5 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Trauma-Informed Practice
The legal system is often retraumatizing for the very people it’s meant to protect—especially survivors of violence, abuse, and exploitation. Whether you’re a public defender, prosecutor, immigration attorney, family law practitioner, employment attorney or corporate counsel volunteering your time, trauma shows up in your clients’ lives, and in your work, more than you might realize.
Trauma-informed practice isn’t just a buzzword—it’s an essential approach that helps attorneys provide more effective, ethical, and compassionate legal representation. Here’s what every lawyer should know.
1. Trauma is more common than you think.
Trauma doesn’t just refer to catastrophic events like trafficking or war. It includes any experience that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. That can include domestic violence, systemic racism, child abuse, sexual assault, incarceration, homelessness, forced migration, and more.
Many clients—especially those navigating systems like criminal justice, child welfare, or immigration—carry deep trauma histories that affect how they show up in legal proceedings.
2. Trauma impacts memory, behavior, and communication.
Clients with trauma histories may:
Struggle to recall details in a linear or consistent way
Shut down, dissociate, or appear disengaged
Become agitated or defensive when asked certain questions
Miss appointments or avoid communication altogether
These behaviors are often misinterpreted as dishonesty, noncompliance, or lack of interest in their case. A trauma-informed lens allows you to interpret them differently—with empathy and curiosity instead of judgment.
3. Trauma-informed lawyering is client-centered.
At its core, trauma-informed lawyering is about restoring a client’s sense of safety, control, and dignity. This might look like:
Explaining legal processes in plain language
Offering choices whenever possible (e.g., when and where to meet, how to communicate)
Giving clients time to respond and process information
Follow up with clients in writing
Preparing clients for potentially triggering interactions, like depositions or testimony
This doesn’t mean you have to be a therapist—it just means being mindful of how legal processes impact your client’s wellbeing.
4. Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue Are Real Risks
Working with trauma survivors can take a toll. Listening to clients’ stories of abuse, violence, and systemic injustice—often while fighting uphill battles in court—can lead to vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue.
Signs of vicarious trauma may include:
Emotional numbness or feeling disconnected
Intrusive thoughts or nightmares about clients’ experiences
Increased irritability, anxiety, or hopelessness
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Feeling ineffective or cynical about your work
Unchecked, this can lead to burnout, impact your relationships, and compromise the quality of your advocacy.
Being trauma-informed means taking care of yourself, too. Strategies for protecting your wellbeing include:
Regular reflection or supervision to process difficult cases
Healthy boundaries between work and personal life
Peer support and open conversations about mental health
Mindfulness, exercise, and activities that restore you
Seeking therapy or support when needed (yes, even for lawyers)
The goal is not to be unaffected—it’s to be resilient, sustainable, and human in how you show up for your clients and yourself.
5. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being intentional.
You won’t always get it right. That’s okay. Trauma-informed practice is a framework, not a checklist. It’s about practicing law with greater awareness, humility, and humanity.
The impact? Stronger attorney-client relationships. Better legal outcomes. And a legal system that does less harm and more good.
Ready to Learn More?
I offer training and consulting for legal professionals, law firms, government agencies and public interest organizations looking to build trauma-informed practices that truly serve survivors. If you’re ready to bring this approach into your work, let’s connect.
