featuring English names were more than 35-per-cent more likely to receive a callback than a resume featuring Chinese, Indian or Greek names” (http://bit.ly/2fDRSoe).
The Law Society of Upper Canada has come up with recommendations to address the issue of discrimination in the legal field (“Law Society report proposes changes to combat systemic racism”: http://on.thestar.com/2d6WWT1). Other provincial law societies across Canada should also begin addressing issues of discrimination and racism in their provinces.