Navigating Trauma in Clinical Legal Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Trauma Stewardship and Trauma-Informed Lawyering as Practical Legal Skills

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

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Despite an increased awareness of the impact of trauma, most law school curricula do not adequately address the prevalence of trauma, both past and ongoing, in the lives of clients in need of legal services-- or the particular challenges of providing effective legal representation to clients who have experienced trauma. Similarly, law schools have not traditionally prepared students for the vicarious trauma they may experience representing such clients. When representing clients exposed to traumatic events, understanding the science of trauma and its effects is essential for engaging thoughtfully in lawyering skills, like interviewing and counseling, and for both reducing the risk of re-traumatizing clients and minimizing vicarious trauma for law students and attorneys. Failure to consider trauma in our legal practice runs counter to principles of holistic and client-centered representation and hinders a client’s ability to access true justice that reaches beyond individual legal outcomes. In this session, we will explore how we can close the gap between legal outcomes and justice by acknowledging the impact of trauma on our clients, our students, and ourselves. We will share our own strategies and models for implementing trauma-informed practices and resilience into clinical legal education across our diverse practice areas including criminal justice, housing, immigration, healthcare, family defense, and public benefits. This session will specifically consider the role of clinical legal education in promoting trauma stewardship and teaching trauma-informed lawyering techniques. We will offer practical approaches to and facilitate discussion about the following questions: How can clinicians incorporate trauma stewardship and awareness into the pedagogy and practice of clinical education? What is the role of interdisciplinary partners in teaching trauma-informed lawyering and promoting student and attorney resilience?